Six Plus (Short Deck) Hold'em
With 36 cards, strong hands come more often. A flush becomes rarer than a full house, so it ranks higher, and in many rule sets three of a kind beats a straight. The ace can count low to make A-6-7-8-9.
- Hand values run closer, so draws are stronger than in standard Hold'em.
- Pairs improve less often; play fewer small pairs.
- Check the ranking table at every site, as rules differ.
Fast-fold poker
You fold and immediately get a new hand at a new table with new opponents. Hands per hour can be several times higher than at a normal table, so the same edge, good or bad, works faster. Reads on individual players matter less; a solid starting-hand range matters more.
Casino poker against the house
Games such as Casino Hold'em, Caribbean Stud and Three Card Poker are dealt against the dealer with a fixed paytable. Your decisions matter, but the edge stays with the casino: around 2% for Casino Hold'em played well and higher on most side bets.
Adjust before you scale up
- Play the new variant at the lowest stakes for a few hundred hands.
- Keep a separate record for it, as your results in standard Hold'em do not carry over.
- Use a bankroll of 20 to 50 buy-ins for cash games, so a normal downswing does not end your session.
- Take breaks; fast formats tire you quicker than you notice.
Our poker tips for new players cover hand rankings and position.