Short Deck Poker Tournaments

The Rules in Short

• The deck: 36 cards, from sixes to aces.
• The deal and the betting: as in hold'em: two hole cards, five community cards, four betting rounds. Tournaments are often played with antes only, sometimes with a button blind.
• The ace: it can also play low in the straight A-6-7-8-9.

Hand Rankings

With fewer cards of each suit, a flush is harder to make than a full house, so in short deck a flush beats a full house. Many rule sets also rank three of a kind above a straight. The rules can differ from one organizer to another, so check the house rules before you play.

How Short Deck Differs from Hold'em

Hands run closer together before the flop, and straights and sets come far more often. Draws have fewer outs but hit more, so the game is fast and action-heavy, which made it popular in high-stakes games in Asia.

Short Deck Tournaments in Asia

Short deck events appear mainly at the large international series in the region, often as high roller events. The lists on this page come from our festival database.