Is Short Deck the new PLO?

Barry Carter argues that Short Deck Poker will overtake PLO because it has all the benefits with less of the drawbacks.

It’s already looking like 2019 will be remembered mostly as the year Short Deck Poker (or 6+ Hold’em) broke into the mainstream. There are too many landmarks to mention in one go but we have already seen Short Deck feature at the EPT circuit, scheduled for bracelet events at the WSOP and WSOPE, and multiple online operators have added it to their clients (all of which I predicted at the start of the year).

It’s so popular among the high stakes community that the Triton High Roller Series have hosted double Main Events, one in normal No Limit and another in Short Deck. In fact last week the Short Deck version of the Main Event collected more money. The Main Event won by Bryn Kenney attracted 44 players and 31 re-entries to make his first prize $2,713,859. The Short Deck Main Event won by Rui Cao attracted 47 entries and 51 re-entries to make his first prize $3,351,130.

Short Deck plays like regular No Limit Hold'em other than cards below 6 are removed from the deck. As such the hand rankings change and a Flush now beats a Full House, as there are less cards in the deck to make five of the same suit. Three of a Kind beats a Straight too. Wheel Straights are still possible but they are ordered A-6-7-8-9.

Simple but not solved (yet)

For as long as I have been around poker people have argued that Pot Limit Omaha is poised to have a boom of its own. PLO aficionados have argued that it simultaneously has more action for recreational players while being far from solved so that the pros can enjoy a big edge. The problem with PLO is that it is very confusing for new players to pick up compared to the ‘minute to learn, lifetime to master’ No Limit Hold’em and has always been hard to follow for casual fans watching on TV.

I think Short Deck potentially offers the poker world what PLO has promised for years without some of the barriers. It is a faster action game (because all the hands look playable) while also being far from solved (mostly because it’s a new game). It has the simplicity of No Limit Hold’em, meaning new players could pick it up sooner and follow it on screen easier.

This is not to say it’s completely easy to follow, if you are a casual player who has been brought up on No Limit then there will be a period where you forget the new hand rankings. But it is still a much simpler game than PLO.

Ready to overtake PLO?

The Super High Rollers are making it look really fun too. All credit has to go to the nosebleed community and in particular everyone at Triton Poker who have somewhat made their brand popularising it. A lot of people claim that Super High Roller tournaments are ‘boring’ because most of the players are playing a GTO style, but Short Deck is bringing out businessmen and characters like Tony G to gamble.

I really don’t know how big Short Deck can get but it clearly has been hard to ignore for live and online operators. In the next 12-18 months I expect to see more bracelets in Short Deck, more side events at all levels of buy-in and maybe more standalone Short Deck Main Events. It makes me sad to say, but at a minimum I think Short Deck could overtake PLO as the second most widely played poker format.

Is Short Deck the new PLO? Let us know in the comments: