Short Deck vs Hold'em
Short Deck feels like Hold'em for about thirty seconds, then the ground shifts. Here's exactly what changes — and what doesn't — before you sit down.
Same game, smaller deck
Short Deck (Six Plus) is Hold'em with a 36-card deck. Every 2, 3, 4, and 5 is gone — only 6 through Ace remain. Cutting 16 cards quietly rewires which hands win.
The rankings get flipped
The biggest trap: in Short Deck a flush beats a full house. With only nine cards per suit, flushes are hard to make, so they outrank the boat.
In Short Deck, flush beats full house. On this board, does your flush win against the villain's full house?
Equities run close
The compressed deck bunches all-in equities together. Aces still lead, but they don't crush drawing hands the way they did in Hold'em.
You're first to act preflop. Which of these two starting hands is stronger in Short Deck Hold'em?
What stays the same
Don't overcorrect. Streets, position, and the top of the ranking are unchanged — a straight flush still beats quads, and the Ace still plays high and low.
- 36-card deck: every 2, 3, 4, and 5 is removed — nothing below a 6.
- A flush beats a full house, because there are only 9 cards per suit.
- Draws hit far more often, so connectors gain value and big pairs dominate less.
- The lowest straight is A-6-7-8-9, not A-2-3-4-5.
- Ante-plus-button-blind format replaces small/big blinds — confirm it before you play.
Test yourself
Answer them all — 20/24 to pass. Every answer gets an explanation.
How many cards are in a Short Deck (Six Plus) deck?
Short Deck removes the 2s through 5s from a standard 52-card deck, leaving 36 cards.
Which ranks are removed to make the Short Deck?
The four lowest ranks (2, 3, 4, 5) are stripped out, so only 6 through Ace remain.
How many cards of each suit are in the Short Deck?
With ranks 6 through Ace, each suit has exactly 9 cards, which is why flushes become rare.
In the standard Short Deck ranking, how does a flush compare to a full house?
Because there are only 9 cards per suit, flushes are harder to make and are ranked above full houses.
Why is a flush ranked above a full house in Short Deck?
Fewer cards per suit make flushes statistically rarer than full houses, so they outrank them.
What is the lowest possible straight in Short Deck?
Since 2 through 5 are gone, the Ace plays low to make A-6-7-8-9, the smallest straight.
How does the Ace function in Short Deck?
The Ace is dual-purpose: it caps the top straight and anchors the bottom straight A-6-7-8-9.
Compared to Hold'em, how do pre-flop all-in equities behave in Short Deck?
The compressed deck makes hands more connected, so equities bunch up and big pairs dominate less.
How many cards can complete a typical open-ended straight draw in Short Deck?
Two ranks times four suits still equals 8 cards - but with fewer unseen cards, it completes far more often.
After the flop, how many outs does a standard flush draw have in Short Deck?
With only 9 cards per suit and 4 already visible, just 5 cards of that suit remain.
Which type of hand gains the most relative value in Short Deck compared to Hold'em?
Straights are common in the compressed deck, so connected holdings become much stronger.
What betting structure is most common in Short Deck?
Short Deck typically uses an all-player ante with a single button blind rather than SB/BB.
Which structural element of the game is identical to Hold'em?
The dealing sequence and betting streets play out exactly as in Texas Hold'em.
Which is rarer in Short Deck?
With only 9 cards per suit, flushes are rarer than full houses - the reason they rank higher.
How does variance in Short Deck typically compare to Hold'em?
Tighter equities and bigger multiway pots make Short Deck a higher-variance game.
Does a straight flush still beat four of a kind in Short Deck?
The top of the ranking (straight flush over quads) stays the same; only lower categories shift.
Why do straight draws complete more often in Short Deck than in Hold'em?
An OESD still has 8 outs, but a smaller remaining deck means a higher chance of hitting.
What is the strongest starting pair in Short Deck?
Pocket Aces remains the best starting hand, though it dominates the field less than in Hold'em.
Because straights are so common, made sets in Short Deck are...
With straights appearing constantly, a set is more exposed to being beaten than in Hold'em.
A Hold'em player should be most cautious about overvaluing which hand in Short Deck?
The flush-over-full-house reversal is the classic mistake that costs Hold'em converts stacks.
What happens to the value of the button position under the ante-plus-button-blind format?
Because the button posts the extra blind, position geometry and pre-flop cost differ from Hold'em.
Is A-2-3-4-5 a valid straight in Short Deck?
With the 2s through 5s removed, that straight is impossible; the low straight is A-6-7-8-9.
In some Short Deck rulesets, three of a kind (a set) beats which hand?
