Let’s take a look at the odds/probabilities of hitting some of the hands: Six Plus Hold’em vs Traditional Hold’em (Odds and Probabilities comparison) If Trips were ranked higher, a player with a Straight draw would have no reason to continue the hand as he or she would be drawing dead. One of the reasons why an operator would rank a Straight higher than Three-of-a-Kind is because it would generate more action.
For example, in the Short Deck variant offered in the Triton Poker Series, a Straight is ranked higher than a Three-of-a-Kind like in traditional hold’em even though mathematically a player would hit a Straight more. However, it is worth noting that the rules vary from game to game. This increases the probability of a hand becoming a Straight and hence Straights are ranked higher than a Three-of-a-Kind. Similarly, the stripped-deck also means that the remaining 36 cards are much closer in rank and so there will be smaller gaps between the cards in the hand and those on the board. That’s because in Six Plus Hold’em, a Flush is harder to make since there are only nine cards in each suit instead of thirteen. One may wonder why a Flush is ranked higher than a Full House or why Three-of-a-Kind is ranked above a Straight.
