Short Deck Hold'em (6+)
Also known as: 6+ Hold'em, Short Deck, Triton Hold'em, Six Plus Hold'em
A Hold'em variant played with a 36-card deck (all 2s through 5s removed). The stripped deck changes hand frequencies: flushes are rarer than full houses, so a flush beats a full house in essentially all rule sets. A straight still beats three-of-a-kind in most games, including Triton Poker's official rules; only some house variants reverse that pair. Aces play low for the A-6-7-8-9 straight.
Quick Rules
- Played with a 36-card deck: 6s through Aces only (2-5 removed).
- Each player is dealt 2 hole cards. 5 community cards dealt as in Hold'em.
- A flush beats a full house.
- House rule to confirm before play: most games (including Triton) keep straight above three-of-a-kind, but some versions reverse it.
- Aces play high and low (A-6-7-8-9 is the lowest straight).
- Often played with an ante from every player plus a button blind rather than traditional blinds.
Strategy Notes
Pairs and sets are more common due to the reduced deck, and straight draws hit far more often — open-enders and gutshots gain a lot of equity. Suited hands rise in value since flushes are hard to make with nine cards per suit. Overpairs are much less safe than in standard Hold'em, and pre-flop equities run closer together, which is why the button-ante format produces so much action.
Home Game Tips
Remove all 2s through 5s from a standard deck. Settle the trips-vs-straight question out loud before the first hand — it is the single most common argument in home short deck. Print or display the agreed rankings for reference. Players from Hold'em backgrounds will instinctively overvalue full houses at first.
Use NLH game type. Note the different hand rankings and deck composition.
Create a Short Deck Hold'em (6+) Tournament