Short Deck

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Odds

Examining preflop equities is important not only for analyzing dramatic all-in confrontations; preflop is just like any other street in terms of opportunity to collect value from your opponents. As previously mentioned, equities run a lot closer in Short Deck, however, it is still highly beneficial to look at several matchups and see if we can glean any relevant and useful information.

In Short Deck there are more ties and split pots when two players share a common card. For example, A-K in a matchup versus A-Q suited will win 58 perent, lose 32 percent, and tie 10 percent of the time. In order to present the most useful displays the ties are split and allocated equally to the various equities. Thus, in this example, A-K is displayed as a 63:37 favorite over A-Q suited. When effective stacks of $1,000 go all in preflop, on average A-K will get $630 back in addition to any dead money in the pot.

A-K is a good hand to examine first because in Short Deck, as in regular hold’em, it is a holding that often prefers to be all-in before the flop. Unless a player is making a massive overbet that will usually only be called by A-A or K-K; A-K benefits greatly from seeing all five board cards which allows the holding to fully realize its equity.

Some results for A-K offsuit are as follows:

While Short Deck poker is a newfound phenomenon in North America and Europe, Short Deck poker (also known as Six Plus Holdem or 6+ Holdem) has been a popular staple of high-stakes poker games in Asia for much longer.

Short deck poker hand rankingShort

AK vs Short Deck Full Deck
Win Lose Win Lose
AA 15% 85% 7% 93%
KK 44% 56% 31% 70%
QQ 52% 48% 43% 57%
1010 50% 50% 43% 57%
88 55% 45% 44% 56%
AQs 63% 37% 70% 30%
AJ 64% 36% 73% 28%
A9s 60% 40% 70% 30%
J10s 50% 50% 59% 41%
J10 52% 48% 63% 37%
QJs 55% 45% 61% 39%
98s 54% 46% 59% 41%
K10s 60% 40% 69% 31%
J6o 64% 36% 67% 33%

The most surprising result here is that A-K is only a 44 percent underdog to K-K, which is approximately its all-in win percentage over Q-Q in Full Deck. It’s a confrontation that is often referred to as the “classic coin flip.”

  • Short deck definition is - a pack of cards having fewer than the prescribed number.
  • Short Deck Overview Short Deck is an increasingly popular variation of poker which uses just 36 cards. The game plays similarly to Texas Hold’em, however the reduced deck opens up.

A-K versus 10-10 in Short Deck is a true 50:50 coin flip. Pocket tens is the pocket pair that fares the best against A-K because it blocks A-K from many Broadway straights, and with the truncated deck it will make a larger amount of straights on its own. A-K is a favorite over any other pocket pair where in hold’em it would be an underdog.

A-K versus J-10 suited is another true coin flip situation. Notice when compared with Full Deck that the value of being suited is approximately 2 equity points (50 percent less when compared to Full Deck) due to the increased difficulty in hitting flushes.

A-K is either a coin flip or a favorite against any hand other than A-A or K-K, and card removal effects help block these holdings, thus it is very effective as an all-in bet when effective stacks are not that deep. This has led some to surmise that Short Deck may possibly evolve to a pot-limit game in the future.

Now let’s move onto A-A:
AA vs Short Deck Full Deck
Win Lose Win Lose
KK 75% 25% 81% 19%
QQ 74% 26% 81% 19%
88 73% 27% 80% 20%
AQs 80% 20% 87% 13%
A10 80% 20% 92% 8%
J10s 63% 37% 77% 23%
98s 64% 36% 77% 23%
J6 78% 22% 88% 12%

Pockets aces is still a sizeable favorite over any other pair. J-10 suited and 9-8 suited are the hands with the best chance to crack aces due to their ability to make many straights and the occasional flush.

Now for K-K:

Short Deck

KK vs Short Deck Full Deck
Win Lose Win Lose
QQ 75% 25% 82% 18%
88 73% 27% 80% 20%
AQs 56% 44% 68% 32%
A10 58% 42% 70% 30%
J10s 67% 33% 79% 21%

As expected, pocket kings are also a big favorite over lower pairs, however, its expectation against ace-high hands are dramatically reduced when compared with hold’em. However, it is noteworthy that K-K fares better against connectors such as J-10 because it holds two blockers against a possible straight. Blockers hold significantly more value in Short Deck; Q-Q is a 70:30 favorite over the J-10 suited because it holds two straight blockers.

Let’s shift gears and examine how some of the premium connectors, J-10 and 9-8 suited, fare in all-in situations preflop.

Short Deck Hold'em

JT vs Short Deck Full Deck
Win Lose Win Lose
AA 38% 62% 23% 77%
KK 33% 67% 21% 79%
QQ 28% 72% 15% 85%
99 58% 42% 46% 54%
88 60% 40% 46% 54%
AK 48% 52% 37% 63%
AQ 48% 52% 37% 63%
A10 42% 58% 30% 70%
KJ 39% 61% 28% 72%
QJ 38% 62% 38% 62%
109 62% 38% 74% 26%
108 65% 35% 74% 26%
98 60% 40% 66% 34%
98s vs Short Deck Full Deck
Win Lose Win Lose
AA 36% 64% 23% 77%
KK 38% 62% 23% 77%
QQ 37% 63% 22% 78%
AK 46% 54% 41% 59%
A10 49% 51% 41% 59%
QJ 45% 55% 40% 60%

As you may have noticed, neither hand performs that well against a range of A-A, K-K, and A-K that will almost certainly call an all-in bet. When you hold J-10, the Q-J is also a hand to be concerned about as it dominates your holding in regards to pairing the jack as well as blocking one of the straight cards.

