Short Deck makes poker feel fresh again. With the smallest ranks removed and everyone posting antes, pots grow fast and equities run close. That means your decisions matter on every street. If you have only played regular Hold’em, this format will test your fundamentals and reward clean thinking.
In this guide for Bluffingmonkeys.com, you will learn the rules that actually affect strategy, the preflop plan that avoids common traps, and the postflop lines that print against beginner and intermediate fields in 2026. No fluff, only moves that translate to real tables and club games.
What is Short Deck Poker
Short Deck, also called Six Plus, uses a 36-card deck. Twos, threes, fours, and fives are removed. You still receive two hole cards and five community cards. The ace can play high or low for straights, so A 6 7 8 9 is a valid straight in most rooms.
Most tables use antes instead of blinds. Everyone antes before the deal. The button often posts a double ante and acts last after the flop. This structure encourages multiway pots and forces you to think in ranges rather than single hands.
Hand rankings you must confirm before you play
Different rooms use different ranking orders. Confirm this at the table or in the app rules because it changes river decisions.
Classic Short Deck order used in many rooms
- High card
- Pair
- Two pair
- Three of a kind
- Straight
- Full house
- Flush
- Four of a kind
- Straight flush
- Royal flush
Regular Holdem order used in some rooms
In this order, a straight beats three of a kind, and a full house beats a flush.
Why it matters
If a flush outranks a full house, suited hands gain valu,e and you should chase nut flush draws more aggressively on the turn and river. If the room keeps regular Hold’em order, be more selective with weaker flushes and prioritize boats on paired boards.
For more on math-driven decisions in poker, check our Poker Math guide.
Why Short Deck plays bigger than it looks
Antes create a pot before anyone chooses to play. At six-handed tables, you will often see five or more players continue to the flop. That produces action boards and frequent stack-offs with top pair plus draw or strong combo draws. Think of it like this: more dead money preflop means wider fields and closer equities. Your job is to pick hands that realize equity well and avoid bloating pots with hands that only win by showdown.
Preflop plan that works in real games
Many newcomers try to copy regular Hold’em ranges and get punished. Use these simple rules, and you will already be ahead.
1 Position is everything
Play more hands on the button and cutoff. Control pot size. Realize equity. Punish wide limps when you can isolate heads up. From early seats, over limp more and raise less.
2 Limping is a tool, not a leak
Because many players enter the pot, building a balanced limping range makes sense. Include strong hands for protection so you are not easy to exploit. Over limp behind with hands that play well multiway, such as suited aces, broadway suited connectors, and pocket pairs.
3 Premiums are still premiums
AA and KK remain the best starting hands, yet their edge preflop is smaller than in full deck. Expect to see flops more often. Favor suited versions. Be ready to value bet thinner postflop rather than forcing big preflop wars.
4 Suited connectors climb in value
J T suited, Q J suited, T 9 suited, and similar hands connect with many boards and keep clean redraws. They play beautifully in position in limped and single raise pots.
5 Offsuit high card trash collapses
Hands that rely only on high card showdown value perform poorly. Fold more offsuit junk in early and middle position rather than trying to outmuscle the table.
6 Three betting ranges stay tighter
Stacks feel shallower in ante terms, and fields are often multiway. Value three bet more than you bluff three bet in early positions. On the button, you can open up a little when you clearly isolate a weak range.
Board textures and what they do to your continuation bet
Short Deck flops create straights and trips more often than regular Holdem. That means a single pair without redraws is fragile. Adjust like this.
Use smaller flop sizes on dynamic boards
On boards like Q T 9 or 9 8 7 with a suit, bet small with range and keep your value hands ahead of your bluffs. As turns bring in your draws, size up.
Pair plus draw is your best friend
Top pair plus open ender, second pair plus open ender, and strong flush draws with overcards can bet and barrel for value and fold equity. These hands win big pots against opponents who overvalue bare top pair.
Respect fast action on paired boards
Trips and boats arrive more often. If you face large raises on paired textures, continue with nutted trips, strong full houses, or nut flush draws when the flush outranks the full house at your table. Fold marginal made hands and live to fight a better spot.
Postflop lines that keep money flowing your way
Think in terms of how your hand will look on the next street rather than only the current strength.
Flop
- Bet small on dynamic textures with hands that benefit from protection such as top pair decent kicker and strong draws.
- Check back medium strength hands without clean backdoors when ranges are strong, especially out of position.
Turn
- Barrel more when your equity improves. Any card that adds a gutshot, open ender, overcard, or flush draw is a green light to continue.
- When the turn bricks and you are called on the flop by a sticky player, slow down unless you can credibly represent a nutted range.
River
- Value bet thin in position when draws miss and your range has obvious top pair and overpair advantage.
- Bluff with ace high blockers and missed backdoor flush draws in spots where your story makes sense. Choose hands that remove the likely calls from your opponent.
Simple heuristics for common spots
Limped pots in early position
With J J or Q Q in early position, over limp more often than you raise. You avoid isolating against trapped premiums and you keep dominated pairs in the pot. On safe boards value bet across streets rather than building a preflop war that you cannot control.
Multi limped pot from the cutoff
Holding J T suited on Q T 8 with one suit, your hand has second pair and an open ender. Bet small for protection and value. If raised, call and reevaluate turns that add equity such as 9 K A or a card of your suit.
Single raise pot out of position
With A Q suited on K 9 6 rainbow, check call small. Your overcard and backdoor straight lines keep you live. If the turn brings a ten or jack, you now pick up equity and can start applying pressure.
Three bet pot in position
With A K suited on 9 7 3 two tone, small continuation bet works well. Many pairs will call once then fold to turn pressure when you pick up either overcard connectivity or a flush draw. If the turn pairs the board and bricks your equity, check back and realize.
Short Deck starting guide
When in doubt, this template keeps you disciplined.
- Early position
Over limp pocket pairs 9 9 through A A, suited aces, broadway suited connectors. Raise your strongest hands for value to avoid a table of limpers seeing a free flop.
- Middle position
Add more suited connectors and suited aces. Raise a little more when you have a position on many limpers.
- Cutoff and button
Attack wide limp fields with raises when you hold suited broadways, pocket pairs, and strong suited aces. In position, you can isolate more often and play pots that favor you.
- Small blind
Avoid building massive pots with dominated hands. Complete more often when the price is good and the pot is multiway.
- Big blind or button ante defender
Defend suited hands and gappers that can make the nuts. Fold disconnected offsuit hands that will face pressure across streets.
Frequent leaks to fix this week
- Treating Short Deck like a full deck. If you continuation bet every ace high flop and call the river with bare top pair, you will bleed.
- Raising every limp from early seats. Save the heat for late position and for hands that love isolation.
- Overvaluing low flushes when the flush outranks the full house at your table. Aim for nut or near nut suits when stacks go in.
- Ignoring the ranking order. Confirm it before you start. One rule flip can change your best river action.
Table selection and learning loop
Select tables where players often limp and show down weak top pairs. Those games let you realize the plan above with little resistance. Track a few hands after each session. Ask yourself simple questions
– Did I bloat pots out of position with hands that needed to realize
– Did I barrel turns that actually improved my equity
– Did I bet thinly enough in position when draws missed?
Bring these hands to the Bluffing Monkeys community and we will break them down together. For more ways to boost your bankroll, check our best no deposit poker bonuses.
Conclusion
Short Deck rewards calm structure and clarity. You now know how antes shape the action, why limping belongs in your toolkit, which boards to attack, and where to slow down. Ready to put this into practice? Start playing with us here and join the Bluffing Monkeys community for friendly tables and real-game analysis.
