Short Deck (6+)

How many cards are there in the Short Deck and why?
What are the rules of 6+ hold’em and where to play it?
Does 3 of a kind beat straight? Is A6789 a straight in ShortDeck? How to calculate the odds?
How to manage your bankroll?
And finally, is the game of Short Deck solved?

Keep scrolling down to find all this and more!

What is Short Deck poker

Also known as Triton Holdem or six plus hold’em, it’s a community card poker game from which deuces, threes, fours, and fives were removed. This results in a 36-card deck versus traditional 52, hence the “short-deck”.

Because folding or losing all the time is no fun, two successful Asian businessmen and poker enthusiasts, Paul Phua and Richard Yong, decided to experiment. They removed deuces, threes, fours, and fives - the lowest cards from the deck making the likelihood of strong preflop hands increase and equities run closer.

The higher probability of receiving playable starting hands has made Short Deck a very popular game not only among poker amateurs, but also among professional players.

Where to play Short Deck

Most casinos will offer a Short Deck poker game as long as there are enough players to sit at the table and keep the game going.
6+ holdem can also be played in online poker apps and in many online poker rooms - one of them being GG Network. It offers various stakes with ante ranging from $0.02 to $500 and stable traffic 24/7. During peak hours, you can choose from at least 50 active tables at the most popular stakes - up to $10 ante.

The best part is that RangeConverter solved GGPoker ShortDeck, so that you can start studying GG Poker Short Deck strategy right away!

How to play Short Deck poker

Texas Holdem players will easily master short deck poker rules. The principal differences between those games are:

- 36-card deck - six is the lowest card
- Different blind structure
- Flush beats full house
- A set (three of a kind) beats a straight in some variations of Short Deck, in most games however, straight still beats a set (Triton uses this rule, as do all online poker rooms).
- The button is the last to act preflop

The betting action starts to the left of the player on the button. In order to stay in the hand players must call or raise. As the button acts last, they have the option to check if nobody has raised.

Blind structure

In Short Deck hold’em games there is only one blind per hand. This is the so-called “button blind” structure. It means that every player posts an ante and the button posts a blind.

For example, in the $1 5max 100a Short Deck game four of the players post $1 ante and the button posts $2 blind (a double ante), so the total starting pot is 6 ante (6a).

In the RangeConverter online range viewer and GTO trainer this is shown as 1 ante coming from every player at the table plus 1 extra ante from the button.

Hand Rankings

Here is the Short Deck hand ranking from best to worst:

1. Royal flush - an ace with high straight flush (all in the same suit)
2. Straight flush - a five-card straight (all in the same suit)
3. Four of a kind - four cards of one rank
4. Flush - any suited five cards
5. Full house - three of a kind and a pair
6. Straight - five offsuit cards in ascending order
7. Three of a kind - three cards with the same rank
8. Two pairs
9. One pair
10. High card

Removing the cards from the card deck changes the probability and alters the hand rankings. The most important differences between Short Deck and classic no limit hold'em are:
- flush beats a full house
- the lowest straight is A-6-7-8-9
Additionally, in some variations of Short Deck, a set beats a straight.

As always, check the house rules before you sit at the table, as some variations of the 6+ holdem are played with the standard NLHE Texas hand rankings and blind structure.

As in the classic no limit Holdem, aces play both low and high in straight, which means they act as 5 in a 6,7,8,9 sequence - aka “wheel” straight.

Winning strategies for Short Deck poker

- Play looser and more aggressively preflop
- Limp more
- Fold less
- Overbet more
- Rarely slow-play
- Bluff more

In Short Deck your preflop pot odds are better than in the other poker variations and this is why you should be playing more hands.
Suited hands and pocket pairs can be played more aggressively.
Limping, which is seldom an optimal play in classic no limit hold'em, is considered a common play in Short Deck.

Hand equities running closer allow you to fold less often and overbet more frequently than you would in classic NLHE.

Fewer cards in the deck means that blockers have more value in 6+ hold’em. This is why you can bluff more to represent a straight and also call more in certain spots, as it’s less probable that your opponent has a straight.

Short Deck poker odds

There are 630 starting hands in Short Deck holdem.

- Pocket pairs come along 8.6% of the time, which is twice as often compared to Texas Hold’em.
- Pocket aces - 1 in 105 hands, which means 0.9% of the time and they win 77% versus a random starting hand.
- Hitting a flopped open-ended straight draw by the river - 46%
- Any suited hand - 22%
- Connectors - 22%
- Flopping an open ended straight draw - 19% chance
- Hitting a set with a pocket pair - 18%
- Flopping a three-of-a-kind - 18%
- AK pair - 2.5%

Additionally, it’s worth remembering that:

- It’s harder to hit flushes as they are less common
- Jack-ten vs Ace-King is basically a flip - 52% vs 47%
- Suited connectors are valuable starting hands
- A,6,7,8,9 is a straight, but it loses to any 10
- Open ended straight draws are high value

Jack-ten vs Ace-King is basically a coin flip in Short Deck

To estimate your odds you should now be using the handy rule of 3 and 6 (versus 2 and 4, like in Texas Hold’em).

You can roughly calculate chances of making your hand by the next street by multiplying the number of outs by 3.
For example, you have an 8-out straight draw on the turn. After multiplying 8 by 3 you can see you have roughly a 24% chance of hitting it on the river. The actual figure is 26.6%.