All things considered the 9-8 suited appears to fare better against a premium range than J-10. This is potentially something to keep in mind if you choose to develop some form of limp re-raising strategy into your game.

For example, in the ante-only structure if there are several limps and a ton of money in the pot an aggressive opponent may be enticed to make a large raise to pick it all up. A large raise is often polarized to include premium holdings that may be hard to play multi-way or junk hands that have little value.

If we are employing a limp only strategy, limp re-raising with 9-8 suited can be a viable play if there is a reasonable chance the button is just making a play at the pot. Stack sizes are important here, if he has room to fold it’s more likely he is polarized, however you don’t want stacks that are too deep otherwise you will be punished when he is at the top of his range. But keep in mind you are 36 percent versus A-A and there is always a good deal of dead money in the pot.

Finally, let’s examine how a mediocre ace-high hand performs against a variety of different holdings:

A9 vs Short Deck Full Deck
Win Lose Win Lose
AA 19% 81% 7% 93%
KK 43% 57% 28% 72%
AK 36% 64% 26% 74%
QJ 48% 52% 58% 42%
J10s 43% 57% 53% 47%
K10 50% 50% 59% 41%
108 53% 47% 61% 39%
J8 56% 44% 63% 37%
A7 58% 42% 70% 30%

When you are short stacked with few players left to act it is still sound strategy to push with A-9 in order to try and pick up the blinds and antes as your equity against pairs and dominated hands that would call is slightly better than with a full deck. However, you should play slightly tighter facing all-in bets as your equity against a broader pushing range would tend to be lower.

Next issue we begin to look at some of the more common post-flop situations and the equities associated with them. ♠

Kevin Haney is a former actuary of MetLife but left the corporate job to focus on his passions for poker and fitness. He is co-owner of Elite Fitness Club in Oceanport, NJ and is a certified personal trainer. With regards to poker he got his start way back in 2003 and particularly enjoys taking new players interested in mixed games under his wing and quickly making them proficient in all variants. His new mixed-games website Counting Outs is a great starting resource for a plethora of games ranging from the traditional to the exotic. He can be reached at haneyk612@gmail.com.

Rules of the Game

Short Deck Hold’em is simply No Limit Hold’em played with a thirty-six card deck where the twos, threes, fours, and fives have been eliminated. This effectively ends the all too often stretches of always looking at complete duds like nine-deuce off suit and the like. Jack-six off suit is the Seven-deuce off suit of Short Deck and has few exciting possibilities; however, the odds are greater that you will get dealt hands with potential. Equities run much closer in the game and an ante only structure that frequently accompanies the game provides the impetus for a ton of action.

Short

Another very unique aspect of this game is that the aces are also considered low. In other words, A6789 is the new wheel. Be very mindful of this aspect at all times as not to misread your hand and/or potentially not fully consider a powerful holding that your opponent may have. When you are new to the game it is helpful to constantly remind yourself that aces are fives.

The use of a short-deck also changes some of the traditional hand rankings because flushes are now mathematically more difficult to make than full houses and trips are made less frequently than straights. In all variations currently played flushes beat full houses but the rules vary on whether or not trips beat straights.

In Asia and the high-roller tournaments the rules stipulate that a straight still beats three of a kind and is typically played as an ante-only structure. This version is often referred to as either Short Deck Hold’em or Triton Poker and is action packed because connecting cards are very valuable and the structure often encourages large multi-way pots.

In the ante only structure everyone antes, however the button is forced to make a double ante. The pre-flop action starts to the left of the button and that person has the option to fold, put in one more ante, or raise to any amount they wish. Each person in turn then has the option to fold, match the current bet, or raise or re-raise.

Short Deck is also sometimes played with the conventional blinds and most often in these games trips beat straights. This structure and rules is most often referred to as Six Plus Hold’em and is the version now spread by some online sites. However, recently PokerStars has introduced an online version where straights do beat trips and are marketing it as Six Plus Hold’em so don’t get confused. The first rule of poker is to know the rules!

Basic Strategy

Short Deck Hold’em utilizes a very unique structure that helps facilitate action while also allowing for a multitude of different yet successful strategies for the opening round of betting.

In the ante only structure everyone except the button antes once while the button is forced to make a double ante. The pre-flop action starts to the left of the button and that person has the option to fold, put in one more ante, or raise to any amount they wish. Each person in turn then has the option to fold, match the current bet, or raise or re-raise. The first person to limp is getting a tremendous 7 to 1 on their money while the odds and position get better for each player in succession.

With the truncated deck you are more likely to dealt be good hands; you are slightly more than twice as likely to be dealt aces or any other particular hand. Sets are flopped more often. In Hold’em your odds of flopping a set are approximately 12% whereas in Short Deck it is around 18%.

Short Deck Hand Rankings

Flopped straights are much more common, any hand capable is typically more than three times as likely in Short Deck. For example, JT has a 1.2% probability in Hold’em but has 4.2% chance in Short Deck. In Hold’em an eight out draw has around a 31.4% probability coming in, however in Short Deck it is 45.6%.

Short Deck Odds Calculator

Flushes are harder to hit because four flush cards have been removed from the deck. Flush draws now only have five outs instead of nine thus they are harder to hit and are ranked higher than full houses.

Position is much more desired in Short Deck due to the fact that equities run much closer and turns and rivers are scarier as the deuces and other blanks are taken out of the deck. In essence most flops are “wet” in that future board cards will often present possible strong holdings and if not will usually improve your opponent one way or another. In Short Deck by the river the board will either be paired or there will be at least one straight possible.

Short Deck Holdem

Further Learning

Short Deck Cash Game

Check out Upswing Poker’s Short Deck Mastery course from Kane Kalas.