Help with my 6 max game

i'm usually a solid 10 handed 50NLHM player, but i'm in the process of clearing the 600 euro bonus on toprankedpoker.com, and i think i need help with my 6 max. what approach should i go? i'm usually loose aggressive in 10 handed, raise a lotta hands in position, usually hands that work together like suited connectors and gapped ones as well. i can even tighten up in 10 handed as well, but in 6 handed. i feel like i try to "play the player" more and it gets me in trouble.

should i just play tight aggressive and stick to only playing the premium cards? or should i stick to my usual laggy style? i 4 table btw if that helps. also if you could post what style you play and if it works out that would help as well. thanks in advance

I have a love-hate relationship here.
I have done better when I have:

• reduced tables, gotten a better read on others
  
  alternated tight/loose play, w/SELECTIVE agg -- play hands w/LtPos & semi-junk if folded to me, etc.
  
  run poker tracker / GT+ and adjusted my playstyle to the table
  
  stopped assuming my opponent played according to pot odds -- check raise more -- your opponent is betting Sklansky's SSHE draws like it was Limit poker
  
  bought in short to reduce implied odds against me, using the all in more often while ahead (easier to call)
  
  stopped calling that rivered two pair in an otherwise uncontested pot
  
  focused my play on weekends and European evenings

My normal, fullring Party Poker /PStars play was SLAgg, with no SC to speak of.

Originally Posted by jungy121

i'm usually a solid 10 handed 50NLHM player, but i'm in the process of clearing the 600 euro bonus on toprankedpoker.com, and i think i need help with my 6 max. what approach should i go? i'm usually loose aggressive in 10 handed, raise a lotta hands in position, usually hands that work together like suited connectors and gapped ones as well. i can even tighten up in 10 handed as well, but in 6 handed. i feel like i try to "play the player" more and it gets me in trouble.

should i just play tight aggressive and stick to only playing the premium cards? or should i stick to my usual laggy style? i 4 table btw if that helps. also if you could post what style you play and if it works out that would help as well. thanks in advance

I use a similar playing style to what you just described usually and I almost always play 6max. For some reason I am a winning 6max player but not a 10max player (or if I am beating some levels it is only for a smaller amount than my 6max). Not sure why..

I would reduce the number of tables or play a tighter game. Playing loose combined with 6max means there will be many hard decisions. You won't have enough information to make the most +EV decision enough that overall that appraoch is -EV. This approach may however work if the same players at most of your tables. This happens during off-peak hours often.

so just tighten up my range?

if anything, in 6 max you should be playing more hands.

but its hard to say without knowing how many hands you are relaly playing in full ring

Go to 6max forums to ask for some advice. You really dont have to be that loose in short handed games, especially out of position. Most of the winning players seem to have their VPIP at 19-26 range, PFR% being 2/3-3/4 of VPIP.

When you play a 6 player game you have to play looser. You are posting a blind 33% of the time as oppsoed to 20% of the time. What percentage of flops are you seeing? I still play the suited connectors ect... But I put a lot more value in hands like k10s and Kjs than I would in a 10 player game. I find seeing 30% of the flops is a good number for me in the 6 player games.

In a 6 handed table play the table. Wait, let me say that again, PLAY THE TABLE. Sometimes you will find a crazy crazy table where everyone thinks they have to play super loose, because they are 6 handed. Here, you can actuallly tighten up and make a killing. Other times its a bit tighter and you have to fight for pots. Sometimes you find guys doing a little bit of both. When you find those guys, go find another table. I agree that you can't multitable as well w/ 6-handed. Not just because its going faster, although this is a reason, but also because it is so much more important to, what was it again, oh ya, PLAY THE TABLE.

thanks for the tips guys. ithink I was limping with pocket pairs too much. and i changd it up. increased my raising range especially in position. when I first started I dropped 100 euros in like 2 hours. and now I'm up 120 euros including my buy in.

wow, hold your horse'is. pocket pairs losing value. hands like KJs and k10s gaining value. What justification do you have for this? What limit you playing? you must have a solid read on your opps, to follow a typically aggresive line through to the river with KJ or K10s.

With a higher 6-max table (>= 100nl), a standard pot is raised pre-flop. There is a continuation bet on flop (2/3 pot). Then if you have position you either call or raise (raise is usually the only way to play). U can see the pots getting big very quickly.

Do you want to have KJ in this situation?

Or would you prefer a small PP, which you can drop cheaply on a missed flop, or extract a shit load of well hidden value when you get your set.

Also in relation to VP$IP, i am at 28% with >50% pf raise. This means that basically all hands you play will be two or three handed. Learn to play like this. This is the biggest difference to 10-max.

update: well it seems like i'm playign too much like a robot, and i'm getting picked off.

i raise alotta pots preflop, PP in any position, and suited connectors in LP. and i do a cbet 100% of the time. the thing is i usually take the pot down around 75% of the time with the cbet. but sometimes i run into opposition. also, it seems like i'm not getting any action when i do get hands. also i've lost around 200 euros through bad beats. 2 outters, set over set, overpair vs set, etc.

i'mpretty sure it's variance, but i want to work on my cbet game. how would i improve that? i cbet EVERY time, and i want to change this. how would i do this?

Play looser in position and tighter in EP, especially the blinds.