To know the odds of making your hand by the turn or river you will be multiplying the number of outs by 6.
For example, if you have an 8-out straight draw on the flop, just multiply 8 by 6. That's a 48% chance of hitting it by the river. The actual figure is 45.5%

Common pitfalls for beginners in Six Plus hold’em

- Using NLHE raise sizing

The ante structure means that rise sizes as well as 3bets should be bigger.

- Not open limping

Good pot odds and more playable hands make limping a common play especially from early positions. Limp-raise strong hands in order to protect the limping range.

- Overplaying top pairs

They are vulnerable, so you should not shove on the flop, and generally bet for value on the river less with top pair.

- Not knowing the equities

Preflop equities run much closer than in NLHE e.g. AK vs JT. Single pair hands rarely win a pot. As already mentioned above, the 2x-4x rule becomes 3x-6x in Short Deck.

- Underestimating the variance, the importance of bankroll management and mental game

Short Deck is a high variance game and you need significantly bigger bankroll as it’s much easier to lose 100 ante than 100bb. This is also why 6+ hold’em requires a strong mental poker game - you will have more “bad beats” and will need to handle bigger downswings

That said, it’s worth noting that many concepts from NLHE are still valid in Short Deck poker strategy, for example, playing loose on the button and defending the double ante with a wide range, and 3-betting with a well-structured range. Although there will be differences in specific ranges, a solid understanding of NLHE strategy is a great asset.

Short Deck Bankroll Management

Unlike in Texas Hold’em, where minimum bankroll is suggested to be 20 buy-ins and optimal 50 buy-ins, recommended ShortDeck minimum bankroll is much higher. Depending on the kind of player you are, it’s believed that you should not enter a 6+ game or a tournament with less than 100-300 buy-ins.
Some say that 17% increase in variance (versus NLHE) should translate into the optimal 6+ bankroll of 60 buy-ins or tournament entries.

If you are just starting and mainly playing micro stakes, you can definitely stay in the lower minimum range, so 100-200 buy-ins. However, when you ask a more experienced SD player, they will tell you that the more the better and insist that 300 buy-ins is a minimum.

Playing with less buy ins or taking shots at higher stakes can be a good move, under the right conditions.
If you want to take a more aggressive bankroll management strategy like this, it is important that you have an edge at the games and you have a good mental game. Most importantly, you need to be able to move up and down in stakes as soon as needed.
For example, set a stop loss, and if you lose a predetermined number of buy-ins, quit the table and move down to a stake where you have more buy ins.

As in any poker game you need to have sensible principles concerning your bankroll and follow them strictly. Here are a couple of them:

1. Define your bankroll. It’s an amount of money you can comfortably put aside and even when you lose it, your financial obligations will not be affected.
2. If you can’t afford to lose, don’t play.
This is especially important when you are experiencing a downswing.
3. Don’t bet your entire bankroll on one hand or on one tournament.
Use only a fraction of your total SD roll at a time.
4. Define your poker goals.
Are you a recreational player who is just playing for fun and losing some $ is not a big deal? Or maybe you are a serious player who expects some profit from poker, but that’s not the main source of income? If so, losing will hurt your pride more than your financial plans. And if you are a professional poker player under no circumstances can you afford to lose your entire bankroll. This would mean you got sacked. Depending on which group of players you belong to, your expectation and financial goals will differ.
5. Find your comfort zone and stay there as long as you need.
Saying no and stopping when you feel risk is too high belongs to good bankroll management and you should not see it as losing your face. Competence is also about knowing and respecting your limits.
6. Track your results.
By keeping a record of your wins and losses you will be able to make better decisions about which games to play and the risk involved.

Is Short Deck solved?

Yes and no ;).

No one can really say what’s the best way of playing the game - there are various approaches, but there is not one winning strategy. This is why the Short Deck is considered as yet not “solved”.

On the other hand, the Range Converter library consists of a large collection of short deck preflop charts (a total of 156 preflop solutions and still counting!) as well as solved postflop spots - including multiway pots. In the lobby, you’ll find heads-up games, 3max, 4max and 5max, as well as 6max, including mixed stacks and allin or fold sims. The latest additions to the library include 7max, 8max and 9max ShortDeck solutions.

Last but not least, our subscribers get access to all - YES, ALL 64 GG Short Deck games and this is why we say that GG ShortDeck is solved ;)

Find out more about the 6+ holdem solutions library.

All the Six Plus ranges listed in RangeConverter Lobby were run in our proprietary Short Deck solver.

How to learn short deck strategy

It’s simple. By playing the game!

After learning the rules of the game and familiarizing yourself with the odds and adjusted hand rankings, the only thing left to do is to practice!

There is no better way of doing that than playing against RangeConverter GTO bots. Using our online poker trainer will help you master the 6+ strategy without risking your bankroll.

With the Online Range Viewer you will be able to view preflop charts, compare strategies for different stacks and positions at the table. The strategy breakdowns, heatmaps, macro reports and strategy-react feature will give you insights necessary to gain an edge over your opponents.

Find out more about 6+ holdem subscription plans.

Conclusion

If you’re looking for a fast, fun and exciting variation of the classic no limit holdem, you should definitely try the Short Deck poker format.

Remember that flush beats a full house and open ended straight draws are worth a lot. Don’t forget to use the rule of 3 and 6 to calculate your odds.

Make sure you have a solid bankroll and are ready to face some bad beats.

Make use of RangeConverter 6+ resources and crush your opponents!

Back to Articles