Because straights are so common, some rulesets promote three of a kind above a straight.
After you look at your two hole cards pre-flop, how many unseen cards remain?
36 total cards minus your 2 hole cards leaves 34 unseen.
Review — all 24 questions & answers tap to expand
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How many cards are in a Short Deck (Six Plus) deck?
Answer 36
Short Deck removes the 2s through 5s from a standard 52-card deck, leaving 36 cards.
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Which ranks are removed to make the Short Deck?
Answer 2s, 3s, 4s, and 5s
The four lowest ranks (2, 3, 4, 5) are stripped out, so only 6 through Ace remain.
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How many cards of each suit are in the Short Deck?
Answer 9
With ranks 6 through Ace, each suit has exactly 9 cards, which is why flushes become rare.
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In the standard Short Deck ranking, how does a flush compare to a full house?
Answer A flush beats a full house
Because there are only 9 cards per suit, flushes are harder to make and are ranked above full houses.
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Why is a flush ranked above a full house in Short Deck?
Answer There are only 9 cards per suit, making flushes harder to complete
Fewer cards per suit make flushes statistically rarer than full houses, so they outrank them.
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What is the lowest possible straight in Short Deck?
Answer A-6-7-8-9
Since 2 through 5 are gone, the Ace plays low to make A-6-7-8-9, the smallest straight.
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How does the Ace function in Short Deck?
Answer Both high (10-J-Q-K-A) and low (A-6-7-8-9)
The Ace is dual-purpose: it caps the top straight and anchors the bottom straight A-6-7-8-9.
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Compared to Hold'em, how do pre-flop all-in equities behave in Short Deck?
Answer They run much closer together
The compressed deck makes hands more connected, so equities bunch up and big pairs dominate less.
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How many cards can complete a typical open-ended straight draw in Short Deck?
Answer 8
Two ranks times four suits still equals 8 cards - but with fewer unseen cards, it completes far more often.
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After the flop, how many outs does a standard flush draw have in Short Deck?
Answer 5
With only 9 cards per suit and 4 already visible, just 5 cards of that suit remain.
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Which type of hand gains the most relative value in Short Deck compared to Hold'em?
Answer Connected cards that make straights
Straights are common in the compressed deck, so connected holdings become much stronger.
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What betting structure is most common in Short Deck?
Answer Every player antes plus the button posts a blind
Short Deck typically uses an all-player ante with a single button blind rather than SB/BB.
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Which structural element of the game is identical to Hold'em?
Answer The flop, turn, river, and showdown sequence
The dealing sequence and betting streets play out exactly as in Texas Hold'em.
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Which is rarer in Short Deck?
Answer A flush
With only 9 cards per suit, flushes are rarer than full houses - the reason they rank higher.
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How does variance in Short Deck typically compare to Hold'em?
Answer Higher, because equities run close and pots get big
Tighter equities and bigger multiway pots make Short Deck a higher-variance game.
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Does a straight flush still beat four of a kind in Short Deck?
Answer Yes, the top of the ranking is unchanged
The top of the ranking (straight flush over quads) stays the same; only lower categories shift.
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Why do straight draws complete more often in Short Deck than in Hold'em?
Answer The same outs are drawn from a much smaller pool of unseen cards
An OESD still has 8 outs, but a smaller remaining deck means a higher chance of hitting.
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What is the strongest starting pair in Short Deck?
Answer Pocket Aces
Pocket Aces remains the best starting hand, though it dominates the field less than in Hold'em.
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Because straights are so common, made sets in Short Deck are...
Answer More vulnerable to opponents' straights
With straights appearing constantly, a set is more exposed to being beaten than in Hold'em.
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A Hold'em player should be most cautious about overvaluing which hand in Short Deck?
Answer A full house, which now loses to a flush
The flush-over-full-house reversal is the classic mistake that costs Hold'em converts stacks.
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What happens to the value of the button position under the ante-plus-button-blind format?
Answer It carries a built-in cost since the button posts the blind
Because the button posts the extra blind, position geometry and pre-flop cost differ from Hold'em.
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Is A-2-3-4-5 a valid straight in Short Deck?
Answer No - the 2 through 5 are not in the deck
With the 2s through 5s removed, that straight is impossible; the low straight is A-6-7-8-9.
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In some Short Deck rulesets, three of a kind (a set) beats which hand?
Answer A straight
Because straights are so common, some rulesets promote three of a kind above a straight.
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After you look at your two hole cards pre-flop, how many unseen cards remain?
Answer 34
36 total cards minus your 2 hole cards leaves 34 unseen.