Short Deck
Short Deck Overview
Short Deck is an increasingly popular variation of poker which uses just 36 cards. The game plays similarly to Texas Hold’em, however the reduced deck opens up a whole new level of strategy!
Otherwise known as “6+” or “Six Plus Hold’em”, Short Deck poker has become a particular favourite of the very highest rollers in poker. Such elite players commonly do battle over the 36-card deck, most notably at Triton Events.
However, partypoker offers you the chance to experience the thrills of Short Deck without having to step up to the nosebleed stakes. With buy-ins from just $2, there’s plenty of 36-card action for players of all bankrolls!
The key differences from Texas Hold’em are:
- All cards valued below 6 are removed
- All players must post an ante, with only the player on the button posting an additional ante or button ante
- A flush beats a full house
- Aces play as high or low, but as there is no 2-5, A6789 is the low straight. TJQKA remains the high straight.
- Ah,6h,7h,8h,9h, would therefore be the low straight flush.
Short Deck hand rankings can be found here.
Taking your seat:
Use our Short Deck lobby to be immediately seated at a table! After selecting a stake, our quick seat function allows you to be playing in seconds. There’s also the option of opening up multiple tables at once (located in the bottom of the lobby). Simply select how many tables you’d like open and click “play now”.
Playing the game:
Short Deck is similar to Texas Hold’em - players are dealt two hole cards, and there are four rounds of betting (pre-flop, flop, turn and river). Your best hand is made up of five cards from the seven available.
However, the 36-card deck enables players to hit “good hands” more frequently compared to Hold’em. Short Deck therefore delivers high-action games, where you’ll often find yourself in hands against most of the table, with pots playing deeper and longer.
Partial removal of funds:
Unlike other cash game formats, Short Deck permits players to remove chips from the table once they build up a big enough stack. Players can then continue to play at the same table. partypoker will be the only operator to make a removal of funds feature available, exclusively for our Short Deck cash games.
When the feature is enabled, players can select the number of antes they wish to reduce their stack to from the table via the funds removal tab
Here, players will clearly see the minimum table balance that can be held by a player who wishes to remove money from the table.
For example, a player buys into a $0.10 ante game for 100 x ante giving them a stack of $10. If the game is configured to allow players to reduce their balance if they have over 300 x the ante, if the player builds up a stack of $40 (400x ante), they are allowed to reduce their stack to 300 x ante, removing $10 from the Short Deck table.
It is important to note that the reduction only takes place after the active hand is completed. If a player wins more, their balance is still reduced to 300x ante. If the player loses a hand, leaving them with less than 300x ante, their stack cannot be reduced further.
If you like poker, you’ll love Short Deck.
Short Deck rules can be found here.