Moving from FR to 6-max...

[d0zer]

I've grinded my way from 25NL to 200NL & got smacked back to 100NL. All at FR.

My 6-max experience is limited, but I wanna start getting into this game. So far I'm basically treating it like a FR game where there's no EP, & playing the same game I would when the first 3 fold. Problems to this approach?

Also, I'm wondering if someone could comment on calling a PFR. I notice a fair number of people calling raises with hands like AJ, KQ. In FR for the most part I play a raise or fold game preflop, with the exception of sethunting. Do we open our calling range in SHNL because hands like KQ are ahead of a looser TAGG's LP opening range, so we get value when their KT/KJ flops top pair? In position, ok, but OOP this seems like trouble. Maybe I need to get more comfortable playing OOP?

[asdpikas]

In my experience 6max is much more aggro than FR.
So...
C-bet more often
raise or fold is very good, except for set hunting or multiway pots w SCs...
Floating c-bets in position should be in your arsenal.
Hands at showdown will be less big than in FR (more kicker wars, 2pair, TP...)
open up a little bit on the button and CO to steal blinds (with caution)

I mostly fold hands that can be dominated (KQ, AJ...) if someone raises ahead, except for loose players, whom i'll 3bet.

[d0zer]

Ok, a lot of that is already in my arsenal. I use the 'cbets flop' & 'folds to flop c-bet' stats already, and will float habitual c-betters in position, & sometimes c/r them OOP.

After a few thousand hands it seems I'm playing around a 20/16 game with a 40% attempt to steal, which doesn't seem too bad mmMM?

[asdpikas]

Ok, a lot of that is already in my arsenal. I use the 'cbets flop' & 'folds to flop c-bet' stats already, and will float habitual c-betters in position, & sometimes c/r them OOP.

After a few thousand hands it seems I'm playing around a 20/16 game with a 40% attempt to steal, which doesn't seem too bad mmMM?

seems fine, i'm not the best NL6max player here tho, let's see other ppl's comments.

I'm also playing much looser, but that's just me, tightish is the way to go mostly.

[zook]

You shouldn't do badly if you just transfer your full-ring strategy over. The main difference is that 6max players are (in general) looser pre-flop with raises and 3bets and more aggressive post-flop. You can exploit these tendencies by widening your ranges in certain situations, but that's not essential to make money. My advice is to play your normal, tight game for a few thousand hands, get stats and reads and then start adapting.

[freechus9]

4 table, get better reads, and make thin value bets/calls. The big pots are the same, the little ones are where the moneys at.

[Erpel]

To state the completely obvious - I think the most important difference is that the hand you are up against is the best of 5 holdings instead of the best of 8/9 holdings.

To elaborate (and this is making up numbers, so take with a grain of salt), I read once that the average winning hand in FR was two pair. I took this to mean that if 10 players are dealt two cards, flop, turn and river are put on the board and the best final hand is determined - and millions of these hands are tracked - the median hand is two pair. In 6max - the median best hand might be top pair, top kicker.

It seems to me that all hands go up in value compared to what you're used to from FR. A-high and medium pair are more frequently the best hand dealt.

UTG is middle position after the flop.

I think it's probably entirely appropriate to pretend you're at a FR table with 3/4 people folding ahead of the action to begin - but you might want to slightly flex or expand ranges for all positions ever so slightly.

I think you might enjoy dropping 2-3 levels, moving to 6max and lagging it up on 4 tables or less for 10k hands to get a bit of a feel for 6max hand values before you start playing 6max at your normal level.

[bjsaust]

Positionally aware players will be much looser in the CO/BU, so you can exploit that from the blinds. Other than that, the game shouldnt be much different.