Short Deck Hold'em (also known as 6+ Hold'em) is Texas Hold'em played with a 36-card deck — the 2s, 3s, 4s, and 5s are removed, leaving only 6 through Ace. This dramatically changes hand frequencies and requires modified hand rankings. Ace can still play as high, and it can also play as low in a 6-7-8-9-A straight (the "Short Deck wheel"), making a 9-high straight. With 36 cards, flushes are harder to make than full houses, so flushes rank above full houses.
Short Deck: 36 Cards
Cards 6 through Ace in each suit — the 2s, 3s, 4s, and 5s are removed from a standard 52-card deck, leaving 36 cards.
Modified Hand Rankings (High to Low)
Royal Flush
Straight Flush
Four of a Kind
Flush ← ranks ABOVE Full House
Full House
Three of a Kind
Straight ← ranks BELOW Three of a Kind (primary variant)
Two Pair
One Pair
High Card
Watch a Sample Hand
Watch how a flush beats three-of-a-kind — and why suited hands are so powerful in Short Deck!
POT: $30
YOU (Hero)
WINNER!
Player 2
Player 3
Ready to Deal
Press Next Step to begin dealing the sample hand.
Step 0 of 9
Key Rules
36-card deck — no 2s, 3s, 4s, or 5s
Standard Hold'em betting: pre-flop, flop, turn, river
Flush beats Full House (flushes are harder to make in a 36-card deck)
Three of a Kind beats Straight (primary variant; some tables reverse this)
A-6-7-8-9 is the lowest possible straight (Ace plays low as a "6" — the Short Deck wheel)
Best 5-card hand from 2 hole cards + 5 community cards
Why the Rankings Change
In a 52-card deck, flushes (5 of one suit) are rarer than full houses (3+2 of two ranks), so full houses rank higher. In the 36-card Short Deck, however, there are far fewer cards per suit — making flushes harder to hit than full houses. The rankings are adjusted to reflect actual hand frequencies: harder-to-make hands rank higher.
Strategy Notes
Suited hole cards become extremely valuable — flushes rank above full houses, so chasing a flush is rewarded
Pocket pairs connect to sets more often (fewer cards between ranks, so the board hits more often)
Straight draws are harder to complete — with cards 2–5 removed, many straight combinations no longer exist
Four of a Kind is more common than in regular Hold'em (36 cards, so any given rank appears less often relative to the deck size)
Be cautious with full houses — an opponent with a flush beats you in this game
The Short Deck Wheel
A-6-7-8-9 is a valid straight (the Ace plays as low, filling in for the missing "5"). This is the lowest straight possible in Short Deck Hold'em — analogous to the A-2-3-4-5 "wheel" in regular Hold'em.
