How to Play Six Plus Hold ’Em in No Time
An exciting take on the traditional poker game is Six Plus Hold 'em. To play like an expert in no time, learn these tips and strategies.
Six Plus Despite being a relatively new game in the poker world, hold 'em has grown in popularity throughout time. Fundamentally, it is a thrilling variant of the well-known Texas Hold 'em that we all enjoy, and fortunately, if you know the proper strategy, you can play it in practically no time at all.
The rules of Six Plus Hold 'em, sometimes referred to as short deck poker, are largely similar to those of Texas Hold 'em, with a few significant exceptions. To raise your game over time, it's critical to recognize these variations and learn how to play it well.
An Overview of Six Plus Hold 'Em's Past
Although short deck poker is generally believed to have developed in Asia in 2014, it wasn't until the following year that it began to gain popularity after Phil Ivey and Tom Dwan began pushing it. Since then, it has gained popularity among pros, and many high rollers love it because it is a higher-action game.
In 2019, professional athlete Dan Cates gained notoriety for a tweet that appeared to disclose the history of Six Plus Hold 'em. Cates claims that the game began when a Chinese businessman took the 2s, 3s, 4s, and 5s out of the deck after losing a lot of money in a game. A new game was created as the other players carried on using the smaller deck.
Short deck poker is an innovative take on a classic that has definitely rocked the poker industry since its inception, regardless of whether Cates' tweet is true or not. Don't worry if you're wondering if this is a significant departure from the Texas Hold 'em that we all know and love. With a few minor adjustments, your familiarity with the conventional game will serve you well, and there aren't many new rules.
The Six Plus Hold 'Em Rules
We must first go over some fundamental guidelines. Each player receives two hole cards, which are face-down cards that are hidden from other players, just like in No-Limit Hold 'em. Similarly to Texas Hold 'em, you can wager as much of your stack as you desire at any time during the game when it's your turn. A betting round comes after each of the three rounds of community cards, which are the turn, flop, and river.
However, the use of a structure called a "button blind" structure is where the game's rules diverge. This differs from the standard game in that there is just one blind for each hand.
Make the Deck Shorter
One crucial piece of information regarding Six Plus Hold 'em is as follows: It is also known as short deck poker for a reason. This is due to the fact that 36 cards are used for play instead of the typical 52-card deck. In short deck poker, players are given a deck with the number 6 as the lowest card after the 2s, 3s, 4s, and 5s are eliminated.
The hand ranking also changes in Six Plus Hold 'em due to the reduced deck. A set is seen as superior to a straight in this game. Additionally, in this game, a flush beats a full house (in contrast to regular Texas Hold 'em), which makes sense considering that it's more difficult to hit because there are only five cards in the deck that can form a flush. As a result, there are even more playable hands than in the classic game. It's enjoyable but a little more of a challenge.
Remember this as well: One of the best aspects about Six Plus Hold 'em is that stocks move in close proximity to one another due to the deck's shortening. What does this signify? There is more action and excitement, which is why the game is growing in popularity every day. In the realm of poker, what could be more exciting and action-packed?
How to Interpret the Aces
It's critical to pay attention to the aces in Six Plus Hold 'em. Fortunately, their ability to make up the low end of a straight is the only way they differ from standard Texas Hold 'em in that aces are high. In particular, they can be used to produce a straight of A6789 by replacing a 5 or as a higher card than a king to make a straight of AKQJ10.
You actually have a better chance of receiving an ace in this game than in conventional Texas Hold 'em. More precisely, in Six Plus Hold 'em, your chances of receiving an ace are almost doubled.
Playing pocket pairings like jacks and queens is also a little more difficult because to the reduced deck. This is because in Six Plus, you have a higher chance of receiving kings or aces.
Hand Rankings
The best thing about switching from traditional Texas Hold 'em to short deck poker is that you can use the same hand ranking as the regular game or the alternative hand rankings, which include, for example, that a flush defeats a full house and a three of a kind (set) beats a straight. Six Plus Hold 'em also has some intriguing statistical happenings: Since it takes fewer cards to produce a flush in this game—five in Six Plus and nine in the standard game—it is more difficult to hit one, as you are already aware. Another thing to keep in mind when playing Six Plus Hold 'em is that because each suit has four missing cards, straight draws are far more often.
Since you only have two out of 34 cards that could give you a set after you have a pocket pair in Six Plus Hold 'em (as opposed to two out of 50 in traditional Texas Hold 'em), hitting a set is substantially easier.
Practical Advice for Six Plus Hold Them
There are a few things you may remember to help you play more efficiently because this game is more mathematically demanding and fast-paced than the typical No-Limit Hold 'em game.
Perhaps the most fundamental piece of advice is that short deck poker really benefits from familiarity with standard Texas Hold 'em. Having a strong foundation in the standard game will make switching to Six Plus Hold 'em very easy because the rules and strategies are the same and the game is quite comparable.
After that, you should multiply the number of outs by either three or six to get an idea of your chances. In particular, you should multiply the amount of outs by three on the turn and six on the flop.
In Six Plus Hold 'em, it's also crucial to keep in mind that you should play suited hands and pocket pairs more frequently and with considerably more aggression.
An Exciting Change
Six Plus Hold 'em can be a fun and novel take on the classic Texas Hold 'em game, provided that the rules and strategies are followed. Because of the challenge the shorter deck offers, it has gained a lot of popularity in the six years since it was first introduced. However, you can definitely improve your short deck poker skills quickly if you keep your regular Hold 'em strategy handy and review the distinctions.
