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I’m not saying the game doesn’t still run. Of course it does. I’m sure you will still find high rollers willing to put up the big bucks to play some OFC, but the popularity and the stories just dried up. For a few years, at every WSOP there was buzz about the biggest OFC winners and losers. Media networks were making short videos about how to play the game, interviewing players, and sharing what was happening behind the scenes. For the past few years, however, it’s been almost impossible to find an interview or social media post about some degenerate OFC session.

So… what happened? Could it be that players just started looking for other thrills playing casino games at Vera & John and other sites? Possible, but that’s of course not the most likely reason. It appears to me two specific things happened that have caused the OFC light to fade away.

The Introduction of Short Deck Hold ‘Em

First, a new game came onto the scene in Short Deck Hold ‘Em. Short deck appears to have been born out of the Macau nosebleed games, with the likes of Tom Dwan and Paul Phua leading the charge. Short deck is simply NLH with the 2s through 5s removed. Also in Short Deck, a flush beats a full house. In this game, you are more likely to hit a full house, so a flopped set is great and straight draws come more often, so 10Js is a lot prettier in this game than in regular NLH. Much like OFC, the high roller scene grasped onto the new game. Massive short deck games started being streamed from the Triton High Roller scene, and the poker community latched on.

READ MORE: Top 3 Short Deck Hold’em Tips to Immediately Improve Your Play

Short Deck was newer than Open Face Chinese Poker, so naturally, people gravitated towards the new game. Also, the barrier to entry is much lower. There are no new rules to learn, as it plays just like NLH, except that most of the time it is an ante game with 1 blind instead of the typical 2 blind structure. But other than the ante difference and the full house and flush ranking switch, nothing else needed to be learned. Anyone who had ever played NLH could jump right into a Short Deck game, which attracted more fish than did OFC. With nobody needed to calculate the points, the game was easy to get going. As we all know from Rounders, the fish attract the sharks. With the relative ease of Short Deck, it is no wonder that OFC enthusiasm died down.

The Rise of Mixed Games

Another factor is the rise in mixed game popularity. Mixed games tend to draw high-stakes players who are tired of the grind of NLH or PLO. Big bet flop games are much more accessible to the masses, but the higher stakes players are more likely to prefer other poker variants where the equities run closer. Also, some newer games are making it into the mix such as the Badugi variants, Drawmaha, and Super Stud. By mixing up the traditional H.O.R.S.E rotation, more players moved into the mixed game scene and away from OFC. These large mixed games are running constantly in Vegas and Los Angeles, creating some stiff competition for OFC.

The above made me come across another question: why do high-stakes players look for new games?

It’s no surprise you have to be a great card player to make it to the nosebleeds. Even the non-professional poker playing businessmen are incredibly smart, as it is not easy to have a bank account big enough to play with five figures (or more) for fun. So these players do not have a large edge against one another, and when a true whale does sit down, the other players at the table are just competing to go against them. This doesn’t make for a very lucrative environment, as the poker knowledge is vast when it comes to NLH.

New games and mixed games offer an escape from these largely solved games. New games don’t have solvers, and it takes the best minds to quickly pick up on winning strategies. The mixed games have so many different variants that it is near impossible to be an expert in each, so there is a wider range of strategy and knowledge across players. Also, the newer games like OFC and Short Deck all share a commonality of closer equity.

For example, AA vs TJs preflop is 80/20 in NLH, where it is 66/33 in Short Deck. This is a huge equity shift, so players are incentivized to play more hands. Having wider ranges preflop is ALWAYS beneficial to the pros, so they will continue to seek out games with closer equity. This, of course, leads to greater variance, but in the long run, the crushers of the game will adapt and find winning strategies that their opponents do not have. Essentially, the less study information and knowledge are available for a game, the more advantage a good card player is going to have. Of course, the high roller pros are pushing new games.

This is how @IamDonCheadle does me on the river in Open Face Chinese Poker. #Case6 #FoulYouVeryMuch pic.twitter.com/O2JOjyb0cS

— Ali Nejad (@Ali_Nejad) January 14, 2014

While Open Face Chinese Poker is not a dead game, it is clear why its popularity has died down. As new games are invented, we will see more popularity swings, and the high rollers will be constantly finding new games to gain an edge in. This is great news to me as a mixed game player. I love seeing new poker variants come onto the scene. When OFC was at its height, I was playing anytime I found other low-stakes players to play. I have done the same with Short Deck, and I will do the same with the next great game that comes along.

In this section, we’ll be covering the following 10 games: Pot Limit Omaha, Omaha 8 or Better, Pot Limit Omaha 8 or Better, Big O, Limit Omaha, Double Board Omaha, Short Deck, Courchevel, Drawmaha, and S.H.O.P. (a.k.a., S.O.H.E.)

Also, be sure to check out our other Mixed Games Poker Guide articles on Stud Games and Draw Games.

THE OMAHA FAMILY

Omaha almost needs it’s own section among flop games since there are so many varieties. So, we’ll be treating it as such, with the two most popular versions, Pot Limit Omaha and Omaha 8 or Better getting the majority of the stroke, with all its variations following.

Pot Limit Omaha

After No Limit Hold ‘em, Pot Limit Omaha (PLO) is the most widespread game in poker rooms. If you ever feel like changing things up and taking a break from the 2-card game, PLO is a natural transition.

The rules are virtually identical to Hold ‘em, with the key difference of course being the four cards you are dealt instead of two. Players must use two (and only two) cards in their hand along with the five community cards to make their hand. That ace of spades in your hand along with the four spades on the board? Useless, except as a great bluff card! (More on that, below.)

