Short deck hold'em (6+)

What's short deck?

Take a standard 52-card deck. Remove all the 2s, 3s, 4s, and 5s. You're left with 36 cards, ace through six, in four suits. This is short deck, also called 6+ hold'em, and it's what Triton Poker series high-stakes cash games are famous for.

Hand rankings, different from regular hold'em

With fewer cards, the frequencies of hands shift. So the ranking order changes to keep the game balanced:

1. Royal flush
2. Straight flush
3. Four of a kind
4. Flush (was 5th in regular hold'em, now higher than full house)
5. Full house
6. Three of a kind
7. Straight
8. Two pair
9. One pair
10. High card

A flush is now rarer than a full house because you're pulling from four 9-card suits instead of four 13-card suits. So flushes get promoted above full houses.

The wheel: A-6-7-8-9

Without deuces through fives, the lowest straight is 6-7-8-9-T. But the ace still plays low, so A-6-7-8-9 is a legal straight. It's the new wheel.

Antes instead of blinds

Most short deck games use antes, not blinds. Every player posts an ante before the deal, and the button posts a bigger "button ante", usually 2x. Action starts left of the button preflop, same as post-flop. Some rooms do use small/big blind structures instead, check with the room.

Why sets and flush draws are huge

With fewer cards, sets improve faster (you're more likely to fill up or make quads) and open-ended straight draws hit more often (about 48% by the river, vs 32% in regular hold'em). Flush draws hit less often because there are fewer cards of each suit left in the deck.

Common short-deck starting hands

• Pocket aces. Still the best hand. But they run worse against multiple opponents than in regular hold'em.
• Big pairs. Kings, queens, jacks. Make big sets more often.
• Connectors. T-9, J-T, Q-J. Straight draws are gold.
• Suited aces. A-K, A-Q suited to A-6 suited. Playable in position.

Common short-deck mistakes

• Playing flushes like they're regular hold'em flushes. They're now above full houses, respect them, and be careful when the board pairs.
• Overvaluing top pair. In a game where every draw hits more often, one pair is way weaker than it feels.
• Not adjusting for antes. Every hand you're already invested. You need to open more and defend more.
• Slow-playing sets on connected boards. Straights get made all the time.

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Rules explained by the PokerGods editorial team. Reviewed against the 2026 Tournament Directors Association rules and standard casino floor procedure. Have a rules dispute? Email the desk via contact.

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