I would guess you are seeing 4"x8" cylinders rather than the 3"x6" in the thread title. As msucog pointed out, ACI standard strength acceptance is based on 2 - 6"x12" cylinders or 3 - 4"x8" cylinders at 28-days. No matter what, you are still limited to 3x the maximum aggregate size of the aggregate in the concrete per ASTM C 31, and the consolidation procedure is 2-lifts with a 3/8" diameter rod. The 4"x8" cylinders can only be used for concrete containing aggregates up to 1 1/4" maximum size.
Greg