The other key difference is that the maximum that can be bet on any street is the size of the pot (hence the name: Pot Limit Omaha), and that’s also the guideline for how to calculate pot odds, of course.

Other than that? Yup, same as Hold ‘em. That’s why there’s no need to be afraid of playing PLO. While strategies and hand strengths are impacted, the differences in the actual gameplay are quite minimal, and the added action and excitement provide a lot of appeal.

PLO Tip: Blockers, blockers, blockers!

Remember that ace of spades I just mentioned? Well, the concept of blockers really first gained steam from PLO before it became a part of No Limit Hold ‘em vernacular.

With wider ranges, and so many more possibilities to make hands based on your two extra hole cards, there is an added importance on making a truly premium hand. Small sets, low straights and weak flushes are all very vulnerable to being crushed by a player holding the nuts.

As such, if you hold the one key card that prevents your opponent from holding the nuts, who’s to say you don’t have the nuts?! If you have that nut card to the suit on a flush-y board, you can credibly represent holding that nut flush.

Bonus tip: Follow Joey Ingram on social media. There’s no bigger advocate for the “GREAT GAME OF POT LIMIT OMAHA”!

READ MORE: Interview with Joey Ingram

Limit Omaha 8 or Better

The next-most popular game in the Omaha family, Limit Omaha 8 or Better (O8) is a split pot game where players are also dealt four cards instead of two. At the conclusion of a hand, half the pot is awarded to the highest five-card hand, just like in Hold ‘em or Pot Limit Omaha, while half is also given to the lowest qualifying five card hand (the five cards must each be 8 or lower *better*). The goal, however, is to win both halves of the pot, known as “scooping”. If, however, there is no qualifying low hand, the best high hand is awarded the entire pot.

As in PLO, players must use two and only two of their cards at showdown for either side of the pot. For example, a player Holding A2KK on a board of 346KQ can use their two kings for the high, making three-of-a-kind, and then use their A2 to make 6432A for the nut low.

A player with A38K on a board of 2459K will use their A3 for both high and low, as along with the 245, they make a 5-high straight which is the nut high as well as the best possible low hand, a.k.a. the “wheel”.

“I have what’s known as the wheel. It’s got earthy tones a smooth draw and enough kick to win me the high and the low” Mike D #Rounders

— Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker) September 22, 2013

O8 Tip: A2 is your best friend but…

As mentioned, the goal of split pot games is to win both halves of the pot. Well, there are many ways to do it, but a lot of them can also potentially get you in trouble. Not all low hands are created equal. However, A2 is essentially the low version of pocket aces in O8. Pretty much any starting hand containing A2 is playable. If connected with two other low cards like A235, or if the ace is suited, or paired with a high pair like A2KK, A2 has huge potential to scoop a pot for you.

Once the flop falls, however, things can change drastically. If you hold a relatively naked A2 like Ah2s7c9s and the flop comes with no cards 8 or lower, your hand is essentially useless, since a qualifying low hand won’t be possible.

Your A2 can also be counterfeited if an ace or deuce hits the board, and you don’t have other low cards as backup. A2QQ on a K32 flop has a big problem. Unless two more low cards fall, you won’t have a low, and even then, you could be beaten by a better low. If the board does run out K3247, you now lose to A5 and A6, since you only have 7432A. As for the queens, they lose to any king, so they’re in danger, too.

Love your A2 but know that sometimes you have to let that love go.

So, if PLO and Limit O8 are the Mama and Papa of Omaha games, lets check out some of their wacky kids…

Pot Limit Omaha 8 or Better

The least wacky variant, it’s exactly what it says. A merger of PLO and Omaha 8 or Better.

PLO8 is likely the next most well-known version of Omaha, but it is tough to find a regular game anywhere live. However, it is widely available online.

Hands that play well in Limit O8 also play well in Pot Limit O8, but the importance of having a good 2-way hand is magnified by the fact that the pots can get much larger with pot limit betting as opposed to limit.

As such, strong high hands and low hands with backup (A2 with another good low card) rise further in value. The ability to put more pressure on your opponents with larger bet sizing can put marginal and drawing hands in precarious situations.

Of note, there is also a No Limit version of O8 online (NLO8), that is quite popular. The game structure is the same as limit or pot limit, but the betting is No Limit.

PLO8 Tip: Don’t splash around with marginal low holdings

If you’re playing hands with low possibilities, make sure they’re good low possibilities. Starting hands that aren’t particularly great either high or low are absolute death in PLO8. In low stakes mixed games, players will be splashing around with all kinds of hands, even in the big bet games. It’s crucial to be able to make the nuts or very close to the nuts against very wide ranges.

Starting hands like 4578 or 2489 can make both high and low hands, but neither are going to be particularly good, and will be susceptible to being beaten by players with better highs and lows. Plus, even if you do make a strong hand one way, it’s unlikely to be the best hand the other way. You’ll be putting in a bunch of money drawing live to only half the pot. In big bet variations of Omaha it’s critical that you play to scoop the whole pot.

Big O / Really Big O (5- and 6-Card Omaha)

Even more cards, even more fun!

5-card Omaha games are growing in popularity, basically because as much action as regular 4-card Omaha games provide, the action grows exponentially if you add an extra hole card (or two with 6-card Omaha).

I’ll put these variants together because they can be played high only or hi/lo (8 or Better), and either Limit or Pot Limit (or even No Limit, but it’s very rare).

