Short Deck Poker Rules

Short Deck Poker Rules 7,9/10 4460 reviews

Short-deck poker (a.k.a. Six-plus Hold'em or Triton Poker) is a variant of Texas Hold'em design by Chinese poker players. The rules are similar to Texas Hold'em, but the game differ in a fundamental way: there are 36 cards instead of 52 involved (making 630 starting hands possible instead of 1326).
Plenty of people in the poker community got familiar with this game when it occured in the Triton Super High Roller Series 2018, a cash game guested by big names such as Tom Dwan, Randy Lew, Andrew Robl, Jason Koon and Paul Phua. The fame raise again when the game debuted as an event in WSOP 2019.

Short-deck poker can be played according to the exact same rules as regular Texas Hold'em. The betting can be fixed-limit or no-limit (although most often the game is played no-limit), and the same. Run It Once pro Patrick Sekinger runs through the rules of Six-Plus (Short Deck) Hold'Em as well as some initial thoughts on effective strategies during his. The rules of Short Deck Poker or 6+ Hold’em are quite similar to that of the traditional Texas Hold’em game, with a few variations. Once you get the hang of these rules, you will find yourself at a much advantageous position and can play your hand with more confidence.

Six Plus hold'em being explained

Rules

Compared to the rules of Texas Hold'em, where are a few novelties. The deck consists of 36 cards instead of 52. Since this change the probabilities for some hands, the hand ranking is different:

  1. Royal straight flush
  2. Straight flush
  3. Four of a kind
  4. Flush
  5. Full house
  6. Three of a kind
  7. Straight
  8. Two pairs
  9. Pair
  10. High cards

What you should focus on is that a flush beat a full house and a three of a kind beat a straight.
The reasons are logical: in a 36-card deck game flushes are less common and straights are more common. Normally, a flush can be constructed from 13 different cards in every suit, in Short-deck poker that is reduced to nine cards per suit. And it is the other way around with straights: since the span have been reduced from 2-A to 6-K, the cards will more often connect (also notice that ace are counted as a five, making a A-9 straight possible).
The new conditions concerning straights and flushes are interested since the straight flush combines these hands.

Tips

So how to adjust to this game compared to Texas Hold'em? First of all, the hands are in average stronger and the difference between a weak and a strong hand are reduced. The consequence is 1) you should play more hands; 2) yoy should not be too confident with hands you usually consider very strong.
Since more players getting less weak hands, there is often more players involved in a hand. Both these factors makes it harder to bluff successfully.
Starting hand strengths also shifts in some cases. Connectors such as QJ, JT and T9 gets very strong. If you are familiar with Omaha, you may recognize this.
You should be ready to invest more with straight draw and less with flush draws compared to Hold'em. Notice, however, that it is plausible to regard the imply odds higher on flushes since they are less common and that they beat a full house.
You should also be somewhat more prepared to meet quads. Not that they are especially common, but they will happen more often than you are use to if Texas Hold'em is your normal game.

Rules

Odds

There are new probabilities to study if you going to adopt from Texas Hold'em to Six-Plus Hold'em. Here are the most fundamental situations with the odds involved.

Table 1. Starting hand & flop probabilities
SituationPercent
Probability of be dealt a pocket pair9,6%
Probability of flopping a set18%
Decimals has not always been written out.


The probabilities to be dealt pocket pairs and to flop sets goes up.

Table 2. Draw probabilities
SituationPercent
Probability of hitting a flush draw on the turn or river30%
Probability of hitting an open-ended straight on the turn or river46%
Decimals has not been written out.


The most conspicuous drawing odds are the huge 46% to hit a open-ended straight on the last streets. The percentage to hit a flush are 5% lower than in Texas Hold'em.

Hand vs hand

As a compliment to the odds for given situations, it’s also important to learn the winning percentage between hands, since there are often different numbers involved compared to classic Hold'em.

Table 3. Hand vs. hand winning probabilities in percent
SituationPlayer 1Player 2
A-A vs. 8-6s 70%28%
A-A vs. 8-8s 76%24%
A-Ko vs. J-To53%47%
A-Qo vs. Q-Js57%38%
A-Ts vs. 7-757%42%
A-8s vs. T-9s48%50%
T-9o vs. 7-6s 63%33%
Q-Js vs. T-T 54%45%
The percents for possible splits has not been written out.


