Quick Facts About Six Plus Hold’em
Alternative Names | Short Deck Hold’em, Short Deck Poker |
Number of Players | 2-10 |
Type | Community Card Poker |
Deck | French |
Cards | 36 |
Play | Clockwise |
Chance | High |
Rank(Hight to Low) | A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6 |
Skills | Probability, Psychology |
Six-plus hold’em, better known as Short Deck Hold’em, is a variation of the most popular poker variant, Texas Hold’em. Although nothing can beat Texas Hold’em popularity, Short Deck has been booming lately.
Rumor has it that the first 6+ Hold’em games were played in Asia as early as 2010, but it owes its popularity to the Western highest stakes poker players, like Phil Ivey and Tom Dwan, who promoted the game in 2015 in an online video. From Manila in the Philippines to the house of high-stakes poker, Macau, and beyond, Six Plus Hold’em has been rising in popularity.
Six Plus Hold’em Basics: What Makes It Different From Texas Hold’em?
Those who played classic Texas Hold’em will find the rules and flow of Six Plus Hold’em pretty much the same. But there is a big difference between the two versions making Short Deck a unique Hold’em variation.
As you have seen in the infographic, Six Plus Hold’em is played with 36 deck of cards, hence the name of Short Deck Poker. How is this possible? Well, the Asian game inventors removed 2s, 3s, 4s, and 5s from the deck and based the game on the rest of the cards. Removing 16 cards from the standard French deck means the equity of hands and hand rankings are changed. Hence, the whole thing about the winning hand is changed!!
Rules You Must Learn Before Sitting At A Six-Plus Hold’em Table
Similar to No Limit Texas Hold’em, there are no preflop or postflop betting limits and restrictions. It means you can go all in at any time you wish. Although the game can be played with fixed limits, most often, it is played no-limit. In addition, betting rounds are the same; preflop– flop–turn–river, and everybody acts in a clockwise manner. The subtle difference in preflop is that in this game, there is no Big Blind and Small Blind, unlike in regular Texas Hold’em. Six Plus is played using antes, and there are two important differences here:
- Everybody at the table post antes before the game starts.
- The player on the Button position posts an additional ante(total of two antes).
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Gameplay And Streets Of Betting
When it comes to streets of betting, Six Plus and Texas Hold’em are the same. Once all players have posted their antes, the dealer starts the game by dealing two hole cards, face down, to every player. So everything is the same for Preflop. The first player sitting to the left of the button starts the action, and it continues clockwise. The scenario is the same before and after the flop; the player on the button position acts last on all streets of betting.
What About The Aces: How Do Aces Count In 6+ Hold’em?
2s,3s,4s, and 5s are removed. Hence, Aces become critical in this game. Similar to regular Texas Hold’em, Aces are used as low or high to make a straight hand. The difference here is that an Ace can connect with the 6 ( the lowest card in the deck) and act as 5 in making the lowest possible straight hand in Short Deck Poker.
What Beats What? Short Deck Hand Rankings
So far, you have seen that the gameplay is pretty much the same in both variations. The big difference is in Poker Hand Rankings. The most important thing to remember is that:
The general idea behind a hand beating another hand is the rarer the hand, the highest it is, and it beats the less rare hand. Since there are fewer cards in this game, flushes are rarer than full houses. For this reason, flushes beat full houses.
In some variants of Six Plus Hold’em, three of a kind beats straights, but it is very unlikely to find a table, especially at online casinos, where this rule applies. So, we will stick to the standard hand ranking.
Standard Short Deck Poker Hand Ranking- Highest To Lowest | |
Hand | Visualization |
Royal Flush | ♦10 ♦J ♦Q ♦K ♦A |
Straight Flush | ♥A ♥6 ♥7 ♥8 ♥9 |
4 of a kind | ♦K ♠K ♣K ♥K (any suit)6 |
Flush | ♠K ♠J ♠10 ♠6 (any suit)9 |
Full House | ♦K ♠K ♣K ♥6 ♣6 |
3 of a kind | ♦K ♠K ♣K ♥6 (any suit)Q |
Straight | ♣A ♠6 ♥7 ♥8 ♦9 |
Two Pair | ♦K ♠K ♥6 ♣6 (any suit)Q |
One Pair | ♦K ♠K (any suit)5 (any suit)8 (any suit)Q |
High Card | (any suit)K (any suit)6 (any suit)9 (any suit)8 (any suit)Q |
Short Deck Poker Strategy: 2 Simple Tips To Help You Win
The best and most strategic move to play and win Short Deck Poker is to adjust your poker hand ranking knowledge. Why? Because the stripped-down deck of cards due to the removal of duces, 3s, 4s, and 5s, make it more likely for you to make higher value hands. It means, it will be also easier to make straights and full houses in this game than regular Texas Hold’em. Hence, you should adjust your knowledge, learn, and practice Short Deck Poker hand rankings before getting in on the action.
Another reason for the importance of mentioned strategy is that you have to adjust your game strategy according to the possibility and the strength of hands. As mentioned, in Short Deck Hold’em, the average value of the hands played is higher. In other words, low hands, like single-pair hands that might often win pots in regular Hold’em, rarely win in this game. So, you better know when to fold’em!
The other strategy is betting big, though it seems to be against all professional gambling pieces of advice. In this game, betting big can help you win big, but only under the following condition:
Top Florida Online Casinos To Play Short Deck Poker
There are not many legit online casinos out there to play Six Plus Hold’em. Considering the status of legal online gambling in Florida, the options are even more limited for the players from the Sunshine State. The top 4 US-friendly and trusted online casinos below are reviewed rigorously by us according to the following criteria:
- Licensed and regulated
- Crypto-friendly
- Offer the fastest payouts
- Have 24/7 live customer support
- Offer ongoing generous bonuses and promotions
- Have user-friendly designs
- And much more!
Best Online Casinos To Play 6+ Hold’em For Real Money | ||||
Casino | Welcome Bonus | Game/ RTP | Min Bet | Max Bet |
Betonline | 100% up to $1,000 | 6 Up Pocket Poker/96.20% | $1 | $10 |
Super Slots | Up to $6,000 | 6 Up Pocket Poker/96.20% | $1 | $10 |
Wild Casino | Up to $5,000 | 6 Up Pocket Poker/96.20% | $1 | $10 |
Highroller Casino | Up to $8,000 | 6 Plus Poker/96.25% | $1 | $1,000 |
Final Thoughts
Short Deck Poker Hold’em or simply, Six Plus Hold’em, offers exciting twists to classic Texas Hold’em, resulting in a unique fun-filled poker experience. The smaller deck makes players more likely to hit high-value card combinations. For this reason, the game is pretty popular among high-rollers. In addition, the changes created in the game are not terribly complicated, meaning even newcomers with a solid understanding of poker can easily learn the game and start playing. But remember, you should learn the basics well, practice enough, and play wisely to avoid big losses.
May the Flush be with you!!
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