adjusting from FR to 6-max (low/micro limits)

Hello,

After a few months of bad poker, I'm now confident in my ability to win at 5NL/10NL FR cash games. My last 30k hands show a solid winning pattern and I'm now playing 8 tables with relative ease. My style is rather TAG, with a VPIP around 15/12. I'm not using a HUD, but I take notes of fishes, rocks and other exploitable leaks I can spot.

However, as much as I like to see my BR grow, the game I really enjoy is 6-max cash games, ideally on 4 tables at a time. My problem is, over my last 20k hands on these tables, I'm a clear losing player. I always feel bad beated to death, but given the large enough sample of hands and my experience 9 handed, I guess it's more because of my bad play than my bad luck.

I'm playing 6-max roughly the same way I would play a FR game where the first 3 players to act have folded. I realize this must be bad play, but I have a hard time adjusting my game.

I'm still recovering from my previous losses by grinding 5NL FR (and it always works...) but I'm soon going to try 5NL 6-max again.

Any advice to help me out ?

Thanks !

i'm very interested to hear any replies to this as i also want to switch 6max. i would imagine it to be alot more aggressive. as there would be less implied odds on your hands. i know set/str8 mining can be profitable in a FR game as w/9 players your more likely to be against a hand that will pay off if you do hit. but i would like to here some other strategy differences between the two.

-steal, steal, steal
- i usually table select better..high players seeing flop %
- button, Co isolate limpers with position by raising

This sounds like downfall...the blinds are coming round faster and ur still in a set mining and a big pots philosophy and u aren't winning enough fo the small pots.

You could experiment with stealing by raising 2x or 2.5x and do with with 35-50% of ur range from the button. You need a HUD with the fold to steal stat and how they play post flop.

Vs players how fold alot pre or on the flop. I raised upwards to 75% and against a guy who never folds - I need SD hands, so maybe only the top 25%. With HUD this info is available within 5secs at a glance..if u set it up well.

See i'd exploit u by just raising ur blind 100& of the time and if u didnt adjust, i can't continue to do it. Also, if he fought back i'd shut down. As you wouldn't have a hand enough of the times, it would be +EV. See if i'm up against a guy who is stealinn my blinds alot..i start to 3bet with Arag or Krag as it means less comobs of As and ks int he theri range. I'd start flatting them and just try and put them in tough spots. 6max does need aot more skill and i ain't a great player. But like a high stakes plaeyr said leatherass "I've never seen a good FR player' and that is probably why. They just play set, generalised game and u can't learn how to adapt and exploit that well in FR. I can PF, on the flop maybe not so well on the turn/river.

^^^ Good stuff on stealing.

In 6max, you want to focus more on isolating players and representing your hands effectively. Less focus on drawing/going to showdown with the best hand, more focus on playing the player.

Don't expect to be able to play as many tables in 6max as you may in FR, you need to pay closer attention to your opponents.

As in FR, use position as a weapon - but since you'll rarely be in multi-way pots (i.e. you'll rarely have proper odds to draw), it's really important that you use position effectively in 6max.

You're looking to flop sets, two pairs, and monster draws for implied odds hands.

Hand reading and villain reading are so important in 6max.

I'm sure some of the better 6max players will jump in here shortly.

http://s3.amazonaws.com/ryanfee/fees6max.pdf

That's Fee's e-book on 6max, it's legit and a solid read for anyone who wants to know more about how it's played.

one of the keys to 6 max is having the ability to be aggressive with marginal hands...and by ability i mean, affording to lose what you brought to the table...the blinds come around quickly at 6 max so you cant just sit around and wait for premium hands, you have to win some pots you are probably behind in with aggression...i usually avoid 6 man tables...i just feel more comfortable playing the full ring

gl to you
wooter

Well my issue is more the lack of credibility my bets have at 5NL/10NL 6-max, compared to FR. Hard to steal when people call you down at least to turn no matter what their hand is, even harder to figure what they could be holding...

I guess it's a matter of balance.

I would like to add I hate multiway pots even 9 handed. I always try to isolate as much as I can and show no resistance at all post flop if we are 4+ involved in the pot.


That said, I decided (at last) to try a HUD (Realtime) and it's really crazy... Feels like a different game.

Hmm, I haven't played 5NL or 10NL, so I'm not a good resource - a couple of suggestions:

1. Check if your bet sizing preflop is big enough, I use 4x BB + 1BB per limper from UTG, MP, and CO - I recently started using 3x BB for opening on the button and the SB. If you minraise a lot, it encourages a lot of limpers. Most flops I see are HU.
2. How much are you cbetting? I generally cbet around 60-75% pot.
3. Read the hand analysis forum, especially for the stakes you're playing. There are a lot of good regs here who play 6max at those stakes who also post hands.

gl and gg!

My standard bet size is 2xBB EP (only for 8+ handed) 3xBB MP and 4xBB LP. I used to add +1 BB / limper, but as there is a crazy ammount of limpers at these stakes, I just add +1 BB if people try to limp before me. Works well and even with 3 limpers I can usually isolate with a 5x BB raise on the button.

For cbets, I rely on the flop texture and the guy heads up with me. 1/2 to 3/4 pot on a dry flop, 2/3 to full pot on a drawy flop.


Also using a HUD made me realize quite a few things about my own style... Until then I was just looking at the few stats avaible on Full Tilt and PTR and tried to estimate where I was at. In fact, I'm not so TAG in FR games. Over the 1k hands I played with Realtime HUD, I got a VP$IP/PF of 22/20, aggression factor around 8. Not a very large sample of hands, but I didn't feel like I was running particulary hot with the cards.

In fact, I'm starting to wonder if I'm not playing too loose 6 handed, as these tables are already hyper-loose/aggressive at these stakes, much more than 9 handed tables, where the occasional maniac is quickly spoted and eaten by the first guy who happens to have a hand.

This is something I was already aware of, and the article posted by aliengenius also talk about how you should adjust your looseness according to the players at the table.

Thing is I thought I was already playing kinda tight. I usually go down to AJ (KQ) in EP, AT (KJ QJ) in MP, Ax (KT QT JT) in LP, all PP regardless of position, SC in position, some more garbage at the button if the blinds are weak. Of course you can play tighter, but it's not like I was playing K8s from MP...


I still need to take the time to read the e-book posted by Mase.


Many good advices in this thread

Interesting - I use the opposite in my pf betsizing, larger (4x) from early positions and smaller (3x) from late. I want to charge people to see the flop if I'm going to play the flop oop. If I'm on the BTN and see someone open utg for 2x, my calling and 3betting ranges get pretty wide.

This is ideal, as my range UTG is the tightest, so you can expect loads of 4 bets. As I said it's my usual bet size, but if I happen to get called too lightly when I open for a min raise EP, I can change to 3x BB opening for this table.

It's not a personal experiment, but something I learned through various poker articles, which usually suggest either a single opening bet size or an incremental bet size based on position.

So I read it, and while it looks like an incredible article to improve your 6 handed game, it's way above my current level and the stakes I'm playing at.

However, I found this thread by the same guy: http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/32...obusto-243141/

Full of great advices for low stakes 6-max games

On a side note, Fee advocate to NOT use a HUD while learning to beat the low limits, as the experience you can gain without a HUD is more valuable than an immediate increase in profit.

I use 4bb + 1 for each limper as a rule in 10nl. Any less u will either get limpers or run chance of getting 3 bet light.