Have you already tried the popular new variation of poker, Short Deck Poker!? Gamblers are always coming up with new variations of Poker to spice things up and make the game more interesting. In 2018, we saw a huge rise in popularity of the Short Deck Poker game.
Short Deck Poker is a variant of No Limit Texas Hold’Em. The main difference is that the deck only contains 36 cards. All the twos, threes, fours and fives are taken out. Since this changes hand probabilities, a flush is ranked above a full house. Also, the lowest straight is A6578.
These small changes make the game a lot more exciting. The best part is that you can’t start with 7,2! Everyone is battling with strong hands, and it is a lot easier to connect with the flop.
New Game, New Opportunity
The rise of Short Deck Poker, or any new poker variant, is an exciting time for poker enthusiasts. Games like Texas Hold’Em and Pot Limit Omaha have been popular for decades. This means that players have been studying these games inside and out for years.
At this point, there is a huge amount of resources on the web for mastering these games. As a result, finding an edge and being a profitable player is very difficult. On the other hand, Short Deck Poker is a completely new game. There are almost no resources or study material. Players are learning as they go. If you put some effort in, you can dominate the competition!
High Rollers Playing Short Deck Poker
In May 2018, the Triton High Roller Series included Short Deck Poker in their list of events. Players such as Phil Ivey and Tom Dwan were paying $128,000 to buy in for Triton’s Short Deck tournament.
The event had a total of 103 entrants, and Jason Koon took home $3.6 million after winning the event. This got a ton of publicity, and resulted in demand for Short Deck Poker from average players.
Short Deck on the PokerBros App
In December of 2018, PokerBros introduced Short Deck Poker on their popular app. It is available now in a cash game format, and all games are played with an Ante. Besides PokerBros, this poker version was also adopted by PokerStars and other big poker platforms.
Players are sitting down at these tables with no Short Deck experience, excited to try the new game. Understandably, they are making tons of mistakes. They are not used to the new rules and are unfamiliar with strategy. This creates a great opportunity to win their money! Studying this game is the ticket to months or years of easy profit.
Short Deck Strategy
We will get you started on your journey to Short Deck Poker domination by giving you some tips. Consider these tips as food for thought, and develop your own winning strategy!
1. Suited hands have a lot more value!
A flush beats a full house, which many players are not used to. Hitting a flush is a great opportunity to take down a huge pot. Naturally, this means that unsuited hands have less value. Be careful with pocket pairs and unsuited connectors. Although you might hit a strong hand, there is a good chance that it won’t be the nuts.
2. Don’t overvalue your hand on the flop!
A flush beats a full house, which many players are not used to. Hitting a flush is a great opportunity to take down a huge pot. Naturally, this means that unsuited hands have less value. Be careful with pocket pairs and unsuited connectors. Although you might hit a strong hand, there is a good chance that it won’t be the nuts.
3. Don’t play too many hands.
Since all of the starting hands seem strong compared to regular No Limit Texas Hold’Em, you might be tempted to play most of your hands. However, you should re-adjust your hand rankings, and only play the top of your range.
Stick mainly to strong pocket pairs and suited connectors. Play these hands aggressively and you will win a lot of money! In general, most players have a higher VPIP when playing Short Deck. Take advantage of this weakness.
Where to Find the Best Short Hand Poker Games
In our opinion, the best place to play Short Deck Poker is on the PokerBros app. The competition on this app is already soft, and the Short Deck competition is even softer. To see which clubs we are partnered with, please visit this page. These clubs have short deck poker tables running constantly, at low and high stakes. After getting a good understanding of the game, you can jump onto these tables and crush.