The 5-card versions are available online as well as in more and more live venues. By contrast, 6-card games can be found sporadically online, and very sporadically live, but can be called in a mixed game.

Big O Tip: Make the nuts

This may sound obvious, but the more cards you are dealt the more possibilities you have to make some sort of hand. As such, players are more incentivized to play. And if that’s the case, and many pots will be multi-way as a result, It’s on you to not be caught with a marginal hand while one of those opponents is likely making the nuts.

For the same reasons that in PLO8 it’s critical to start with a hand that can scoop, It’s even truer in 5- or 6-card versions. Starting hands with plenty of cards working together will set you up nicely for winning big.

Limit Omaha (High only)

Now we’re getting rare. Regular 4-card Omaha in limit form is really tough to find because frankly, there’s just not as much skill in it, compared to other poker variants (although if you ask the folks playing the $4/8 game at Boulder Station in Las Vegas, they’ll tell you otherwise).

Much like Limit Hold ‘em, Limit Omaha is very much a math-based game, as the combination of four cards with a limit betting structure really limits creativity and offers great pot odds throughout a hand. There is virtually no bluffing, as pots will go multi-way, many until the river, in which case without holding the super nuts, someone will almost always have something that could draw out on you.

Limit Omaha Tip: Know when the odds aren’t in your favor

If you insist on playing this crapshoot of a game, you have to know when that draw of yours is in trouble. There will be many instances when you’ll be getting ridiculous pot odds to draw to… well, a lot of things. The key to this game is knowing when despite those odds, you’re drawing dead to a better version of your hand. A higher flush, a better full house, etc. Reverse implied odds are a danger of limit games with multiway pots going to the river.

When you do have the best hand, you need to bet and raise to at least make an attempt to thin the field and protect your hand from these draws. But, yah, good luck with that.

Double Board Omaha (High only)

If you’ve gotten this far in our guide, you may have detected that we’re not necessarily the biggest fans of Limit Omaha. However, throw an extra board out there, and you have arguably the most splashy, fun and ridiculous version of poker available in a mixed game!

The issues that hamper regular Limit Omaha are precisely what make Double Board Omaha great.

It’s almost as if the first person who created this game decided while playing Limit Omaha, “welp, since we’re going to play a high variance game that people aren’t going to fold much in, the hell with it; let’s spread a second board, and crank that variance up to 11!”

Somehow it worked, and it’s amazing.

Following the preflop betting, the dealer will spread two flops (followed by a round of betting), two turns (followed by a round of betting), and finally two rivers (followed by a final round of betting).

We’re not going to lie to you and give you any tips or poker strategy for playing this game. We’re sure they exist, but we don’t know it, and we’re just fine with that.

Generally speaking, this game is primarily played in low-stakes mixed games where the priority is having fun.

There will be plenty of other games in the mix that you may know better and can invoke strategy in.

Take the opportunity to go crazy and have some fun when this game gets called. Use your best poker instincts, and if that fails, make sure you have a beverage in front of you.

OTHER FLOP GAMES

Short Deck (a.k.a., 6+ Hold ‘em)

Short Deck was basically born from action players who got tired of folding trash hands and wanted a higher percentage of playable holdings. How to do that? Tighten the deck by removing all the 2s through 5s! So instead of a standard 52-card deck, there are now only 36 cards in play!

Like regular No Limit Hold ‘em, aces also play high and low, so in short deck they can act as a 5 to form a straight with 6789.

The differences don’t stop there. Though the game can be played with standard small and big blinds, Short Deck is mostly played with antes from all players, with an extra ante posted by the button that rotates clockwise around the table. Preflop action starts to the left of the button, with players having the option to fold, call, or raise, just as in other flop games.

Other differences come in the actual rank of hands. With four fewer cards of each suit available, flushes are now mathematically more difficult to make than full houses, so they are ranked higher. Three-of-a-kind is also more difficult to make than a straight. Most rooms still rank straights higher though, but it can vary from room to room.

Short Deck Tip: Know your preflop odds and bet sizing

If you watch the Triton Series Short Deck cash games and tournaments featuring some of the best players in the world, you’ll see that their preflop betting strategy is different from that of standard No Limit Hold ‘em. You’ll see a lot of limping as well as raise sizes that appear huge compared to the ante.

The caveat though is that with the shorter deck flops will almost always be ‘wet’, with your hand likely to connect with the board in some way. Games are also generally played 6-handed, so an initial limper will be getting 7:1 on the pot. Raises will appear on the larger side, usually starting at the size of the pot and often much larger.

A common mistake made by Short Deck newbies is raising in 2.5-3x increments of the button ante, and not factoring in the full amount of antes in the pot.

With a 1,000 chip ante in a 6-handed game, there will be 7,000 chips in the pot before any betting has taken place. A standard raise to the size of the pot would then be to 7,000. However, many new players will “raise” 3x the ante to 3,000 (roughly 43% of 7,000), merely building the pot size to 10,000 and still providing opponents excellent odds to continue with virtually any playable hand.

In a 6-handed No Limit Hold ‘em tournament with 500/1000 blinds and a 100 ante, with 2,100 in the pot prior to preflop betting, this would be like putting in 900 (roughly 43% of 2,100) to continue if that was possible.

Bottom line: if your intention is to raise, make sure you’re raising the correct amount.

