Short Deck Poker Rules

If you’re familiar with traditional poker, particularly Texas Hold’em, you might have heard about a thrilling variation called Short Deck Poker. This variant has been gaining popularity in poker rooms around the world, especially in high-stakes and online games. What makes Short Deck Poker so exciting is the tweak to the deck and rules, which creates more action and different strategies compared to standard poker. In this article, we’ll break down the short deck poker rules step-by-step, making it easy for beginners to understand and get started with the game.

What Is Short Deck Poker?

Short Deck Poker, sometimes called 6+ Hold’em, is a variant of Texas Hold’em, but with a smaller deck. Instead of playing with the usual 52 cards, Short Deck uses only 36 cards by removing the 2s, 3s, 4s, and 5s from the deck. So, the cards in play range from 6 through Ace in each suit. This changes the dynamics of the game in profound ways, giving players different hand values and probabilities.

The Deck and Card Rankings

With the removal of all cards ranked 2 through 5, Short Deck Poker uses the cards from 6 up to Ace – which means the deck consists of 36 cards instead of 52. Because of this change, some hand rankings are adjusted slightly to fit the new odds.

How the Short Deck Deck Changes Poker

• Fewer low cards make straights different — for example, the wheel (A-2-3-4-5) no longer exists.
• The probability of drawing strong hands changes significantly. For instance, flushes become rarer than full houses.
• Hand rankings are adjusted accordingly — more on this below.

Basic Short Deck Poker Rules

The gameplay closely mirrors traditional Texas Hold’em, with some key differences due to the deck size and hand rankings.

Number of Players

Short Deck Poker can be played with 2 to 9 players, similar to Hold’em.

Blinds and Betting

Blinds, betting rounds, and the order of play remain the same as in Hold’em. The dealer deals two hole cards to each player, followed by a betting round, then three community cards (the flop), another betting round, one community card (the turn), a betting round, and a final card (the river), followed by the last betting round.

Hole Cards and Community Cards

Each player receives two hole cards, and five community cards are dealt face up in the center of the table across the flop, turn, and river.

Objective

The goal is to make the best five-card poker hand using either one or both of your hole cards combined with the community cards.

Adjusted Hand Rankings in Short Deck Poker

One of the most important differences is how hands are ranked in Short Deck Poker. The reduced deck changes the probability for certain hands, so some hands outrank others differently than in traditional Hold’em.

Standard Poker Hand Rankings (For Comparison)

1. Royal Flush
2. Straight Flush
3. Four of a Kind
4. Full House
5. Flush
6. Straight
7. Three of a Kind
8. Two Pair
9. One Pair
10. High Card

Short Deck Hand Rankings

1. Royal Flush
2. Straight Flush
3. Four of a Kind
4. Flush
5. Full House
6. Straight
7. Three of a Kind
8. Two Pair
9. One Pair
10. High Card

Note the key difference: In Short Deck, the Flush ranks higher than a Full House. This is opposite to traditional poker, where a Full House beats a Flush.

Why This Change?

Because the deck is thinner and helps make triples and full houses more common, flushes become relatively harder to get. Thus, flushes outrank full houses in Short Deck.

Examples of Hands in Short Deck Poker

Example 1: Two Hands With Flush vs Full House

Imagine the final board and your hand result in:

• Player A: Flush (five cards of the same suit)
• Player B: Full House (three cards of one rank plus two cards of another rank)

Player A wins because, in Short Deck, flush beats full house.

Example 2: Straight

In Short Deck, straights are simpler due to the cards starting at 6. For example, a straight might be 6-7-8-9-10 or 10-J-Q-K-Ace. However, the “wheel” straight (A-2-3-4-5) is impossible, since cards below 6 are removed.

Additional Short Deck Poker Rules & Variations

Pre-flop Rules

Just like Texas Hold’em, the player to the left of the big blind starts the betting in the first round.

Running It Twice

Many Short Deck games offer a “Run It Twice” option, where the remaining community cards are dealt twice to reduce variance. This can impact strategy and variance management.

Suits in Short Deck Poker

Suits still have no rank relative to each other, just like traditional Hold’em. They only matter when forming flushes.

Checking Royal Flush

Achieving a Royal Flush (A-K-Q-J-10 of the same suit) is still the highest and rarest hand in Short Deck.

Winning at Short Deck Poker: Strategy Tips

Understanding short deck poker rules is only the first step. Since the deck and hand rankings differ, your strategy should adapt as well.

• Play Stronger Starting Hands: With a thinner deck, hands like pocket 6s or 7s become relatively weaker compared to premium hands.
• Be Cautious with Flush Draws: Since flushes beat full houses, chasing flush draws can be more profitable.
• Adjust Your Value Betting: Because straights are easier to get, don’t overvalue them as much as in traditional Hold’em.
• Watch for Trips and Full Houses: While full houses are ranked lower than flushes, they still represent strong hands—don’t underestimate them.

Conclusion

Short Deck Poker brings a fresh twist to the classic Texas Hold’em game by removing the lower cards and adjusting hand ranks. This shift creates more betting action and demands new strategies from players, making the game fast-paced and highly exciting.

If you’re a beginner interested in trying it out, focus on memorizing the key short deck poker rules, especially the unique hand rankings, and adjusting your approach to hand strength. With practice, you’ll quickly find yourself enjoying this thrilling variation of poker.

Ready to give Short Deck Poker a shot? Start playing at your local casino or online poker site that offers Short Deck games and experience the rush of this exciting poker variant today!