Intermediate Bankroll Management for Short Deck Poker Owen Gaines Owen Gaines is a professional poker player and author who has played an estimated ten million hands and written four poker strategy books. January 8, 2026 By acknowledging that you will face more frequent downswings, you can prepare yourself for the swings Short Deck poker, or Six Plus Hold’em, is a high-action game where removing low cards narrows equity gaps. For beginners, this means “swings” or variance will be much higher than in traditional No-Limit Hold’em. Proper bankroll management is about surviving stretches where strong hands repeatedly lose to even stronger ones. Because hand values run so close, experts often recommend keeping at least 100 buy-ins for your chosen stakes. In standard Hold’em, 30 to 40 buy-ins might feel secure, but Short Deck’s volatility can quickly wipe out a small roll. A deeper cushion allows you to make mathematically correct all-in calls without the fear of going broke. A “unit” in Short Deck should be treated with more caution than in other variants. In “button ante” structures, pots grow rapidly pre-flop, leading to larger average pot sizes. You should adjust your unit size to ensure a single session of “running cold” does not account for more than 5% of your total poker funds. The psychological impact of Short Deck variance is a major factor in bankroll management. Beginners often “tilt” when pocket Aces are cracked by a straight, which happens more often in this 36-card format. If you find yourself frustrated by these losses, it is a sign you are playing at stakes too high for your comfort. Moving down in stakes quickly is a vital skill. If your bankroll drops below a certain threshold—such as 80 buy-ins—you should immediately drop to a lower limit to rebuild. This disciplined approach prevents a bad run from becoming a total disaster and keeps you in the game long enough for the math to turn in your favor.