Courchevel

Courchevel is a rarely-played but interesting and fun game, with elements of 5-card PLO (or Big O), with one key difference. Before any preflop betting, a community card known as a ‘spit’ card is dealt. Standard betting with a small and big blind then continues in a normal fashion preflop before the now 2-card flop is dealt and further betting commences. From there, the turn and river are also played as in a normal flop game.

Courchevel can be played as a high only or hi/lo split pot game.

Courchevel Tip: The spit card has a huge impact

As you might expect, with a community card revealed before any betting commences, that spit card will have a huge impact on your hand strength immediately.

Combined with the contents of your five hole cards (you can only use two of your hole cards to make your final five-card hand), you could be dealt trips, three to a nut flush, or three to a straight (and/or a key card to a wrap), all of which are very playable and can be bet aggressively.

However, when you don’t connect with the spit card, you must have a very strong hand outside of it to continue. Something along the lines of a strong starting hand in 5-card PLO. If you’re playing the game hi/lo, this is especially important. You’ll need a strong Big O starting hand, and if the spit card is 8 or lower and you don’t have the possibility to make a low hand, your hand is vulnerable. That’s because other players will already have 60% of a low, and you’ll very likely only be playing for half the pot.

Dra(w)maha

As the name suggests, Dra(w)maha (a consensus on the proper spelling of the game is tough to find) is a split pot game merging Draw (in several forms) with Omaha.

Blinds are posted as in Omaha, then players are dealt five cards, followed by a round of limit or pot limit betting. A flop is dealt, followed by another round of betting.

Following the flop betting, players will have the opportunity to discard any of their hole cards and draw new ones.

From there a turn card is dealt, followed by a round of betting, then a river card is dealt with a final round of betting.

In all variations of Dra(w)maha, half the pot goes to the player with the best Omaha hand, using two of their hole cards. The other half goes to the player with the best Draw hand in their hole cards.

Note that the Draw side can be played in a variety of ways, as 5-Card Draw high, as a 2-7 low hand, or as a 4-card Badugi hand, whichever is determined before the hands are dealt.

Dra(w)maha Tip: straights, two-pairs are good starting hands in standard Dra(w)maha

Straights and two-pair combos in the hole will give you a great chance at winning the Draw half of the pot. From there, you just have to hope for a board of community cards that will help you win the entire pot.

As with all split pot games, you should be playing to scoop, but if you have a virtual lock on half the pot with your draw hand, don’t jeopardize it by breaking (and drawing) in hopes of improving your Omaha hand. If you have a huge Omaha hand on the flop, keep the two cards you need for that and discard as many of the other three as you need to improve your draw hand.

S.H.O.P.

An acronym for “Simultaneous Hold’em and Omaha Play”, S.H.O.P. (also known as S.O.H.E.; simultaneous Omaha and Hold’em) combines elements of both. You’re dealt six cards and need to split your hand into a (2-card) Hold’em hand and a (4-card) Omaha High hand.

It’s a split pot game, with half the pot going to the best Hold’em hand and the other half of the pot going to the best Omaha High hand. The game can be played either Limit or Pot Limit, those some wacky home games also play it No Limit.

Other than that, the game proceeds exactly like either Hold’em or Omaha, as far as the betting and community cards dealt.

S.H.O.P. Tip: The split is key

While you can’t control the cards you’re dealt, you CAN control how strong your two hands are in this game.

As in all split pot games, you want to give yourself the best chance of scooping. Thus, knowing what you know about both Hold’em and Omaha, you ought to try and coordinate your two hands as best as possible such that if the right board comes you’ll be in prime position to take advantage.

If you only have a strong Hold’em or Omaha hand, it’s often still worth at least seeing the flop, but if you don’t connect you ought to muck. If you’re dealt a random collection of six cards that won’t give you much of a chance to with either half of the pot, your best move is folding preflop.

These games are being streamed with increasing regularity, so it is no surprise that many poker fans are warming up to this new poker variant. Seeing huge six-figure pots constantly exchange hands will never fail to excite.

Short Deck Hold’em looks a lot like the traditional, full deck format. However, it is a different game with different dynamics and specific strategies. To be able to play well, you need to learn short deck poker rules and understand main differences and how they influence your game-plan.

In this short article, I will share my top 3 tips, which should help you have better results. If you never played this game before, this could be a great time to begin.

Image credit: pennsportsbooks.com

1. Feel free to limp with many more hands

Unlike in classic Hold’em, there is absolutely nothing wrong with open-limping with a variety of hands in Six Plus. In fact, from early positions, you could limp with your entire range and be very profitable. It may seem counter intuitive, but there are a couple of reasons for this.

First of all, there aren’t as many real preflop premiums in Short Deck. Only Aces, Kings, and AKs are considered premium hands (and AQs to some extent). So, the task of balancing your best hands with some weaker ones becomes increasingly difficult. Thus, open-limping becomes a viable strategy.

Secondly, you’re getting much better odds on your money because of the ante structure. Since you already have one ante invested in every pot and there are seven antes in the middle, you’ll want to see as many flops as possible.

This also creates a scenario where the game is effectively played much shorter. Often, raising will commit you to the pot if you have a shorter stack. Thus, if you’re raising from early position with non-premiums, you’ll very often run into a better hand behind. If you’re only raising premiums, you risk becoming too predictable.

So, I recommend just limping your entire range from early positions (up until Hijack or Cutoff) and going from there.

