The reason shorthanded games aren’t good for beginning players, is the amount of marginal situations a player is faced with when playing against only a few opponents. Once you have a good grasp of the basics such as betting strategy, position, and the play of hands, you can then try out shorthanded games.

It is best if you are just starting out in NL, to stick to full ring games. Your play in many shorthanded situations will be based on your position at the table and your opponent's tendencies as opposed to the actual strength of your own hand. This is why it is important to have a firm handle on your opponents' styles of play. Many more hands will be played heads-up, and won before they get to showdown. You don't want to sit there and play like a rock because when you do eventually make a hand, observant opponents won't pay you off. You will be presented with many more marginal decisions in a shorthanded game because you will be forced to play less than premium hands. In shorthanded play it is important to be extremely observant of your opponent's tendencies and styles of play. When going to war you should always have a hand to go to war with. Just because hand values increase however, doesn't mean you should go broke with a mediocre hand. Hands like KQ, AJ, AT, and small pairs can be played from earlier positions than they could be at full table. This is due to the blinds going around the table faster. Hand values increase as the number of players in the game decreases, therefore in a shorthanded game you are going to have to play more hands. Unlike the traditional 9 or 10-handed games, it doesn't usually take that big of a hand to win shorthanded. A shorthanded game is one with six or less players at the table. Playing shorthanded NL is very different than playing in a full ring game. Equity calculator for short deck and full deck hold'em poker games with hand history storage. We often like to play this game when we get together. But one thing I perhaps need to explain more is the “short deck game” that we talk about in the interview. “Short-deck” or “Six-Plus Hold ’Em” There are more useful tips in the video, so do watch it. 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.

Hand rankings are different in SDHE, with a flush beating a full house. Short deck hold’em hand rankings Image credit: Triton Poker.

Short deck best starting hands