Short Deck (6+ Hold'em) against standard Texas Hold'em — every difference, side by side.
Highlighted rows are the differences
| Item | Standard Hold'em | Short Deck (6+) |
|---|---|---|
| Deck size | 52 cards | 36 cards |
| Ranks | 2–A (13 ranks) | 6–A (9 ranks) |
| Removed cards | None | 2, 3, 4, 5 (16 cards) |
| Flush vs full house | Full house is higher | Flush is higher |
| Straight vs three of a kind | Straight is higher | Straight is higher (same) |
| Lowest straight (wheel) | A-2-3-4-5 (5 high) | A-6-7-8-9 (9 high) |
| Role of the ace | Highest, or low in the wheel | Highest; also lowest (A-6-7-8-9) |
| Odds of being dealt AA | ≈ 0.45% (1 in 221) | ≈ 0.95% (1 in 105) |
| Betting structure | Small / big blind | Usually ante from everyone + one extra on the button |
| Typical table size | 2–9 players | 2–6 players (2–3 is plenty, no need to fill a table) |
| Variance | Moderate | High — strong hands get cracked often |
Highest to lowest; highlighted rows differ from standard Hold'em
With the 5 removed, A-2-3-4-5 is impossible. The lowest straight is A-6-7-8-9, with the 9 playing high. The ace therefore does double duty:
Because the ace extends downward into straights, ace-high hands gain significant value in Short Deck. Small pairs and small suited connectors lose value — they simply have fewer straights available.
The direct consequences of a 36-card deck
Being dealt AA is 0.95% — about once every 105 hands, against 0.45% (once every 221 hands) in standard Hold'em. Every specific starting hand shows up more often.
You hold at least a pair by the flop 65.8% of the time (standard Hold'em: 49.3%), rising to 92.9% by the river. Straight draws appear on the flop 48% of the time rather than 31%. That is the main driver of the higher variance.
An open-ended straight draw against an overpair on the flop is close to a coin flip — the draw is actually a slight favourite at about 52%, a spot where it usually trails badly in standard Hold'em.
AA versus KK preflop narrows from 80 : 20 in standard Hold'em to roughly 65 : 35. Being ahead means much less — one pair is nowhere near as durable as you're used to.
Everything below a 6 is gone, so hands built around low cards lose most of their combinations.
These figures are computed exactly from combinatorics by this site; how they feel at the table varies with ante size and bet sizing.
Not strictly, but in practice almost all Short Deck games use an ante structure: everyone posts one ante each hand and there are no traditional blinds. Note that the button normally posts one extra (Triton calls it a double ante, PokerStars calls it the button blind) — that extra bet is what replaces the big blind. It guarantees a pot to contest on every hand and speeds the game up. A few sites still use blinds, so check before you sit down.
Thirty-six: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K, A in four suits. The 2s through 5s are removed.
Once the deck shrinks, assembling five cards of one suit (from nine per suit) becomes harder relative to making three of a kind plus a pair. Rankings follow difficulty, so the flush moves above the full house.
Two or three is plenty, and it stays fun. The ante structure means there's a pot to contest on every hand without needing a full table, and the high connection rate keeps short-handed games busy — every hand still gives you something to play and something to do. That's a big part of why Short Deck works so well for small home games.
The fundamentals carry over, but starting-hand values need reordering. See the beginner's guide for the strategic adjustments.
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Short Deck