How to play
Short Deck Hold’em, also called 6+ Hold’em, is No-Limit Texas Hold’em played without the 2s, 3s, 4s and 5s. With only 36 cards in the deck, big hands come more often and the action is faster. Here you sit at a cash table with one to five computer opponents. Everyone starts with 1,000 chips, the blinds are 5 and 10, and a fresh 36-card deck is shuffled for every hand.
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Same game as Hold’em. Everyone gets two cards face down, and five community cards are dealt in the middle: three on the flop, one on the turn and one on the river. There’s a betting round before the flop and after each new card. On your turn you can fold, check, call, or bet / raise any amount up to all your chips.
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Blinds. The dealer button (D) moves one seat each hand. The two players to its left post the small blind (5) and the big blind (10). Many live short deck games use antes instead; this table uses blinds, like the Texas Hold’em table.
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The deck starts at 6. The lowest card is the 6. The ace still plays high, and also low in the smallest straight: A-6-7-8-9.
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Different hand order. Two pairs of hands swap places:
- A flush beats a full house. With only nine cards of each suit, a flush is harder to make.
- Three of a kind beats a straight.
From best to worst: straight flush, four of a kind, flush, full house, three of a kind, straight, two pair, one pair, high card. A reminder sits in the middle of the table.
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Showdown. Each player makes the best five-card hand from their two cards and the five on the table, and the best hand wins. If everyone else folds, the last player wins without showing.
All-ins, side pots and split pots work as in No-Limit Hold’em: you can only win from each opponent as much as you put in, an uncalled bet comes back to you, and the odd chip of a split pot goes to the first winner left of the button.
The table. When an opponent runs out of chips, a new player takes the seat with 1,000 chips on the next hand. If you run out, you can get 1,000 free credits and sit down at a new table. Between hands you can leave the table and pick a table size from 2 to 6 players. Your table is saved, so you can close the page and come back to the same hand.
Strategy
Hands run closer together. With fewer small cards, the gap between a big pair and two connected cards is smaller than in Hold’em. Aces are still the best starting hand, but they win less often against a hand like J-10 of one suit. Don’t put all your chips in before the flop expecting to be a big favorite.
Straight draws beat flush draws. An open-ended straight draw (four cards in a row, open at both ends) still has eight cards that complete it. A flush draw has only five left, because each suit has nine cards and you can see four of them. Count your outs with the smaller deck in mind.
Don’t forget the low straight. A-6-7-8-9 is a straight. A hand like 7-8 on a board of A-6-K has a straight draw from both ends: a 9 or a 10 completes it.
Respect the flush. Because a flush beats a full house, the nut flush is a monster hand. Small flushes are still in danger from bigger ones.
Sets come more often. With only four ranks gone, a pocket pair flops three of a kind more often than in Hold’em, and three of a kind beats a straight here. Small pairs are worth seeing a flop with, especially when the bets are small.
Read the labels. Each computer player is marked Tight or Loose, and aggressive or passive. Loose players play many hands and call often; bet your good hands against them. A passive player who raises usually has it.
More poker. For the full 52-card deck, play Texas Hold’em. For four hole cards and pot-limit betting, try Pot-Limit Omaha.
If you enjoy Short Deck Hold’em, try Sic Bo or Side Bet 21 next.
