Pokerstars 6 Holdem
PokerStars has launched its long-awaited new game, called 6+, its version of the game known as Short Deck Poker or Six Plus Hold’em. The game is now live in Denmark, Estonia and for free-play on the dot-net client, pokerfuse can exclusively reveal. 6+ Hold’em, the action game pros love. The Blog plays 6+ Hold’em (after lessons from Lex) 2 years ago. Introducing 6+ Hold’em on PokerStars. 6+ Hold’em is played six-handed and uses a Button Blind – a unique feature to PokerStars This is the same format used in the high stakes short deck games. PokerStars is the only place that uses that format online. Developed by the biggest winner in online poker for the last 3 years, bencb789, RYE is built to help win at the biggest stages; including WSOP, EPT, PCA, WPT and of course throughout all major.
In August and September 2018, PokerStars began to leak information about Six Plus Hold’em, one of the many new poker variants being introduced to the online poker community. The year was full of game rollouts and testing periods, but Six Plus Hold’em – also known in many circles as Short Deck Hold’em – had been a favorite of high-stakes players for some time and drew the interest of a much larger group of poker enthusiasts.
The first site to bring the game to American players via a full rollout of games was Americas Cardroom, which introduced Six Plus Hold’em to its online poker lobby on September 10.
While PokerStars likes to be first, the site developers ultimately decided it would be better to offer a bigger rollout, one that would land on its own in the new year. So, as of January 15, 6+ Hold’em made its debut on PokerStars for real-money and play-money, both on desktop and mobile, and in a variety of stakes for a range of players to be able to experiment with it.
Within days, 6+ Hold’em was available on the dot-net and dot-com platforms, as well as the dot-EU, dot-UK, dot-SE, dot-DK, and dot-EE.
It's time to crank up the excitement… 6+ Hold'em is NOW LIVE and ready for action. ?? Visit https://t.co/w9oJ1KVFUA for a lowdown on the rules and then go find out why this short deck game has become so popular with poker fans. pic.twitter.com/0mYqSjMH3Y
— PokerStars (@PokerStars) January 16, 2019
Not Just Another Hold’em Game
Also known in some circles as Short Deck Hold’em, 6+ Hold’em uses some of the basics of hold’em but plays with a short deck. All numbered cards lower than six are removed, making the deck consist of only 36 cards.
The game is played with a different structure than Hold’em, as there are no small and big blinds, only a blind paid on the button and an ante for all players in every hand. Action starts with the player to the left of the button. Otherwise, the betting rounds are the same, with pre-flop, flop, turn, and river rounds.
The hand rankings are also slightly different, in that a flush beats a full house. However, flushes are rarer since there are only nine cards of each suit in the 36-card deck. Aces can be high or low, though the low ace now forms a low straight of A-6-7-8-9.
Yessss! And in this version a straight beats trips ✅ https://t.co/HZdbTnEwXH
— Jennifer Shahade (@JenShahade) January 16, 2019
The new rankings, from top to bottom, are:
Royal flush
Straight flush
Four of a kind
Flush
Full house
Straight
Three of a kind
Two pair
One pair
High card
To start, the game will only be available in six-handed format. In addition, there are time penalties issued for sitting out of hands, and the cumulative penalties are in place to prohibit players from watching too long without playing a hand, as well as to keep players from searching for “soft” tables. Automatic seating is in place.
New Game, New Strategies
With fewer cards, flushes over full houses, and a different blind structure, players will need to alter their traditional Hold’em strategies in order to improve their play.
We've got not one, not two, but THREE new strategy articles to help you crush the 6+ Hold'em tables. Find them here – https://t.co/p5UNVWnGy3pic.twitter.com/eCkkjycpaP
— PokerStars School (@StarsSchool) January 19, 2019
Pre-flop gameplay needs to consider all of the above, specifically that flushes are more difficult to find and top pairs are weaker. Pocket pairs are not as valuable because straights are more common than full houses, and overpairs become easier to beat with a variety of hands.
After the flop, it is vital to become familiar with the number of outs available. There are also certain hands that may look good – one or two pairs, trips, and big kickers – but they are all easy to overplay.
More to Come
As more players become familiar with 6+ Hold’em, there will be more Twitch streams and YouTube tutorials. And while there are some strategy pieces at the PokerStars School online, more will be available in the coming weeks.
PokerStars Director of Poker Product Chris Straghalis noted, “6+ is an exciting poker variant that often produces big hands and a lot of action, so we’re excited to bring it to the tables. While the format has proven popular with high stakes players, the range of stakes available on PokerStars and similarities to hold’em mean that it should appeal to those who may want to try a new game but don’t want something too different. We’re looking forward to seeing what people think.”
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6+ Hold’em is a variant of Texas Hold’em as is available at Pokerstars. It has several similarities to the original game but has some unique difference that sets it apart. Here are some of them.
- Unlike the Texas Hold’em any card whose face value is less than six is removed from the deck.
- Everyone in the game posts an ante. A button is the only one that posts a blind. This is why it is called a button blind.
- The player with a flush beats a full house
- Cards of value 6, 7, 8, 9, as well as an Ace, are considered a straight. All the other hand rankings are always the same.
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What are the Rules of the Game?
Pokerstars 6+ Hold'em Cash Out
The game is played using a 36-card deck since cards one to five are removed. Shuffling is done before the dealer deals any hand. There is only one player that sits on the blind button and the player is the only one that is allowed to post a blind. This deviates from the big and small blind format is Texas Hold’em.
Pokerstars 6+ Hold'em Rake
Playing 6+Hold’em follows the rules set in Texas Hold’em in terms of river, turn, pre-flop and flop betting rounds. The software finds the seat for every player in the online casino. All you are required to do is to choose the game and the amount of stake with which you want to play.
Each of the players gets two cards which face down, also called hole cards. The dealer then spreads a total of five cards in two stages; three at first then two other cards with each at a time. Players bet before and after each of the cards is revealed. In addition, for the player to see the next card and stay in hand, each of the players must put the same amount of chips in the pots as other players on the table.
Some tables place a minimum number of hands that any player can play before they sit or leave and not incur a time penalty. The game issues time penalties that accumulate as time goes. However, the time accumulation is very low and has little impact on most of the hands on the table. The main aim of these penalties is to deter the attempt by players to join and leave a large number of tables with the intention of determining which seat to take.
6+ Hold'em Pokerstars
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