Earlier this year, Six Plus Hold’em arrived at Bet365 Poker, bringing with it a new dimension and a new way to play. This exciting and action-packed version of the game is named because it only features the cards ranked six or higher in the pack – the cards from 2 through to 5 of all suits are removed before play.

The upshot of this is that players get drawn better cards more often and also that some hands are ranked slightly differently, a set (three of a kind) beats a straight, while a flush beats a full house.

This results in games that see more players involved through to the showdown more often and with players having better hands more often. While your standard poker skill set will still serve you in good stead in many respects with Six Plus Hold’em, there are some other key strategic tips you can follow to enjoy success at the Six Plus Hold’em cash tables.

Before we outline these hints for success, remember you do need to be a Bet365 Poker member to play the game. Read our review of the site by clicking on the following link which details how to ensure you get the right Bet365 Poker bonus code to pick up a fantastic new player deal when you sign up.

So what are some tactics that you should follow as a general strategy for more success at the Six Plus Hold’em tables? Here’s some key tips from experienced practitioners of this format of the game:

1. Don’t play top pair or a kicker too aggressively

With the number of cards in the pack and the chances of your opponents hitting a decent hand greater than in standard hold’em, top pair does not have the same value in Six Plus Hold’em as it would in a standard game. If one or more of your opponents sees the flop, then it is likely that your top pair may well be beat, or is very likely to be should your opponent hit another card on the turn or river.

It is advisable therefore not to go too strongly with top pair when you see the flop, certainly avoid going all in and in addition, when you get to the River, avoid betting for value. The reason being if your opponent hasn’t folded by this point, then they’ll likely have a hand that outranks you.

2. Be more aggressive when holding a strong draw

With the additional cards in a pack when playing Texas Hold’em, even if you have a chance of drawing a strong hand, you are still often up against the odds when a player holds a decent hand against you. However, in Six Plus Hold’em, your position when drawing is much stronger.

Don’t forget too, other players will know this and a semi bluff can often lead to player holding the nuts at that point folding. Even if they don’t and they call, you will have a much better chance of landing the winning hand than in the standard version of the game.

3. Be aware of the value of kickers

Given that there are fewer cards in the pack, allied to the fact that top pair, two pair and straight hands lose a bit of value in Six Plus Hold’em, what you will soon realise when you start to play the game that often the pair you hold isn’t the key issue, it is the kicker card that is key. With higher value cards in the pack only, it is a sensible strategy to ensure that if you feel you are tied with an opponent, that you consider the value of the kicker.

In short, it is always sensible to place higher importance on your kicker card in Six Plus Hold’em than standard Texas Hold’em, particularly in hands where you think you and an opponent may share the same pocket cards, or have hit a similar strength hand where the kicker may be vital in deciding the winner.

4. Remember this stat – There are less than half the possible hands in play in Six Plus Hold’em than in Texas Hold’em

If you find yourself starting to play a little more loosely and perhaps starting to lose money then there is one salient point you should remember. Although in Six Plus Hold’em only 16 cards in total have been removed from the pack, this means that the number of hands you can be dealt in the game is roughly half that of Texas Hold’em.

How is this, well there are 1326 possible hands you can be dealt as your hole cards in Texas Hold’em, but remove the 2-5 of each suit from the deck and that number of possible hands falls dramatically to 630. And these are all higher value hands.

5. Remember the added value of Flushes and Sets

Given that both three-of-a-kind hands and flush draws are harder to hit, but also ranked higher, representing these hands, or semi-bluffing them can be a good way to get paid out. Beginner players will often over value hands such as straights, full houses and, two pair and pairs in Six Plus hold’em and when you are holding a flush or a set, it can be a very profitable time to cash in by betting big.

Conversely if you have hit a pocket pair and don’t hit a set on the flop, then provided the betting doesn’t become too large, you can make three-bets with pocket pairs relatively easily as you have an 18% chance of hitting a set. That’s worth a shot, provided that you aren’t risking too much of your stack to make the call.

Six Plus Hold’em is a fantastic game that shares many similarities to Texas Hold’em but due to the rule changes and strategic changes, offers poker players an absorbing new style of game to play. Many poker skills are easily transferable to the new game, but there are some key strategies that you should follow when considering the ranking of individual hands and the probability of hitting specific hands in the game.