Six card poker is a variant of poker in which each player competes against the dealer using six cards. After placing an ante and dealing out hands of six cards to each player, an ace or higher ranking five-card hand can win against any dealer five card hand. Two standard 52-card decks may be used; in that case the rules vary slightly; specifically that a pair now ranks higher than in single deck versions of this game.
Before the cards are distributed, each player makes an ante or blind bet equal to the ante amount or blind people bet. After this step is taken, each dealer distributes three face up cards for them each player as well as three face down ones to himself; these may then be exchanged for new cards from him in order to form winning hands of at least a pair or better containing at least six cards.
The six-card bonus bet is an advanced type of 3 card poker betting with bigger returns than Pair Plus bet. It considers all six cards received: three from player and three from dealer – then pays out according to any combinations formed from these six. Unfortunately, however, hitting this hand often won’t happen and thus most bets will likely go down to defeat.
5 card hands follow a similar ranking structure to 3 card poker hands; however, with three-card high pairs now taking priority due to being more difficult to form with five than with three. It should also be noted that three distinct high pair hands will outrank two pairs and break any ties among multiple hands of equal rank.
However, having more choices with five cards increases the odds of making a flush more likely. 46 out of 76 hands produce flushes in 5-card hands (520 choices total), so this increased frequency makes the odds more likely. It would be incorrect to assume that higher-card hands should now rank lower due to this increase, however; rather than this trend being reversed it remains very close and consistent between pairs with five cards and those containing four or five.
As is true in all forms of poker, beginning strong is essential in 6 card Omaha. Since this form of the game often uses suited cards as starting hands, making suited connections is even more crucial in 6 card Omaha than other variations of poker. Furthermore, the way community cards are distributed can influence how powerful a specific hand is as it affects combinations and hands that appear frequently within it – this topic will be further discussed later on in this section.