Deck Poker
One of the games that have seen a flurry of interest over the last few months is Six Plus Hold’em, also referred to as Short Deck Poker. Six Plus Hold’em is an exciting and fun poker variant based on Texas Hold’em where the game is played with a deck of 36 cards as opposed to the usual 52 cards in traditional hold’em. This is the game where flushes beat full houses, you flop loads of sets, and say goodbye to pocket 3’s. It’s Short Deck Poker. This format is a favorite of both recreational players and high rollers alike. Arguably the most exciting variant of poker available, it’s proven to be a hit amongst the players who love thrilling games of chance.
- Strategies
- Jacks or Better
- Deuces Wild
- Quick Quads
- Ultimate X
Introduction
No, Stack the Deck Poker is not video poker played using cards with 'stacked' naked ladies on them. The thrust of it is that if the player pays an extra two coins per hand in multi-play poker, then it enables a feature that adds extra cards to the deck you need in certain situations before the draw. For example, with four to a royal on the deal, the game adds five copies of whatever card you need to complete the royal to the deck. See the rules section for all the details.
Rules
- The game is based on conventional multi-play video poker, which I assume the reader is familiar with.
- For one to five coins bet per line, the game plays like conventional multi-play video poker.
- If the player bets seven coins per hand, two of those seven coins are used as a fee to enable the Stack the Deck feature. Wins are still based on five coins bet per hand.
- With the Stack the Deck feature, the game will add additional copies of needed cards to the remaining 47-card deck in the situations listed below.
- Two types of hands are added to the pay table. One is a five of a kind. The other is a 'baby royal,' which is a 9 to king straight flush.
- In addition to the extra cards feature, the game also bumps up the pays on some hands with the feature enabled.
Added cards in Deuces Wild and Deuces Wild Bonus
- Four to a natural royal flush — Five extra of the missing card to the royal.
- Two, three, or four deuces — Four extra deuces.
Added cards in Triple Double Bonus
Poker Deck Of Cards
- Four to a natural royal flush — Five extra of the missing card to the royal.
- Four of a kind — Five extra of the rank of the four of a kind.
- Full house and three of a kind — Three extra of the rank of the three of a kind.
All Other Games
- Four to a natural royal flush — Five extra of the missing card to the royal.
- Four of a kind — Five extra of the rank of the four of a kind.
- Full house and three of a kind — Five extra of the rank of the three of a kind.
Example
In the hand above I got three sixes on the deal, which qualifies for extra cards.
The game animation shows five extra sixes (in the missing suit) being added to the deck.
On the draw, one of my five hands improved to a four of a kind.
Analysis
The following return tables show the probability and contribution to the return for all games available at VideoPoker.com. These tend to be the most liberal pay tables available to the casinos. I'm sure other pay tables are available, but I don't know what they are at this time.
Jacks or Better
| Event | Pays | Probability | Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| Royal flush | 800 | 0.000055 | 0.031193 |
