Six Plus Holdem Strategy

Six-plus hold 'em
Alternative namesShort-deck hold 'em
TypeCommunity card poker
Players2-10
Skills requiredProbability, psychology
Cards36
DeckFrench
PlayClockwise
Card rank (highest first)A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6
Random chanceHigh

The Best Six Plus Holdem Strategy Guide No-Limit Texas Hold’em is, by far, the most popular poker format played by professionals and recreational players alike. And, while this isn’t to change any time soon, Short Deck Hold’em is taking a bigger and bigger part of the poker economy every single day. Six-plus hold 'em (also known as short-deck hold 'em) is a community card poker game variant of Texas hold 'em, where the 2 through 5 cards are removed from the deck. Each player is dealt two cards face down and seeks to make the best five card poker hand from any combination of the seven cards (five community cards and their own two hole cards). Run It Once pro Patrick Sekinger runs through the rules of Six-Plus (Short Deck) Hold'Em as well as some initial thoughts on effective strategies during his.

Six-plus hold 'em (also known as short-deck hold 'em) is a community card poker game variant of Texas hold 'em, where the 2 through 5 cards are removed from the deck. Each player is dealt two cards face down and seeks to make the best five card poker hand from any combination of the seven cards (five community cards and their own two hole cards).[1]

Rules[edit]

Six Plus Holdem Strategy

The rules in terms of betting structures, play of the hand, and showdown are the same as in Texas hold 'em. However before play begins all cards 2 through 5 are removed (16 cards), thus the total number of cards in the deck is 36. Aces are high, but same as in Texas hold 'em, can make both low and high end of straights. For example the lowest straight would be (9x-8x-7x-6x-Ax) and the highest (Ax-Kx-Qx-Jx-10x). This changes the probability of hands and alters hand rankings.[2]

Strategy

Modified hand rankings[edit]

RankNameExample
1Royal flush
2Straight flush
3Four of a kind
4Flush
5Full house
6Straight
7Three of a kind
8Two pair
9One pair
10High card

Flush ranks higher than full house. In theory, three-of-a-kind ranks higher than a straight as the probability of achieving three-of-a-kind is lower than a straight in short-deck, however recent games have been ranking straight higher than three-of-a-kind which has become standard.[3] Some variations of six-plus hold 'em plays with standard Texas hold 'em hand rankings. When calculating for 5 card six-plus hold 'em where each player gets only 5 cards, straights rank higher than three-of-a-kind.

The 2018 Triton Poker tournament series hosted the first televised six-plus hold 'em tournaments. The first Triton Super High Roller HK$250,000 short deck ante-only event was won by Phil Ivey, earning him US$617,396.[4] The 2018 Triton tournaments ranked straights higher than three-of-a-kind.[5]

History[edit]

Six Plus Holdem Strategy

The game originated in 2014 and is popular among high stakes gamblers in Asia due to its high variance.[clarification needed] In 2015, Phil Ivey and Tom Dwan promoted the game in an online video showing this variant of Texas hold 'em which is frequently played in Macau, Hong Kong and Manila.[6][7]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^'Six Plus Hold'em'. PokerVIP. 13 June 2015. Retrieved 2017-08-28.
  2. ^Gheorghe, Florain (14 March 2016). 'The New Six Plus Holdem'. PokerTube. Retrieved 2017-08-28.
  3. ^DellaFave, Robert (2016-02-25). 'Six Plus Holdem Launches - How Will It Impact iPoker Liquidity?'. Online Poker Report. Retrieved 2017-08-28.
  4. ^Fast, Erik (2018-05-14). 'Phil Ivey Wins Triton Poker Montenegro $250,000 HKD Short Deck Event'. cardplayer.com. Retrieved 2018-05-17.
  5. ^CardsChat Tournament News (2018-05-14). 'Phil Ivey Wins 'Short Deck' Poker Tournament in Montenegro for $605K'. Cardschat. Retrieved 2018-05-17.
  6. ^Rettmuller, Charles (10 June 2015). ''Six Plus Hold'em' Promoted by Tom Dwan and Phil Ivey'. PokerTube. Retrieved 2017-08-28.
  7. ^Weldon, Alex (2015-06-11). 'What the Heck is Six-Plus Hold'em?'. Part Time Poker. Retrieved 2017-08-28.

External links[edit]

  • Six Plus Hold'em on PokerNews
  • Beginners Tips on Sixplusholdem.com
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Six-plus_hold_%27em&oldid=971758136'

The world’s leading online poker site, PokerStars has finally launched its own version of the exciting new variant 6+ Hold’em (also known as Short Deck Poker)—a game that has taken the poker industry by storm.

6+ is the operator’s fifth new cash game variant since 2018 and the first this year. It follows PokerStars Fusion, an innovative variant that blended the elements of Texas Hold’em and Omaha into a single variant. Fusion was recently withdrawn from the client after running for more than two months.

PokerStars’ 6+ Hold’em rolled out in Denmark, Estonia and in the play-money client (on the dot-net site) on January 15. It launched in the UK, Sweden, and on the global dot-com and dot-EU player pools on January 16.

