March 2016: The iPoker Network recently launched a new variant of the good ol’ Texas Hold’em called Six Plus Hold’em. There is no difference between this and Texas Hold’em except the former has a lesser number of cards.
Six Plus Hold’em is played with 36 cards, not 52. All the cards from 2 to 5 of all suits are removed from the deck; hence it is played with cards 6 to Kings, plus Aces. That’s why the name ‘Six Plus’. Owing to this, the ranking of hands has been altered because the probabilities change with a smaller deck. Aces can be used as the higher or lower end of a straight. Hence, the lowest straight in a Six Plus game becomes A,6,7,8,9. Flushes become rarer and hence stronger hands.
The new hierarchy of hands for Six Plus Hold’em is as follows –
- Royal Flush
- Straight Flush
- Four of a Kind
- Flush
- Full House
- Three of a Kind
- Straight
- Two Pair
- Pair
- High Card
Six Plus poker is a heavy action game that is fast becoming popular among the high-stakes games in Macau. iPoker aims to turn it into a game that both recreational, as well as professional players, can indulge in.