2. Understand that hand equities are much closer

In Short Deck Hold’em, hand equities run much closer together than in traditional No Limit Hold’em. That’s the main reason why so few hands are considered premiums, and even these hands aren’t nearly as strong. Getting it in with KK vs. AK, for example, you won’t be nearly as big of a favorite as you’d be in NLHE.

In fact, you may be surprised to hear that pocket kings are just a 10% favorite against any AK and only 6% favorite against the suited AKs! Because the deck has been shortened, an ace will make an appearance by the river much more frequently.

This changes the overall approach to the game. You’ll be better off seeing more flops cheaply and proceeding from there than just trying to get the chips in the middle with hands that might be borderline favorites at best (like JJ or QQ). Therefore, it makes sense to study preflop hands charts and get familiar with the math part of this game.

Because there are only 36 cards in the deck as low value cards (2s through 5s) are removed, suited connectors go way up in value. You’ll be making many more straights in Short Deck than you do in NLHE. Additionally, flushes beat full houses in this game. Thus, suited cards, especially suited aces, are very powerful.

3. Overbets are a regular part of the game

Sizing your bets in No-Limit Hold’em is usually done in relation to the pot. You won’t see too many players firing huge bets that are bigger than the size of the pot except in some very special spots.

In Six Plus Hold’em, though, over-betting the pot is not just normal, but it’s even recommended!

This tip ties into what I mentioned earlier, i.e., equities being much closer together. When you flop a big hand, you’ll usually want to protect it because other players will have good chances of catching up. The best way to do it is by betting big and even over-betting the pot if you’re up against someone who’s sticky or they’re likely to have a big draw.

This works the other way around, too. You can bet big with your big draws and put the maximum amount of pressure on your opponent. They won’t know if you have the nuts or not and even if they call you, you’ll still have a great amount of equity with hands such as combo draws.

Ed. note: Now that you’ve started learning more about Short Deck Hold’em, you might be interested in further study via a comprehensive course. Have a look at our thorough review of Kane Kalas’ Short Deck course over at Upswing Poker.

I was intrigued about the game from the first moment I saw it. It definitely looks much more action-packed than traditional NLHE. Hand equities definitely run much closer and the blind/ante structure is such that it makes it possible to play many more hands from different positions. In other words: ACTION!

All of this is theory, though. Up until now, there’s been no solid course on Short Deck that would actually explain what this all means in terms of actual hands you should and shouldn’t be playing and what those equities really look like.

So, when Upswing’s Master Short Deck Hold’em was launched I was really keen to watch it. Presented by Kane Kalas, one of the regulars in those aforementioned Triton Poker high stakes games, there was no doubt in my mind this course would offer answers to many of the questions I had about the game. I’m happy to say I wasn’t disappointed.

Upswing Poker’s Master Short Deck Hold’em: Course Structure

The course contains over 27 hours of viewing material and is divided into several main groups, namely:

• Fundamentals
• Pre-flop play
• Post-flop play
• Play & Explain

The way it’s been structured, the course can help even those completely new to Short Deck Hold’em. It starts with explaining the rules and goes on to build from there, tackling some pretty high level stuff by the end. There is really no stone left unturned as Kalas does his best to explain every important aspect of the game.

Upswing Poker’s Master Short Deck Hold’em: Fundamentals

In the Fundamentals section, as the name suggests, Kalas covers the game basics, including the rules. While the game plays a lot like No Limit Hold’em, there are some important differences. The first one is the fact that all the deuces, treys, fours, and fives are removed from play, leaving only 36 cards in the deck.

Because of these changes, there are also some adjustments to hand strengths. In Short Deck, at least in most variations played, a flush beats a full house, which influences the strategy a lot. The structure of the blinds is different as well, as everyone posts an ante and the button posts the double ante, so there is much more dead money in the pot and everyone’s getting much better odds before the flop.

The Fundamentals section isn’t too long, but it manages to explain all the important bits. Kalas touches upon some important concepts such as limping much more often (having a higher VPIP in general), utilizing overbets, and how to properly value hands such as open-ended straight draws.

Already in this section, the course was able to answer many of the questions I had about the game going in and some specific plays I’ve seen on live broadcasts but couldn’t quite understand. The way things are explained in a detailed and understandable manner really provides an excellent foundation to dive into the next section, which is a bit more technical.

Upswing Poker’s Master Short Deck Hold’em: Preflop Play

The first section after the introduction addresses the pre-flop play, which is a huge part of Short Deck, much more so than in (full deck) No Limit Hold’em. I was really interested in this part and how hand ranges are constructed given the fact that equities are so much closer across the board. Some of the interesting takeaways for me from this part were:

• Stealing isn’t nearly as profitable as the button gets much better price to defend
• Middle connected hands go up in value
• There are fewer true premium hands in the game
• Raise-folding with 50 antes isn’t a thing
• Pre-flop blockers matter much more

Kalas explains differences between two main variations of the game, i.e., when playing 50 antes deep vs. 100 antes deep. He also spends a lot of time explaining how having 50 antes in Short Deck is very different than having 50 big blinds in traditional Hold’em.

Although this makes a lot of sense when you think about it, he provides the reasoning behind it and really makes it easy to understand.

Raising vs. limping

One thing that I was really interested in was why there seems to be so much limping going on and not nearly as much raising. I was a bit shocked to hear that in Short Deck, you shouldn’t really be raising anything before the cutoff in a 6-max game. That’s definitely a huge difference from NL games.

Kalas goes on to explain why this is, and then it begins to make sense, but it’s definitely not something I would’ve been able to just stumble upon. Constructing your ranges in Short Deck is a process in which knowing standard No Limit Hold’em does help, but there are also many new factors to consider.