| Baby royal flush | 400 | 0.000019 | 0.005524 |
| Five aces | 800 | 0.000021 | 0.012237 |
| Five 2-4 | 320 | 0.000064 | 0.014684 |
| Five 5-K | 100 | 0.000181 | 0.012961 |
| Straight Flush | 50 | 0.000100 | 0.003572 |
| Four of a Kind | 25 | 0.005868 | 0.104787 |
| Full House | 12 | 0.010511 | 0.090096 |
| Flush | 11 | 0.017606 | 0.138331 |
| Straight | 7 | 0.015593 | 0.077963 |
| Three of a kind | 4 | 0.067646 | 0.193273 |
| Two pair | 2 | 0.122512 | 0.175017 |
| Jacks or better | 1 | 0.176260 | 0.125900 |
| Nothing | 0 | 0.583565 | 0.000000 |
| Total | 1.000000 | 0.985536 |
Bonus Deluxe
| Event | Pays | Probability | Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| Royal flush | 800 | 0.000060 | 0.034064 |
| Baby royal flush | 400 | 0.000023 | 0.006488 |
| Five aces | 800 | 0.000021 | 0.012237 |
| Five 2-4 | 320 | 0.000064 | 0.014684 |
| Five 5-K | 100 | 0.000193 | 0.013767 |
| Straight Flush | 50 | 0.000094 | 0.003354 |
| Four of a Kind | 80 | 0.006127 | 0.350135 |
| Full House | 10 | 0.009853 | 0.070376 |
| Flush | 6 | 0.011291 | 0.048392 |
| Straight | 4 | 0.012768 | 0.036481 |
| Three of a kind | 3 | 0.071349 | 0.152891 |
| Two pair | 1 | 0.128000 | 0.091428 |
| Jacks or better | 1 | 0.209690 | 0.149779 |
| Nothing | 0 | 0.550467 | 0.000000 |
| Total | 1.000000 | 0.984076 |
Bonus Poker
| Event | Pays | Probability | Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| Royal flush | 800 | 0.000057 | 0.032665 |
| Baby royal flush | 400 | 0.000022 | 0.006308 |
| Five aces | 800 | 0.000021 | 0.012237 |
| Five 2-4 | 320 | 0.000064 | 0.014684 |
| Five 5-K | 100 | 0.000181 | 0.012961 |
| Straight Flush | 50 | 0.000099 | 0.003531 |
| Four aces | 80 | 0.000482 | 0.027550 |
| Four 2-4 | 40 | 0.001398 | 0.039929 |
| Four 5-K | 25 | 0.004014 | 0.071675 |
| Full House | 14 | 0.010636 | 0.106364 |
| Flush | 8 | 0.014871 | 0.084979 |
| Straight | 6 | 0.014873 | 0.063742 |
| Three of a kind | 4 | 0.068953 | 0.197008 |
| Two pair | 2 | 0.124759 | 0.178228 |
| Jacks or better | 1 | 0.190435 | 0.136025 |
| Nothing | 0 | 0.569133 | 0.000000 |
| Total | 1.000000 | 0.987886 |
Double Bonus
| Event | Pays | Probability | Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| Royal flush | 800 | 0.000056 | 0.032143 |
| Baby royal flush | 400 | 0.000021 | 0.006061 |
| Five aces | 800 | 0.000021 | 0.012237 |
| Five 2-4 | 320 | 0.000064 | 0.014684 |
| Five 5-K | 100 | 0.000193 | 0.013767 |
| Straight Flush | 50 | 0.000096 | 0.003425 |
| Four aces | 160 | 0.000485 | 0.055423 |
| Four 2-4 | 80 | 0.001395 | 0.079713 |
| Four 5-K | 50 | 0.004205 | 0.150195 |
| Full House | 13 | 0.009612 | 0.089255 |
| Flush | 8 | 0.015580 | 0.089029 |
| Straight | 6 | 0.016605 | 0.071165 |
| Three of a kind | 3 | 0.068754 | 0.147329 |
| Two pair | 1 | 0.123010 | 0.087864 |
| Jacks or better | 1 | 0.183106 | 0.130790 |
| Nothing | 0 | 0.576796 | 0.000000 |
| Total | 1.000000 | 0.983079 |
Double Double Bonus
| Event | Pays | Probability | Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| Royal flush | 800 | 0.000057 | 0.032785 |
| Baby royal flush | 400 | 0.000022 | 0.006363 |
| Five aces | 800 | 0.000021 | 0.011983 |
| Five 2-4 | 320 | 0.000063 | 0.014380 |
| Five 5-K | 100 | 0.000193 | 0.013767 |
| Straight Flush | 50 | 0.000097 | 0.003462 |
| 4 aces + 2-4 | 400 | 0.000132 | 0.037641 |