One of the things to notice is the relative big edge with two suited over cards against a middle pair, but also how good T-9 perform against A-8.
In general, there are minor differences compared to Texas Hold'em. For example, a pair has approximately 5% less winning chance against a lower pair.

There can I play Short-deck poker?

It took a while before the giants, Poker Stars and Party Poker launch Short-deck poker. Poker Stars did so in 2018 and Party Poker in 2019.
888 have not included Short-deck poker yet in the game selection, but it is also available at iPoker network, and therefore you can play this game in sites such as Betfair and Paddy Power.

Short Deck Ante-Only Poker: The Game That Makes No-Limit Hold’em Feel Like a Horse and Cart

While the Beatles were putting down their guitars, and jumbo jets took to the skies for the first time, a young man called Doyle Brunson spoke fondly of a new poker variant called Texas No-Limit Hold’em (NLHE).
“It’s the Cadillac of Poker,” said Brunson referring to the heightened pace of the game introduced by the ‘all-in’ move.

It was revolutionary.

It created an itch, and people couldn’t stop scratching.

If NLHE is the Cadillac of Poker; Short-Deck Ante Only is the Koenigsegg Agera RS. I imagine you don’t know that the big long Swedish name in the above sentence is the fastest car in the world; that IKEA beds are responsible for 10% of pregnancies, or what the hell Short-Deck Ante Only is?

Let me help you out.

Anyone who has played in a local home game where cash trumps tournaments will have experienced the mind-numbing, spirit-crushing feeling when playing in a game where people fold more often than the 1969 Origami Champion of the World.

It not only happens when you’re sitting at the kitchen table ready to take your grannies last plastic bag worth of coppers. It occurs in the biggest cash games in the world.

Poker had a problem.
Short-Decked Ante Only Poker is the answer.

Short-Deck Ante Only Poker – The Rules

It’s widely believed that the Asian High Stakes community shot Short-Deck Ante Only poker out of the birth canal. Sometimes referred to as Six Plus Hold’em, the game uses a deck of 36-cards.

What’s missing?

Deuces.

Treys.

Fours.

Fives.

Soul destroyers buried in the garden beneath the rose bushes.

Gg Poker Short Deck Rules

The ace still plays as both low and high meaning that it acts like a five when making a straight or straight flush. The game is essentially No-Limit Hold’em on crack. It’s harder to hit flushes as you only have five outs and not nine as in traditional NLHE. JT and AK is essentially a pre-flop coin flip and a set is a small favourite against a straight on the flop.

Triton Poker is the first live tournament operator to host high stakes Short Deck Ante-Only tournaments.

Let’s check out the rules.

Rules Of Short Deck Poker

The pre-flop betting is different to NLHE.

There is no small or big blind.

Instead, every player posts an ante in line with the tournament structure sheet, with the player on the button posting a double ante. The pre-flop action always begins with the player left of the dealer button who can fold, call the button ante or raise. The player on the button still acts last and has the option to check, call or raise dependant on the flow of the action. Post-flop action plays the same with the dealer left to the button having the opportunity to check or bet (including moving all-in as per NLHE).

Hand Rankings (From High to Low)

Royal flush
Straight flush
Four of a kind
Flush
Full house
Straight
Three of a kind
Two pair
One pair
High card

Short Deck Poker Rules

*It’s important to note that a flush beats a full house.

The equities run pretty close meaning the game has more swings than 12-rounds with Floyd Mayweather, but the most skilful player is still likely to beat you on points if you go the distance. There is still an edge, but more steak knife than a samurai sword.

It’s for this reason that the game is so popular with both amateurs and professionals loving the highs and performing harakiri after the lows. Poker fans watching the action at home will adore the game.

Pocket aces come along 1 in 105 hands, not 1 in 220.

You are 48% likely to make your straight draw on the flop than 31%.

You are 18% more likely to flop a set, not 12%.

Mayhem.

Madness.

Triton Short Deck Poker Rules

Are you ready to jump in and see what this baby is capable of?

Short Deck Poker Rules

Big Pots for big game players.

Short Deck Ante-Only poker.

*WARNING – There is a myriad of variations of this game, so always make sure you check your local rules before playing.