Heads Up Play

Although the course is focused on 6-max play, Kalas takes the time to also address heads-up play in several videos, which is a nice touch. In these videos, he covers the most important situations, explaining how to construct your raise and limp ranges when first in, what hands to defend with, what part of our range represents good 3-betting material, etc.

While heads up play isn’t a particular area of interest for me, these videos were still entertaining to watch and quite educational. Having at least a solid idea about your heads up ranges at different stack depths can be useful, even if only when you find yourself battling for a tournament win.

Upswing Poker’s Master Short Deck Hold’em: Post-flop Play

Although there is a lot of focus on the pre-flop segment of the game due to the blind structure, post-flop play is still important in Short Deck Poker. A lot of money will have gone into the pot by the flop, so there is a big focus on that particular segment of gameplay.

The way the post-flop section is crafted is quite intuitive as Kalas analyses different major group of hands, such as:

• Straights and sets
• Bottom sets and two pair hands
• Overpairs and top pair-top kicker type of hands
• Top/middle pair + a draw
• Bottom pair + an open-ended draw

Kalas goes on to explain these different types of hands in detail on various board structures and how to approach them correctly. There are many great examples in these videos where we’re presented with equities vs. various likely holdings by our opponents. These numbers and percentages are really helpful in understanding why some hands need to be played differently in Short Deck vs. No Limit Hold’em.

A fair amount of time in this section is devoted to playing nut flush draws, as these are very powerful hands in Short Deck since flushes even beat full houses. Kalas explains how to approach these types of hands depending on the board structure and also does a great job of explaining why our equity is often very high in these spots even though we have fewer outs to complete our flush.

Overall, this section definitely covers a lot of ground in terms of post-flop play. If you’ve been dabbling with Short Deck but are uncertain about how to play different hands like open-ended straight draws, flush draws, sets, etc., this course will shed a lot of light on the topic. It doesn’t just provide you with answers to your questions, but also with great, sound reasoning behind those answers.

Upswing Poker’s Master Short Deck Hold’em: River Play

The penultimate theoretical section of Upswing’s Master Short Deck Hold’em course deals with river play. I was somewhat surprised by the amount of material covering this particular topic, but Kalas once again quite simply did a great job of covering a wide spectrum of related topics. The section is divided into two main subdivisions:

• Playing as the aggressor (bluffing / value betting)
• Playing as the non-aggressor (bluff catching)

Across six videos, Kalas goes on to explain how to build your bluffing and value betting ranges when playing as the aggressor and how to find the best hands to bluff-catch with when facing aggression on the river.

There are some very interesting concepts discussed here, such as anti-blocking, i.e., holding cards that we’d expect our opponent to have in their folding or bluffing ranges. Although the river play may not be as important in Short Deck as it is in No Limit Hold’em, these lessons are still quite valuable and will help solidify your newly acquired Short Deck poker knowledge.

Upswing Poker’s Master Short Deck Hold’em: Adjustments

In the final section of Upswing’s Master Short Deck Hold’em course, Kalas moves away from all the GTO talk and actually discusses how we can adjust our play based on our opponents’ tendencies. This is one of the parts that I liked the most because it addresses what you’ll often encounter at real tables.

He identifies several major pre-flop and post-flop leaks that you’ll likely notice when playing Short Deck, such as players limping too much or too infrequently, those who have too many 3-bet folds in their range, failing to shove value hands, c-betting board textures that are good for c-betting in NLHE, etc.

This advice is very useful as you’ll be able to start implementing it straight away. If you’re playing in lower stakes and/or live Short Deck Hold’em games, you’ll likely be up against players who don’t have very good theoretical foundations. This means that they’ll be making a lot of mistakes that you can take advantage of.

Quantifying Stakes in Short Deck

The final video addresses the comparison between seemingly same stakes in Short Deck and NLHE or PLO. This one is quite interesting as well as it explains why Short Deck games in effect play much bigger. With everyone posting an ante before the flop and the button posting two antes, there is much more dead money in the pot. Thus, games play bigger and that’s why there is a big difference between having 100 antes in Short Deck versus having 100 big blinds in No Limit Hold’em.

Upswing Poker’s Master Short Deck Hold’em: Play & Explain

Like most Upswing Poker courses, this one concludes with an extensive Play & Explain section, where Kalas takes a great number of actual hands and goes through them. There are three main sections here, one analyzing the play of an Upswing member, another focusing on his own heads up play, and finally the one going through various live hands from Triton Poker cash games.

While all of these are very educational, the Triton Poker analysis section is definitely my favorite; after all, that’s what got me into the game in the first place. You’ll get a new look at many of the big pots you might have already seen on live stream broadcasts or YouTube. Kalas breaks down the action and plays from the likes of Paul Phua, Tom Dwan, Andrew Robl, Timofey “Trueteller” Kuznetsov, and others, providing a lot of useful insight.

So, How Good Is the Upswing Poker Short Deck Course?

As it’s currently the only existing course on Short Deck Hold’em, Upswing’s course is the best one by default. With that said, even if there were some competition, this one would likely be the best and most comprehensive course for those wanting to learn the game. Having the talented and eloquent Kane Kalas as the instructor really is a big unique selling point here.

While the $999 price tag might be steep for those playing low stakes poker, the course is structured in such a way that it can be watched and understood by someone who has almost no knowledge about Short Deck Hold’em whatsoever. It’s not aimed at advanced players looking to get better, but rather everyone wanting to become good in this new game format. And remember, you’re not spending money; you’re investing it in becoming a better player!

