Starting Hands for 6 MAX NL/PL

I recently started playing a 6 max game, and I find them to be a lot fun. The faster action definitely suits me better (which is why I think I prefer tournaments to ring games, since in my experience they go much faster since people are less likely to be play 2-3 tables at once).

Anyway, my question is what starting hands you all play, and what percentage of flops you see. Obviously, if you play all the BB and SB hands, that's 33% on a 6 person table right there. One guy on my table literally must have played 80%+ of the flops. He very, very, rarely folded.

Do you play Ace-anything, or K-anything suited? Also, one of the problems I have hit into are people who are willing to call down anything (sort of like in limit). For example, one hand I got AT preflop, and the flop was something like T-5-2. Top pair, top kicker, so I think I am going well. I raise 3x the BB, and get two callers. On the turn came a K, and I ended up getting beaten, since an A never came.

Do shorthanded games require more aggressive raising? Do I need to bet more to protect my hands? Should I raise pre-flop with almost any mid-high pocket pair? For example, earlier today on 99 preflop, I raised 3x the BB (I had the button too, I think). I only got two callers, but eventually a high card came, and I had to fold.

Also, are hands like A-J, A-T, K-Q, worthy of pre-flop raises to maximize value? What if everyone calls anyway? Am I just giving them better odds on their bets if they call the raises anyway?

I ended up losing a bit overall. I also find one of the problems, is whereas in a full ring game, one great hand can bring you back from losses, it's harder in these games, since there are fewer players. Do I need to push more with hands? I got burned on second highest pair a few times (when the other players just checked, not even a check-raise), so I am really hesitant to do that now.

Any general advice on these games would be very helpful! Thanks!

If you start playing the games tight like you do in a full ring game, you will do fine. Even though there's only 6 people at the table with you, 2nd pair is not a hand to call anything with. Start simple, and be either raising or folding - dont cold call unless its preflop with a pocket pair.

Go ahead and raise KQ, AJ, and AT preflop. Start raising those only in late position though and get the feel for the table first. If you are sitting with AT and someone in front of you raises, dump it. Its all about position. If you raise preflop, bet the pot on the flop and most of the times its your pot.

If you keep getting callers, you need to figure out if they are calling you on draws or if they are slowplaying. Dont fear though, theres an easy way to figure this out. Keep betting until your opponents give you a reason to fold! If the table is just really loose and calls everything, then sit and camp for monster hands and let them pay you off.


Dont go playing ace anything or K-suited cards, either - its not that shorthanded. You still need good cards if there's going to be a showdown. Look for big cards in position.

Start simple, play tight aggressive, and play good poker - you will win $$

Thanks for those tips. I'll definitely try them out and report back. I'll definitely try to stay more tight than I already was.

How about suited connectors? Do you play these types of hands? It seems like if there's a lot of checking/small bets, they might be more feasible (since it'd become like a limit game, almost), but hands like 98 suited are rarely going to be top pair, so I am not sure they are worth playing. What do you think?

One more question. How do you handle mid-lower pocket pairs, if there has been a raise in front of you? Do you fold in general, or unless you think there will be a lot of callers, and not too much raising?

Originally Posted by ManhattanMan

One more question. How do you handle mid-lower pocket pairs, if there has been a raise in front of you? Do you fold in general, or unless you think there will be a lot of callers, and not too much raising?

Mid-lower pocket pairs are where the money is. Play those from any position (if you are playing No Limit) and if there is a raise that is anything less than 10% of you and your opponent' stack. The reason behind this is that you will hit a set about 1 out of 8 times on the flop. If your opponents has a strong hand, you will break them and get their entire stack. For example, If you have $25 bucks and your opponent only has $8 and he raises $2 preflop, its not worth calling that raise with a pair of 2's because his stack is so small. If you both had $25 then it might be worth it.

You won't always crack somebody's stack of course because they may just have AJ and will give up on the flop, or they could possibly even hit a higher set, so dont go around calling 10% raises all the time because they wont always pay you off.

