One unique feature of Short Deck on the GG Network is the Flush Jackpot. The Flush Jackpot is won every time a player hits a flush or better using both their holecards. That means only a suited hand or a pocket pair (four of a kind) qualifies for it.

You need to have at least 15 antes invested in the pot before hitting your Jackpot hand. You can even win the Jackpot if you fold your hand after you hit the flush, just as long as you’ve invested more than 15a. 

This could be relevant in the situation where you hit a low flush on the turn and river comes four to a flush. This rarely happens, but if your opponents bets big on the river in such a situation, they usually have the nut or second nut-flush.

The Flush Jackpot will be a noteworthy part of your winnings, so it’s important to adjust accordingly when playing suited hands and when you have a flush draw.

Here are some frequently asked questions about the Flush Jackpot with detailed explanations.    

How much can you win?

It’s a progressive jackpot that gets bigger the more time goes by. However, it’s only 10% of the progressive jackpot that you win. On average, a Jackpot won will be 50-70 antes. This is a significant amount of money, so be sure that you qualify for the Jackpot by investing more than 15a, before hitting it.

Additional Rules:

Something that many players are not aware of; you can still hit the Jackpot after making your flush or quads, when you haven’t invested 15 antes yet. You will have to commit the remaining antes that amount to 15a+ and additionally improve your hand on the next street, while using both of your holecards. This might sound confusing, so here is an example:

Hero: J♥ 8♥

Flop: T♥ 9♥ 6♦

Turn: 6♥ (<15a invested)

River: K♥ ( >15a invested)

Hero didn’t invest 15a by the turn, and is therefore not qualified for the Jackpot. However, by the river, the amount invested is more than 15a and the hand improved to a higher flush. This means that Hero does qualify for the Jackpot by the river. It’s fairly rare that you improve your Jackpot hand after making it, but it’s still important to know this rule.

This rule also counts for the four of a kind Jackpot. E.g. the pot wasn’t big enough to qualify on the turn, but the river makes a higher kicker to your four of a kind.  

Can I hit the Jackpot when I run it more than once?

Yes. If you run it more than once, the first run-out will be the one that counts towards the Jackpot. A flush hit on the second run-out does not qualify. So you don’t have to worry about running it multiple times, if you like to decrease some variance.

How often do you hit a Jackpot when all-in preflop?

Few people probably know the exact odds for hitting a flush with a suited hand. E.g. if you are all-in preflop with a suited hand, what is the chance that you hit a flush? The answer is 4.6% of the time. If we assume a Jackpot of 60a on average that means that, you have 2.76a of added value when all-in with a suited hand.

For instance, let’s say someone raised to 8a and you went all-in for 50a with TJs and raiser called with AA. Normally your equity here would be 36.8% in a pot of 105a, which equals 38.6a. With the added value of the Jackpot your actual equity would be 39.4%. This equates to 2.6% added to your equity. As you can see this adds value to suited hands in all-in preflop situations.

With a pocket pair, you’ll hit four of a kind 1.8% of the time when all-in preflop. This adds 1a in extra value.

How should I play a flush draw on the flop? 

Whenever you have a flush draw on the flop there’s a 30% chance to hit your flush by the river. Hitting it on the river from the turn is 16%. With a Jackpot of 60a, that’s 18 antes of added value, when all-in on the flop. 

Imagine a situation where you check-raise all-in with Th9h on Ah Js 6h and your opponent called with AA. Final pot size is 105a. Your equity here would be 37.5%, but with the Jackpot, it equates to 54.5% equity. So you are basically a favorite against the nuts.

As the example shows, there is a lot of merit to playing your flush draws aggressively on the flop. Either by raising all-in on the flop or betting to qualify for the Jackpot. Calling is obviously also an option, but if the bet isn’t large enough to qualify if you hit on the turn raising might be the best option.

If you have a limped pot of 10a on the flop and you want to bet, the best option would be to choose a bet size that makes you have 15a invested to qualify. In a limped pot the one ante posted and the one ante called (limped) both count towards this, so an over-bet of 13a would work in this spot. If you choose to over-bet these spots, make sure that you balance in strong hands too, so you’re not predictable.

What is the chance another player has a flush draw?

Flushes are much rarer in 6+ than regular Hold’em, but most people are not aware what the likelihood is of another player having a flush draw. It naturally depends on our opponent’s range, so for simplicity let’s say the opponent has a range of 50% of hands with most of the suited hands included. Suited hands like K6s, Q7s, J7s,T6s, 97s and 86s are excluded. That adds up to 79 combos, so 17% of all possible hands are suited.      

If we imagine a situation where we saw a flop with Ts8s on Ks 6s Qh, the chances that at least one opponent has a flush draw are:

Against one player: 2.6%

Against two players: 5.4%

Against three players: 8.2%

Against four players: 11.2%

It should be obvious that you rarely face another flush draw, when you have a flush draw on the flop. The reason is that with the reduced deck there are only nine cards of each suit. With two spades in our hand and another two on the flop, there are only five spades left in the deck. Of the suited hands in our opponent’s range there is only 7 combos they can possibly have: 

AQs, AJs, A9s, A7s, QJs, Q9s and J9s

Against that range, Ts9s actually has 18% equity, so even when against a flush draw we are not totally behind in this case.  

Conclusion: 

• You can win 50-70a by hitting the Jackpot on your given stake.

• Play flush draws aggressively. You need to be sure that you build the pot if it’s small.

• Invest at least 15a before hitting a Jackpot hand (if not possible, invest 15a until turn or river is dealt, so you might qualify when improving your hand)

• Balance your range when overbetting with a flush draw. Mix in some strong hands when you overbet on flop or turn.

• When being all-in pre-flop, your pocket pairs and suited hands gain in value due to the Jackpot Promo.

If you are one of a few that hasn’t given the GGNetwork games a try, you should definitely do so. It’s a great site to add to your grind, especially for Short Deck players. We offer some great deals with added rakeback. Read more on Where To Play.