It isn’t hard to understand why Hold’em has seen such sudden rise through the ranks. Of all poker variants, it offers the best balance between simplicity, strategy, and action. The rules of the game are easy to learn, the no-limit aspect of it provides for some great gambling opportunities, and it offers more than enough strategic considerations to provide plenty of edge for serious students of the game.

What initially made Hold’em so popular is the fact that it is the perfect tournament game for audience viewing, and most people who play and are fans of the game caught the poker bug watching large televised/live streamed tournaments such as the WSOP Main Event or big EPT final tables.

However, times may be changing with other poker variants gaining on Texas Hold’em in terms of popularity. Over the last couple of years, we’ve been seeing some contenders for poker’s throne and it isn’t completely inconceivable that the future of poker will showcase a different game altogether.

Has Hold’em Run Its Course?

Hold’em is the game often dubbed as requiring “a minute to learn and lifetime to master,” a statement that definitely rings true. Learning how to play versus learning how to actually play well are two entirely different things, and for years there’s been a huge discrepancy between the two. This created an atmosphere where those who knew how to play could put their skills to good use and earn money, while the “fun players” were there to gamble it up.

The problem Hold’em seems to be facing, however, is that the first group (highly skilled players) has grown big, while the second group is diminishing in size. More and more players taking up Hold’em have a pretty good idea of at least basic strategies. Many of those who used to enjoy gambling at the poker tables have lost a lot of motivation to sit at the felt and play Hold’em due to the fact it no longer feels like they’re gambling, but rather that they’re donating money to good players waiting for them to make mistakes.

5 Card Stud used to be THE GAME! It got mostly solved and 7 Stud came around.

Eventually came Hold’em and your beloved PLO!

The most popular game used to be limit Hold’em by a mile. It died mostly.

Game variants lose their luster. Happens all the time.

— Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker) January 15, 2018

This isn’t to say that Hold’em is dead – far from it. But there’s definitely the feeling in the air (at least from what I’ve seen and heard from numerous poker player friends and colleagues of mine all over the world) that the game is just not as appealing as it used to be a decade ago. This definitely opens up possibilities for a new poker variant to take the lead and provide players, especially recreational ones, with new opportunities to gamble and chase their luck instead of being run over by experienced Hold’em players.

Pot Limit Omaha (a.k.a., Four Card Hold’em)

The recent trend in high stakes games, especially ones played in Europe (King’s Casino in particular) has seen more and more Pot Limit Omaha (PLO) games thrown in the mix. When it comes to cash games, PLO definitely brings back some of those elements Hold’em is now “missing” for several reasons:

• It’s an action packed game allowing for more play
• Preflop equities run much closer
• There aren’t nearly as many really good PLO players out there

PLO allows players to see many more flops (whether this is actually advisable with regards to the optimal strategy is another matter entirely). Omaha is a flop game and you’ll rarely see hands end before the flop (which is a frequent occurrence in Hold’em). So, simply put, recreational players are getting much more entertainment for their money. These days everyone knows that playing 7-2 won’t get you far in Hold’em. A hand like 7-2-6-4 in PLO, on the other hand, looks much more playable.

In a sense, PLO is much more forgiving if you play a wider range of starting hands because pre-flop equities are much closer, so it is much harder for your opponents to have you completely crushed. Although pocket Aces are still one of the best starting hands you can get in Hold’em, AAxx gets cracked much more often in PLO.

Finally, even good Hold’em players transitioning to PLO still don’t have all the strategic aspects figured out. This means that recreational players actually have a much better chance to win more frequently. This brings back the excitement that’s been somewhat missing from Hold’em games lately. In PLO, everyone seems more willing to gamble!

It Came from Macau: Short Deck Hold’em

A game that’s been picking up some traction lately, Short Deck (or 6+) Hold’em definitely has a chance of being a contender for poker’s most popular variant in the future. Popularized by ultra-high stakes players in the fabled Macau games, Short Deck has been making its way into the mainstream. Thanks to the live streaming of Triton high stakes games, many poker fans are getting to witness this fairly new poker variant in action.

6+ Hold’em has a few things going for it:

• The rules are basically the same as in regular Hold’em
• The shortened deck creates a lot more action
• Preflop equities are closer

Like PLO, Short Deck Hold’em is a game where less experienced players have a statistically better shot at winning than they do at Hold’em. Of course, good players will always have an edge, but the very fact that a hand like J10s is virtually flipping against a hand like AK clearly shows that 6+ Hold’em is a much more forgiving game.

It is also a game where players are much more likely to see flops and continue from there. Once again, this adds to the entertainment factor for players just looking to have a good time. One of the biggest reasons traditional Texas Hold’em has lost much of its appeal is that more often than not, solid players just don’t want to play marginal hands in big pots anymore. In Short Deck poker, most hands are marginal in a way, so there is much more opportunity to play without being completely crushed by your opponents’ holdings.

A Completely New Variant?

Lately, we’ve seen PokerStars experiment with some fresh takes on traditional Hold’em, trying to add some spice and variety to the game. It isn’t completely out of the realm of possibilities that one of these variants – or even a completely different one, created by some other entity – will eventually take hold with players.

For a new poker variant to become popular, it is usually necessary for well-known players to endorse it, promote it, and start playing it regularly. New players are likely to flock to games they see on TV (or online on YouTube and Twitch), so there could conceivably yet emerge a new poker variant that will come out swinging and change the poker world as we know it.

