iPoker Network Introducing Six Plus Hold'em

The iPoker Network announced this week that it will launch a relatively new poker variant called Six Plus Hold'em on all of its skins starting on February 22.

The gaming format has grown popular in nosebleed games in Macau and was introduced to the masses by Phil Ivey and Tom Dwan in a YouTube video that promoted the game over the summer.  The popularity stems from the amount of action the game creates.

"I love the game. It's fun, brings a lot of action, and creates a lot of big pots," Ivey proclaimed in the video. "There's a lot of skill involved, but also a lot of luck, so I think it makes for a phenomenal game."

Dwan agreed with Ivey about the amount of action the game creates, stating, "And in Six Plus it's a lot closer, so everyone needs to gamble more, think more about what to do. Players can't just be lazy or wait around for a good hand, which makes for a less fun game."

While the rules to the game are somewhat similar to No Limit Hold'em, there are some very notable differences.  The biggest difference is that twos through fives are eliminated to create a 36-card deck.  The smaller deck is the main reason Six Plus Hold'em is considered to be a much bigger-action game.  The odds of getting a pocket pair are reduced by more than half and the odds of hitting open-ended straight draws significantly rise.

The other major difference between Six Plus Hold'em and No Limit Texas Hold'em is the way hands are ranked.  In Six Plus Hold'em, a set beats a straight, a flush beats a full house, and aces can be used for the low end of a straight, making the lowest straight possibility A5678.

The iPoker Network won't be the first to introduce Six Plus Hold'em online, but it will be the biggest to date.  Poker Industry Pro reported that the Russian language network PokerDom introduced the game in October.

We expect there to be problems at least in the short-term for your poker software interacting with the game.  However, some software should be compatible with the game right away such as table organizing software.

The game should get off to a quick start due to promotions iPoker will run to help break it in.  However, whether or not it stays popular will probably dictate how many poker software companies decide to make their software fully compatible with the game.

You can check out Six Plus Hold'em next week on iPoker skins such as Titan Poker, Ladbrokes, and William Hill.

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