Six Plus Hold'em (short deck)
Six Plus Hold'em is played with a 36-card deck: every 2, 3, 4 and 5 is removed. With fewer cards, big hands come more often and the rankings change. A flush beats a full house because it is harder to make, and in the most common rule set three of a kind also beats a straight.
- Value pairs and suited high cards more; low connectors are gone.
- Expect strong hands from opponents more often than in normal Hold'em.
- An ace can still make the lowest straight, A-6-7-8-9.
- Swings are bigger, so keep stakes lower until you know the game.
Fast-fold poker
In fast-fold poker you join a pool of players and move to a new table the moment you fold. You see two to three times as many hands an hour, which also means your losses per hour grow if you play the same way as at a normal table.
- Play a tighter range of starting hands.
- Reads on individual opponents are rare; play the hand, not the player.
- Set a session time limit, because the pace makes it easy to lose track.
Casino poker is a different game
Many new casinos have no poker room with other players at all. What they offer is casino poker: Casino Hold'em, Three Card Poker, Caribbean Stud and live versions from studios such as Evolution. There you play against the house with a fixed paytable and a built-in edge, so bluffing and reading players play no part. Our new poker casinos page shows which casinos carry these tables.
How to learn any new format
- Read the rules page and the hand ranking for the variant before your first hand.
- Play free or micro-stakes tables first.
- Review your hands after a session rather than during it.
- Stop after a loss you set in advance, whatever the format.