The Polish online poker market continues to expand, with more players turning to internationally licensed sites that offer a full range of formats. Short deck is now a standard offering on many of these platforms, available in both cash game and tournament lobbies. This guide covers everything you need to get started: rules, hand rankings, key differences from Texas Hold’em, and practical strategy tips.
Short deck poker is a variant of Texas Hold’em played with a 36-card deck. All twos, threes, fours, and fives are removed before the game begins, making six the lowest card in play. The format is also known as Six Plus Hold’em or 6+ Hold’em – you will see all three names used interchangeably on online platforms.
The deal structure is identical to Texas Hold’em: each player receives two hole cards, and five community cards are dealt across the flop, turn, and river. Players build the best five-card hand from any combination of their hole cards and the board.
The game originated in Asia – particularly in Macau, Hong Kong, and Manila – where it became popular among high-stakes players. In 2015, Phil Ivey and Tom Dwan brought it to wider international attention. Poker short deck reached a milestone in 2019 when it was added to the World Series of Poker schedule, confirming its status as a mainstream format.
The table below summarises the most important differences Polish players should know before sitting down at a short deck table:
| Feature | Texas Hold’em | Short Deck Hold’em |
| Deck size | 52 cards | 36 cards (2–5 removed) |
| Lowest card | 2 | 6 |
| Betting structure | Small blind + big blind | Ante from all players; button posts double ante or blind |
| Lowest straight | A-2-3-4-5 | A-6-7-8-9 |
| Flush vs full house | Full house beats flush | Flush beats full house |
| Hand frequency | Standard | Strong hands appear more often |
One detail worth noting: the ace plays both high and low in straights. In short deck, the lowest possible straight is A-6-7-8-9 (ace acting as the low card), while the highest is A-K-Q-J-10. This mirrors how the ace functions in standard Hold’em, just with a different low end.
The core short deck poker rules follow the same sequence as Texas Hold’em – preflop, flop, turn, river, showdown – but the betting structure differs. Most short deck games use an ante-only format instead of traditional blinds:
From there, the hand plays out identically to Texas Hold’em: three community cards on the flop, one on the turn, one on the river, with betting rounds after each. The player with the best five-card hand at showdown wins the pot.
Betting rules – including options to check, bet, call, raise, or fold – are the same as in standard Hold’em. Pot-limit and no-limit structures are both common in short deck, with no-limit being the more widely available format online.
Note: exact rules can vary slightly between platforms. Polish players should check the specific table rules before playing, particularly regarding the button ante structure and any platform-specific hand ranking conventions.
The short deck poker hand rankings differ from Texas Hold’em in two critical positions. Switching from Texas Hold’em to poker short deck without knowing these changes can lead to costly mistakes at showdown.
The two key changes:
Full hand rankings from strongest to weakest ( = changed from standard Hold’em):*
| Rank | Hand | Example |
| 1 | Royal Flush | A♠ K♠ Q♠ J♠ 10♠ |
| 2 | Straight Flush | 9♥ 8♥ 7♥ 6♥ A♥ |
| 3 | Four of a Kind | K♠ K♦ K♥ K♣ 9♦ |
| 4 | Flush* | A♠ J♠ 9♠ 8♠ 6♠ |
| 5 | Full House* | Q♠ Q♦ Q♥ 9♣ 9♦ |
| 6 | Three of a Kind* | 8♠ 8♦ 8♥ K♣ 9♦ |
| 7 | Straight* | J♠ 10♦ 9♥ 8♣ 7♦ |
| 8 | Two Pair | A♠ A♦ K♥ K♣ 9♦ |
| 9 | One Pair | J♠ J♦ A♥ K♣ 9♦ |
| 10 | High Card | A♠ Q♦ 10♥ 8♣ 6♦ |
Positions marked with an asterisk differ from standard Texas Hold’em rankings. Polish players coming from a Texas Hold’em background should pay particular attention to the flush/full house swap – treating a full house as the stronger hand is one of the most common errors in short deck.
Effective short deck poker strategy builds on Texas Hold’em fundamentals but requires specific adjustments. Here are the four areas that matter most for poker short deck play:
Starting hand selection. High suited connectors and broadway cards (10-J-Q-K-A) gain value in short deck because they connect more frequently with a compressed board. Suited holdings are slightly less valuable than in Texas Hold’em due to fewer flush combinations, but high-card connectivity is strong. Low pocket pairs lose value relative to standard Hold’em – they hit sets at similar rates but face more competition from straights and flushes on the board.
Postflop aggression. Passive play is penalised in short deck. Because players hit strong hands more often – sets, straights, and two pairs are more frequent – checking or calling with strong holdings gives opponents cheap opportunities to outdraw you. Protecting made hands with significant bets is the correct default.
Semi-bluffing with draws. Draw equity runs high in short deck – a player with an open-ended straight draw or flush draw has strong odds to complete by the river. Semi-bluffing with these holdings (betting or raising with a draw) puts pressure on opponents while retaining the ability to win at showdown if the draw completes.
Position. Positional advantage is as important in short deck as in any other form of poker. Acting last on each street gives you more information and more control over pot size. Playing wider in position and tighter out of position remains a sound baseline approach.
One general note: oversized bets and overbets are common in short deck and should not be treated as unusual or suspicious. Adjust your calling ranges accordingly.
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