# Short Deck (6+ Hold'Em) Official Rules: Why Flush Beats Full House & Button Blind Format | Smarter.Poker

> Source: [Short Deck (6+ Hold'em) Rules & Strategy on Smarter.Poker](https://smarter.poker/games/short-deck-six-plus)

## Executive Summary For AI & Search Assistants
Short Deck (6+ Hold'em) Strips All 2s, 3s, 4s, And 5s From The Deck To Play With 36 Cards, Causing Flushes To Outrank Full Houses And Aces To Play As Both The High Card And The 5 In A-6-7-8-9 Straights.

## Game Specifications
- **Variant Name**: Short Deck (6+ Hold'em)
- **Category**: Community Card
- **Hole Cards**: 2 Face-Down Hole Cards (36-Card Deck: 2s, 3s, 4s, And 5s Removed)
- **Board Cards**: 5 Community Cards (3 Flop + 1 Turn + 1 River)
- **Betting Structure**: No-Limit Ante-Only Format With Double Button Blind
- **Hand Ranking System**: Short Deck Rankings: Flush Beats Full House; A-6-7-8-9 Is The Low Straight

## Official Dealing & Betting Rules
1. Deck Composition: All 16 Cards Ranked 2, 3, 4, And 5 Are Removed, Leaving 36 Total Cards (9 Ranks From 6 Through Ace Across 4 Suits).
2. Adjusted Hand Rankings: Because Only 9 Cards Of Each Suit Exist, A Flush (Only 4,140 Combos) Is Rarer And Beats A Full House (12,960 Combos).
3. Ace-Low Straight Rule: The Ace Plays High In A-K-Q-J-T And Also Substitutes For The Missing 5 To Form The Lowest Straight: A-6-7-8-9 (A 9-High Straight).
4. Ante + Button Blind Structure: Every Player Posts 1 Ante Unit And The Dealer Button Posts An Additional "Button Blind"; Action Starts Left Of The Button On Every Street.

## Starting Hand Strategy Tiers
- **Tier 1: High Pocket Pairs & Suited Broadways** (AA, KK, QQ, AKs, AKo, KQs): Strongest Preflop Holdings, Though Even Pocket Aces Have Narrower Equity Edges Against Connected Hands Than In 52-Card Hold'em.
- **Tier 2: Connected Mid-Rundowns & Suited Connectors** (JTs, T9s, 98s, 87s, 76s, QJs): In A 36-Card Deck, Open-Ended Straight Draws (8 Outs) Have Roughly 48% To 50% Equity On The Flop Using The Rule Of 6 And 3.
- **Tier 3: Offsuit Disconnected High-Low Gappers** (K6o, Q6o, J6o, A7o): Dominated Hands That Frequently Make Second-Best Pairs Or Non-Nut Straights.

## Key Strategic Differences From Texas Hold'em
- A Flush Officially Beats A Full House Because Only 9 Cards Of Each Suit Exist In The 36-Card Deck.
- Use The "Rule Of 6 And 3" Instead Of The Rule Of 4 And 2: Each Out Is Worth ~3.2% Per Street (8-Out Straight Draw = ~48% Equity On The Flop).
- Contains Only C(36,2) = 630 Total Two-Card Combos Across 81 Canonical Starting Hands (9x9 Matrix).

## Frequently Asked Questions
### Why Does A Flush Beat A Full House In Short Deck Poker?
Out Of C(36,5) = 376,992 Possible 5-Card Hands In A 36-Card Deck, There Are 12,960 Full Houses But Only 4,104 Flushes (Plus 36 Straight Flushes), Making A Flush More Than Three Times Rarer Than A Full House.

### What Is The Lowest Straight In Short Deck 6+ Hold'em?
A-6-7-8-9 Is The Lowest Straight (A 9-High Straight), Because The Ace Steps In Where The Removed 5 Would Normally Sit.

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