How is PokerStars 6+ Holdem Played?

6+ is quite easy to learn as the game is played quite similarly to traditional Texas Hold’em except with a stripped down deck. All the cards lower than Six are removed from the deck to make it a 36-card deck instead of the usual 52. Because the low cards are removed, players are more likely to get dealt premium hands and hence this makes the game more of an action-oriented game.

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Rules of 6+ Hold’em

Six Plus Hold'em Strategy Tactics

In PokerStars’ version of Six Plus Hold’em, instead of the traditional “small blind” and “big blind”, the game uses a “button blind” structure meaning every player on the table pays an ante while the player on the Button not only pays the ante but also pays a blind equivalent to the size of the ante. The same structure is also followed in the high stakes Triton Poker Series.

Six plus hold

As in Hold’em, the action starts with the player seated to the left of the button. Each round then plays out according to standard Texas Hold’em rules, with pre-flop, flop, turn and river betting rounds.

Tournaments

Aces are played both low and high just like in traditional Hold’em, but in 6+ Aces can also play as Fives when making a straight. The lowest straight is A6789 and the highest straight is TJQKA.

Hand Rankings

What makes the game more interesting is the differences in the hand rankings compared with the Traditional Hold’em. Since the game is played with a deck of 36 cards, Flushes are harder to hit because there are only 9 cards of each suit instead of 13. As a result, Flushes are ranked higher than Full Houses—which in this game is easier to hit than a Flush.

Mathematically speaking, it is also easier to hit Straights than Sets or Trips in Six Plus Hold’em. However, in the PokerStars version, Straights are still ranked higher than Three-of-a-Kind.

To conclude:

  • Flushes rank higher than Full Houses.
  • Straights are ranked higher than Trips or Three-of-a-Kind
  • A6789 is a low Straight while TJQKA is a high Straight.
  • The game is played with an ante. All the players post an ante while the Button posts an additional ante that acts as the only blind.
  • The player to the left of the Button is the first to act.

Is the Game Available in Tournaments or Other Format?

At launch, 6+ Hold’em is available only as cash game format. There has been no official announcement by the operator whether the game would be available in Sit & Go or tournament formats.

What are the Minimum and Maximum Buy-ins or Table Stakes Available?

The game is currently offered with buy-ins starting from $3-$4 with Button and Ante at $0.02 to a table with buy-ins as high as $30,000-$40,000 with Button and Ante at $200.

What is the Rake Structure of 6+ Hold’em?

Rake is charged at 3.50% at the lowest buy-in ($3-$4), 5% on Mid-stakes, and 4.50% on Higher-Stakes.

Caps on the rake depend on the table stakes and buy-ins which is shown below.

PokerStars 6+ Hold’em Rake Info

Buy-inAnte% Rake2 Player Cap3-4 Player Cap5+ Player Cap
$2 -$3$0.023.50%$0.30$0.30$0.30
$5-$7.50$0.054.15%$0.50$0.50$1.00
$10-$15$0.104.50%$0.50$1.00$1.50
$25-$37.50$0.255.00%$0.50$1.00$2.00
$50-$75$0.505.00%$1.00$1.00$2.50
$100-$150$1.005.00%$1.25$1.25$2.75
$200-$300$2.005.00%$1.50$1.50$3.5
$500-$750$5.005.00%$2.00$2.00$4.50
$1,000-$1,500$10.004.50%$2.50$2.50$4.50
$2,000-$3,000$20.004.50%$3.00$3.00$5.00
$5,000-$7,500$50.004.50%$3.00$5.00$5.00
$10,000-$15,000$100.004.50%$3.00$5.00$5.00
$20,000-$30,000$200.004.50%$3.00$5.00$5.00

Can Players Choose Their Own Table or Seat in 6+ Hold’em?

Six Plus Hold'em Strategy Rules

No. Just like in the previous cash game novelties, 6+ Hold’em too has adopted “Seat Me” (also called blind-lobby functionality). Under this system, players choose the game and stake and the software automatically finds a seat for the players. If no seat is immediately available, players join a waiting list.

Is the Game Available in My Region?

6+ Hold’em is available for real money in global dot-com, European Union (EU), United Kingdom (UK), Sweden (SE) client, Denmark (DK) client and the Estonian (EE) client. The game is not yet available in Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, European shared network (France, Portugal, and Spain), Greece, India, Italy, and New Jersey.

However, players from all these regions (including the United States) can play the game for play-money in NET client.

Are there any strategies on 6+ Hold’em available?

Yes, we have written two strategy articles on this game.

1) Six Plus Hold’em/Short Deck Poker Odds and Probabilities
2) Beginners Strategy/Five Tips about Six Plus Hold’em

Will it be a Temporary Offering or Permanent?

There is no mention by PokerStars whether 6+ Hold’em will be available indefinitely or if it will be available for a limited time offering. However, if history is of any indicator, it seems that 6+ will also be a temporary offering like the previous cash game novelties.

But given the fact that the game has turned out to be very popular across both live and online field, 6+ could well be made available permanently, much like Fast Fold format (aka Zoom) or Jackpot based Sit & Go’s (aka Spin & Gos).

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