Calculate Short Deck poker odds with 36 cards. Flush beats full house, A-6-7-8-9 is a valid straight.
Cards that improve your hand
Cards left to come
31 (flop) or 30 (turn) in 6+
Quick-start with common scenarios
Short Deck (6+) Hold'em removes all 2s, 3s, 4s, and 5s, leaving a 36-card deck. This dramatically changes hand equities and rankings.
Key Rule Change: Flush beats Full House because with only 9 cards per suit, flushes are mathematically harder to make. The A-6-7-8-9 straight (wheel) replaces A-2-3-4-5.
Strategic Adjustments: Flush draws are weaker (5 outs vs 9). Sets are more common (~17% vs ~12%). Connected hands gain value. Be careful with dominated hands as the deck is more connected overall.
Antes Structure: Short Deck often uses antes instead of blinds, creating more action and different positional dynamics.
With only 9 cards per suit instead of 13, flushes are mathematically harder to make than full houses. Hand rankings are adjusted to reflect true rarity. A flush in short deck has only 5 outs ($100 pots can be massive when flush draws hit).
In Short Deck, the Ace can play low to complete the lowest straight: A-6-7-8-9. Since there are no 2-5, this replaces A-2-3-4-5 as the wheel. The Ace still plays high for T-J-Q-K-A.
With 36 cards instead of 52, pocket pairs flop sets approximately 17% of the time (vs. 12% in regular Hold'em). This makes playing big pairs more volatile and tricky.
1) Value flush draws less (only 5 outs). 2) Be cautious with sets when flush possible. 3) Straights are more common due to connected board textures. 4) Big pairs are less dominant preflop.
AA is still best, followed by connected broadway cards (AK, KQ, QJ). Suited connectors like JTs, T9s gain value. Small pocket pairs lose value (can't flop straights with 2-5 gone).