This hand illustrates the wildly different pre flop equities we witness when playing short deck hold’em. It comes from the recent Triton Poker Series in Jeju, South Korea, during a Short Deck Ante Only tournament. The antes are 3,000 each hand,except the button who pays 6,000. UTG limps with pocket aces and the HJ raises it up to 25,000 with. Flopped straights are much more common, any hand capable is typically more than three times as likely in Short Deck. For example, JT has a 1.2% probability in Hold’em but has 4.2% chance in Short Deck. In Hold’em an eight out draw has around a 31.4% probability coming in, however in Short Deck it is 45.6%.

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Those who follow the offline poker industry have noticed that this year the interest in Short Deck Hold'em, known as Six Plus Hold'em, began to grow exponentially. Basically, because of two very advertised events of the Triton Super High Roller Series. In its schedule, half of the tournaments were in fact played in this poker modality, and Jason Koon and Phil Ivey names emerged among the Asian players who won the Short Deck tournaments.

Online poker players can now play high stakes games of Short Deck Hold'em, but let's first study the rules and strategies.

Short Deck Hold'em history

Macau is known as the birthplace of 6+ Hold'em. The first information about it appeared in 2014. Quickly, the game became popular in Asia. The Short Deck Hold'em rules are simple and the tables offer more action compared to regular Texas Hold'em.

In 2015, Tom Dwan and Phil Ivey posted a video talking about Short Deck. 'Durrr' mentioned that he was bored of playing regular hold'em. After these comments, the term 6+ was now known in the West.

Some rooms added this variant to their lobbies, but only the iPoker network maintained it. Right now during peak time maybe 10 tables of 6+ Hold'em can be found in stakes from NL10 to NL100. But generally speaking, Short Deck Hold'em remained just as a purely Asian fun.

Short Deck Hold'em rules

There are three main differences between with Texas Hold'em (which is played with a 52-card deck):

• The cards from 2 to 5 are removed from the deck, for a total of 36 cards in the game.
• The hand ranking changes: set beats straight, and a flush is better than a full house.
• The A can be used for any straight both as a low or high card (as a 5 for example)

Strategy for Short Deck Hold'em

Even though the game became popular about 4 years ago, there has been not much development of theory or strategy of Six Plus Hold'em. As a matter of fact, no support software has been released for it. Therefore, even regulars have to play 'old school style,' relying on general experience and knowledge of poker mathematics.

The basis for building a strategy for Short Deck Hold'em is keeping in mind that because there are fewer cards in the deck, many probabilities change with the same number of outs. One out equals 3%:

Tips for playing Short Deck Hold'em

• No need to overplay top pair / top kicker - in Six Plus Hold'em the draws probability is significantly higher, so TPTK is actually not a very good hand here, especially in the last streets;
• Be aggressive with strong projects - this as a result of the previous paragraph. Semi-bluffs with a strong draw are more effective in Short Deck. You either immediately win the pot, or you will find yourself playing with excellent odds of improving your hand;
• Be careful with weak kickers - hands like top pair, two pairs and straight are not that strong in Short Deck. You should adjust your pre-flop ranges according to this. In comparison to traditional Texas Hold'em, you should be looking for 2 strong cards as kicker instead of one. That is if A8o is a good hand to raise pre-flop in a 52-card deck game, in Six Plus hold'em it's better to raise minimum with ATo;
• Call 3-bets with any pocket pair - since a set is now stronger than a straight and the probability to get one in the flop is 18%, any pocket pair is reasonable to defend against a 3-bet;
• Keep in mind the new hand rankings - play carefully with suited boards, and also straight draws. For example, if you have a set, you should only be afraid of flushes so straight draws must not concern you.

Odds table for Short Deck Hold'em

Where can I play high stakes Short Deck Hold'em games online?

Recently we added a new room that answers this question - PokerKing Asia. This new Asian poker application has Short Deck hold'em tables from $80 to $300. If you want to know more information about this room, please read our room review and FAQ.

We must mention that the action at the 6+ tables include very weak lineups. Is not common to see regular players at Short Deck, and in PokerKing Asia they are even rarer.

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Any general questions about PokerKing Asia, please contact our team:

Telegram @iamlonga or Skype: rodion_longa

To request a test account or gaming account, make a deposit or have more information - write to Juan:

Telegram @wpdspanish or Skype: live:wpd.spanish

PokerKing Asia (扑克王)

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.

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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.

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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.

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

*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.

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

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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.