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6+ Hold’em

6+ Hold’em is a popular 'short deck' poker format that plays much like Texas Hold’em, but with a few exciting differences:

  • All cards lower than a six are removed from the deck
  • Everyone posts an ante and only the button posts a blind - known as the 'button blind'
  • A flush beats a full-house and Ace, 6, 7, 8, 9 is classified as a straight

Available exclusively at PokerStars 6+ Hold’em is your chance to play an action-packed variant loved by high-stakes players around the world.

The Rules of 6+ Hold’em

All 6+ Hold’em games use a 36-card deck (with all cards lower than a 6 removed), which is shuffled before every hand is dealt. Games also use a 'button blind' structure: every player posts an ante, and the player seated at the button position is the only one who posts a blind – meaning there is only one blind per hand, rather than traditional small/big blind format.

The action starts with the player seated to the left of the button. Each hand then plays out according to Texas Hold’em rules, with pre-flop, flop, turn and river betting rounds.  

If you’ve played Texas Hold’em games before, the rules of 6+ Hold’em are easy to follow.

But don’t forget: contrary to regular Texas Hold'em games, in 6+ Hold’em a flush beats a full-house. A five-card hand consisting of Ace, 6, 7, 8, 9 (any suit) is also deemed a straight. All other hand rankings remain the same.

Please note that in 6+ Hold’em cash games there may be a minimum number of hands that you must play before you can sit out or leave without incurring a time penalty. Time penalties are cumulative and should rarely impact most players. The time penalties are in place to prevent players from attempting seat selection by repeatedly joining and leaving many tables.

Learn How to Play 6+ Hold'em for Free

If you want to learn how to play 6+ Hold'em, then download the PokerStars software and join any of the free poker games where you can play online against other players. Unlike our real money poker games, since there is nothing at stake, you can be comfortable learning the ropes of the game and all the rules of 6+ Hold'em. We hope to see you in our poker room, and good luck at the tables!

As well as 6+ Hold’em, we also offer many other poker variants. See our Poker Games page to learn more.