Granted, this isn’t very likely to happen. For example, Open Face Chinese Poker experienced a spike in popularity for a couple of years and it seemed like it could catch on and spread further, but it just didn’t have enough to offer to make it a real sensation. The Hold’em explosion back in the early 2000s was really unprecedented, so the bar is set very high for any potential contender.

Texas Hold’em Will Likely Never Go Away

Even if there is a new game that catches on with legions of players, Texas Hold’em will likely always remain the number one tournament poker game. As already mentioned, it’s just perfect for tournament play and it is hard to see any other game really taking its place.

Moreover, for as long as Texas Hold’em remains the game featured at the final table of the WSOP Main Event, it will remain popular. Large-scale tournaments of that nature still attract the highest number of poker fans by far, so Hold’em isn’t really going anywhere anytime soon.

In terms of cash game action, however, games like PLO and Short Deck could become dominant forces. Offering more action, better chances of winning for recreational players, and just more action and entertainment in general, these contenders could definitely mount a challenge for poker’s the throne!

Short deck poker cash game alert

Who’s in this upcoming weekend? #ThisIsHowWeVegas https://t.co/MOtx4548IX

— ARIA Poker (@ARIAPoker) September 24, 2018

I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I took my first shot at Short Deck No Limit Hold’em (SDHE).

It occurred to me that I had no idea what I was doing early on in my first online session of SDHE. While playing a six-max table on one monitor, I had my other monitor locked in on a strategy guide that was telling me JT suited is the strongest starting hand in the game, while the weakest hand was 66.

This new variant has taken the poker world by storm in 2018, with some of the biggest names in the game heading to Europe and Asia for a series of Short Deck events put on by Triton Poker throughout the year.

Originating in Asia in 2014, the game is popular among high-stakes players for its increased action and variance. Phil Ivey and Tom Dwan have been promoting SDHE since 2015, with Ivey posting his first tournament cash in more than two years back in May at the Triton Super High Roller Series Montenegro, taking down first place for $617,396.

FURTHER READING: Poker Laws in Asia

Short Deck Hold’em is an action-packed game, with all of the 2s through 5s removed from the deck. This leaves 36 cards in the deck, completely changes the math of the game, and throws all of a player’s intuition built up from years of traditional Texas Hold’em experience out the window.

Short deck hold’em hand rankings | Image credit: Triton Poker

Hand rankings are different in SDHE, with a flush beating a full house.

Straights hit more frequently, and if you have open-ended straight draw on the flop, you have a 45.5 percent chance of hitting the straight on the turn or river, compared to 31.5 percent in traditional Hold’em. Note that Aces still function as both the high and low card of the deck, so A6789 is the low straight.

All of this stuff takes some getting used to for most poker aficionados out there (like me) who have been playing conventional (full deck?) poker. When I sat down to play Short Deck poker for the first time, I made the A6789 straight on the river early in the session but I almost checked when the action came to me. I realized at the last second that I had the low straight and put in a bet, scooping a nice pot.

The value of a straight, however, is different in SDHE. In regular Texas Hold’em a straight can sometimes be the nuts. Even if a possible flush is on the board, you’re still feeling pretty good about your hand if the board is unpaired.

It’s time for some Short Deck!@Ali_Nejad introduces the game that has taken the world by storm and $100/$200 #PokerAfterDark action is streaming LIVE!
Watch: https://t.co/n639sDbU4d
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— PokerGO (@PokerGO) September 25, 2018

The Poker Math is Different

In SDHE, three-of-a-kind also happens more frequently, as you have a 17 percent chance of flopping a set with a pocket pair (versus 12 percent in regular Hold’em).

Flushes are a rarer occurrence, with just nine cards of each suit in the deck. When you’re dealt suited cards and flop a flush draw, you only have five outs and a 30 percent chance for the flush to come in on the turn or river (versus 35 percent in traditional Hold’em).

This math gives the flush a higher hand ranking than a full house, and if you’ve ever hit a flush but been wary of a full house on a paired board in regular Hold’em, prepare to completely go against your instincts in SDHE.

The number of starting hands you’ll play goes way up in SDHE as well, as you’ll be dealt pocket pairs and connected cards much more frequently than you’re used to seeing them. You won’t see J2 off-suit or 94 suited in a short deck game, and you’ll be playing many more multi-way pots as well as your opponents’ holdings are also improved by definition.

Big hands like full houses also come in more often.

Since Short Deck Hold’em is still a relatively new poker variant, strategy resources aren’t really out there like they are for No Limit Hold’em. Thus, when you play SDHE you’re up against a lot of players who are new to the game as well, and there’s a shared excitement around the table that you can feel.

Ivey, Dwan, Jason Koon, and Nick Schulman have been among the big-name pros who have found success on the new Short Deck High Roller circuit, with Schulman admitting “I don’t really know what I’m doing, which is fun.”

Schulman, well-respected as a pro and one of the best television commentators in the game, shares the same excitement as the rest of us in playing this new game. The optimal strategies of Short Deck Hold’em have yet to be found, and sitting down for a session really reminded me of that feeling of playing poker when I very first got into Texas Hold’em around 2004.

READ MORE: Back to playing online poker after a three-year break

If you have a chance to get into this game, I would highly recommend taking a shot at the lowest possible stakes. Most importantly, however, make sure you know the rules! You don’t want to be shell-shocked when that full house you thought was the nuts gets scooped away by a flush.