| 4 2-4 + A-4 | 160 | 0.000361 | 0.041258 |
| 4 aces + 5-K | 160 | 0.000383 | 0.043733 |
| 4 2-4 + 5-K | 80 | 0.001038 | 0.059328 |
| 4 5-K | 50 | 0.004218 | 0.150636 |
| Full House | 10 | 0.009179 | 0.065563 |
| Flush | 7 | 0.013935 | 0.069676 |
| Straight | 5 | 0.014803 | 0.052869 |
| Three of a kind | 3 | 0.070917 | 0.151965 |
| Two pair | 1 | 0.119827 | 0.085590 |
| Jacks or better | 1 | 0.198520 | 0.141800 |
| Nothing | 0 | 0.566235 | 0.000000 |
| Total | 1.000000 | 0.982799 |
Planning Poker Deck
Triple Double Bonus
| Event | Pays | Probability | Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| Royal flush | 800 | 0.000057 | 0.032718 |
| Baby royal flush | 400 | 0.000021 | 0.006015 |
| Five aces | 800 | 0.000006 | 0.003475 |
| Five 2-4 | 320 | 0.000018 | 0.004170 |
| Five 5-K | 100 | 0.000088 | 0.006259 |
| Straight Flush | 50 | 0.000102 | 0.003636 |
| 4 aces + 2-4 | 800 | 0.000140 | 0.079781 |
| 4 2-4 + A-4 | 400 | 0.000387 | 0.110635 |
| 4 aces + 5-K | 160 | 0.000216 | 0.024677 |
| 4 2-4 + 5-K | 80 | 0.000546 | 0.031206 |
| 4 5-K | 50 | 0.003137 | 0.112034 |
| Full House | 12 | 0.010079 | 0.086389 |
| Flush | 8 | 0.015795 | 0.090259 |
| Straight | 6 | 0.016816 | 0.072070 |
| Three of a kind | 2 | 0.069992 | 0.099988 |
| Two pair | 1 | 0.116920 | 0.083515 |
| Jacks or better | 1 | 0.186093 | 0.132923 |
| Nothing | 0 | 0.579587 | 0.000000 |
| Total | 1.000000 | 0.979750 |
Deuces Wild
| Event | Pays | Probability | Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natural royal flush | 800 | 0.000059 | 0.033685 |
| Natural baby royal flush | 400 | 0.000023 | 0.006521 |
| Five deuces | 800 | 0.000053 | 0.030182 |
| Four deuces | 200 | 0.001636 | 0.233718 |
| Wild royal flush | 36 | 0.001806 | 0.046438 |
| Five of a kind | 14 | 0.002896 | 0.028964 |
| Straight Flush | 12 | 0.005659 | 0.048502 |
| Four of a kind | 4 | 0.060547 | 0.172991 |
| Full House | 4 | 0.026021 | 0.074345 |
| Flush | 3 | 0.020648 | 0.044245 |
| Straight | 2 | 0.053559 | 0.076512 |
| Three of a kind | 1 | 0.266942 | 0.190673 |
| Nothing | 0 | 0.560153 | 0.000000 |
| Total | 1.000000 | 0.986775 |
Bonus Deuces Wild
| Event | Pays | Probability | Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natural royal flush | 800 | 0.000059 | 0.033941 |
| Natural baby royal flush | 400 | 0.000022 | 0.006340 |
| Five deuces | 800 | 0.000052 | 0.029737 |
| Four deuces plus ace | 400 | 0.000137 | 0.039156 |
| Four deuces | 200 | 0.001480 | 0.211498 |
| Wild royal flush | 30 | 0.001864 | 0.039946 |
| Five aces | 80 | 0.000357 | 0.020380 |
| Five 3-5 | 40 | 0.000747 | 0.021342 |
| Five 6-K | 20 | 0.001954 | 0.027907 |
| Straight Flush | 13 | 0.005630 | 0.052276 |
| Four of a kind | 4 | 0.063217 | 0.180621 |
| Full House | 3 | 0.021043 | 0.045093 |
| Flush | 3 | 0.021213 | 0.045456 |
| Straight | 1 | 0.040923 | 0.029231 |
| Three of a kind | 1 | 0.285593 | 0.203995 |
| Nothing | 0 | 0.555708 | 0.000000 |
| Total | 1.000000 | 0.986919 |
Strategy
I'm afraid you're on your own with that for now (don't you hate it when I say that?)
Acknowledgements
Fresh Deck Poker On Facebook
- A huge thanks to professor Gary Koehler for the return tables above.
- VideoPoker.com for permission to publish the example screenshots above, which were taken from their practice game as well as their continued support with my many questions and requests.
Written by: Michael Shackleford