If you dont hit a set, then get out. Its simple. If you do hit a set, you have to decide whether or not to check the flop. If the board has ANY kind of a draw whatsoever then you need to be betting/raising. If you check the flop, make sure to come out betting on the turn even if it looks like another blank.

Small suited connectors like 89s should not be played for top pair or anything like that. I favor them mostly in late position against a raise. If your opponent raises a small to medium amount preflop, then these are also good hands to try and crack them with. You are looking for either strong draws, small 2 pairs, or small sets. If only like 2 people limp in, I dont see much use for them besides raising preflop and stealing the pot. Stealing the pot also requires picking the right spots.

The answer to this question depends on how good you are and how much gambling you want to do (how much variance you want to put up with. I have won at 6max consistently playing seeing 25-35% of flops, 35-45% of flops, and 45-55% of flops. I've had less success seeing 60% of flops and more. Generally I now see about 40% of flops when I play six-max.

To give you an answer though, a solid tight strategy is very much like the one smackin recommends--basically the same as tight ring game preflop selection, except with UTG and UTG+1 serving as MP, and CO and button as LP. Also, weaker 20+21 hands (ie TJ, JK, TA) go up in value and can be played more (with you raising or playing in a pot full of limpers--be wary of calling raises with these types of hands).

As you start getting more comfortable with 6max and want to loosen up, you can start playing all 20 and 21 hands in any position, and Axs and suited connectors in position. If you get even more experienced and want to loosen up more, you can play Axs and suited connectors from any position and add Kxs and offsuit connectors to your list of playable hands in LP (I find these play well in unraised pots).

In the end though, six max is a game of postflop play, so as long as you're not playing too loose for your level of skill you should do fine.

Originally Posted by SmackinYaUp

If you keep getting callers, you need to figure out if they are calling you on draws or if they are slowplaying. Dont fear though, theres an easy way to figure this out. Keep betting until your opponents give you a reason to fold! If the table is just really loose and calls everything, then sit and camp for monster hands and let them pay you off.

Oh, and I meant that if you are getting habitual callers not to keep betting if the flop totally misses you. If someone calls your bluff then just check-n-fold. Keep betting only when you mean it.

Thanks for your replies! I played a bit last night, with mixed results. I bought in a mini-stakes table, and doubled up on a nut flush (it flopped, and someone had the Q and gave me their stack). Anyway, I ended up playing terribly and losing it.

I think my biggest problem is post-flop play. Sometimes I have a solid hand, and end up losing. For example, I had something like Q8 on the BB, so I checked. The flop came QQ3 (rainbow), or something like that. So I slowplayed, and then a club landed. Worried about the flush draw, I raised a good amount, and he called and hit the flush, and I lost a big pot. I probably should have played the QQQ stronger. I am probably giving my opponents too much credit as far as their skill levels, as even when I have the nuts, people often will call large bets with nothing.

In a bigger ring game, it seems easier to put people on hands, since people are less likely to play with junk. Every game of 6max that I've played has had at LEAST one habitual caller, who calls at least 80-90% of every hand pre-flop.

PS. While I've done a lot of poker reading, some of the lingo is new to me. I take it MP means Middle Position, but what is CO?

It sounds like you are playing well. Just keep at it and make sure you focus all of your attention on the table while playing. One of my biggest leaks as a beginner was surfing the net, watchin tv, etc while playing. I didnt really think it helped me very much when I payed attention the whole time, but the subconcious picks up a lot more than you realize. A lot of it is experience. Luck never hurts either.

Anyways, with hands like the Q8 one, I would advise against slowplaying it because you dont have the best kicker, and there are many cards that could fall that would make opponents' hands better than yours. Those kind of hands you just want to take a small or medium sized pot against loose callers. Its not a good place to call all-ins.

CO stand for cutoff and its the black seat in the corner.