Overview

SplitSix Poker™ is a head to head poker variant. Each player receives 6 private cards and must split them into 3 hands of 2 cards each (Hand A, B, and C) before any community cards are revealed.

Over 3 rounds, a full community board of 5 cards is dealt for each round. Players choose which of their 3 hands to play against each board. Every hand can only be used once, and you will choose which hand to use before seeing the next board.

The core tension: You split blind — before you see the boards. Your skill lies in evaluating your 3 hands holistically and predicting the best way to use them on each board as you see them.

Setup

A single standard 52-card deck is used per game.
Each player is dealt 6 cards face down.
Cards are dealt privately — opponents cannot see each other's cards during the split phase.

Splitting Your Hand

Before any community cards are dealt, each player must drag their 6 cards into 3 hand slots:

Hand A

A♥ K♠

Hand B

J♦ Q♦

Hand C

9♣ 10♥

Each hand must contain exactly 2 cards.
Once you confirm your split, it cannot be changed.
In multiplayer, both players split simultaneously — neither sees the other's split until the showdown of each round.

Playing the Rounds

SplitSix is played over 3 rounds. Each round follows standard poker scoring the best of 5 cards from your selected two and the five community cards:

Burn card — one card removed from the deck (face down)
Flop — 3 community cards dealt face up
Turn — 1 additional community card dealt face up
River — 1 final community card dealt face up

Once the board is dealt, each player selects which of their remaining hands (A, B, or C) to play against that board. Each hand can only be played once across the 3 rounds.

Example: If you play Hand A in Round 1 and Hand C in Round 2, you must play Hand B in Round 3 — there's no other choice remaining.

Winning a Round

Each round is won by the player whose best 5-card hand from their 7 available cards (2 hole cards + 5 community cards) ranks highest according to standard poker hand rankings.

A draw occurs when both players make hands of identical rank and value. Neither player scores for a draw.

Scoring

Points are awarded per game (3 rounds total), not per round.

Standard Mode

Result	Points
Win all 3 rounds	+5 pts
Win 2 rounds + 1 draw	+2 pts
Win 2 rounds + 1 loss	+1 pt
Any other result	0 pts

High Stakes Mode

Result	Points
Win all 3 rounds	+10 pts
Win 2 rounds + 1 draw	+6 pts
Win 2 rounds + 1 loss	+3 pts
Any other result	0 pts

Strategy Tips

💡

Balance your hands or play aggressively to try and win all 3

You will decide whether to make stronger hands or balance them. A strong A-K paired with a weak 7-2 means you're sacrificing a round.

♠

Think in suit and rank patterns

Suited connectors (like 8♥-9♥) have flush and straight potential. Pair them with boards that hit. Pocket pairs are strong — save them for a dry board you need to win.

🎯

The third round is forced

After playing two hands, your third is predetermined. Factor this in — if your third hand is weak, prioritise boards that may be low-value boards to defend against.

🤔

High-value hand vs. expected board texture

Aces are valuable but so are suited cards across three boards. A high pair might be better suited for a dry board. Think about how 5 community cards might interact with each 2-card hand.

Game Modes

🤖 Solo vs AI

Play against a computer opponent at three difficulty levels:

Easy 🌱 — Plays randomly, makes mistakes
Medium ⚡ — Plays reasonably, some strategy
Hard 🔥 — Plays near-optimally, reads boards carefully

🌐 Multiplayer

Real-time head-to-head against a friend:

Create a room and share the 4-character code
Both players split simultaneously
No waiting — fully synchronised in real time
Rematch available after each game

📚 Tutorial

New to SplitSix? The in-game tutorial walks you through every phase step by step with on-screen guidance. Recommended for first-time players.

Poker Hand Rankings

Standard poker hand rankings apply (highest to lowest):

Rank	Hand	Example
9	Royal Flush	A♠ K♠ Q♠ J♠ 10♠
8	Straight Flush	9♥ 8♥ 7♥ 6♥ 5♥
7	Four of a Kind	Q♠ Q♥ Q♦ Q♣ 3♠
6	Full House	J♠ J♥ J♦ 7♠ 7♥
5	Flush	A♦ 10♦ 8♦ 5♦ 2♦
4	Straight	9♣ 8♦ 7♥ 6♠ 5♦
3	Three of a Kind	8♠ 8♥ 8♦ K♣ 2♠
2	Two Pair	A♠ A♣ J♥ J♦ 3♠
1	One Pair	K♠ K♥ Q♦ 9♣ 4♠
0	High Card	A♠ J♥ 9♦ 5♣ 2♥

How to Play SplitSix Poker™