What is said to be too tight for 6max?

Ive tightened up my play a heck of a lot recently, but I fear im playing too tight for 6max. Reason is because im not opening up enough from the CO and BTN. BUT the reason im not playing garbage from there a lot of the time is because fish/calling stations and aggro players are often to my left in the blinds and BTN.

Do I just need to embrace the inevitable bigger swings I will get by playing pots vs these players?

Im not really breaking into the 19 or 20+ VPIPs, so im getting little action from regs and average players. The fish and donks still play back at me because loads dont use a HUD and are just terribad.

Results are decent, as the bad players keep me ticking over, but I see that my VPIP and PFR are considered too nitty at 6max. After a really good run, I think im wary of loosening up too much and losing bigger pots, then ill think to myself, why the hell didn't I just keep playing tighter.

Cheers for any advice.

You can only really play wider preflop. You are using the words "wider" + "looser" to blur the line between preflop play and postflop play. Your postflop strategy should be the same regardless of your holdings, either valuebet or bluff. The best way to acclimate yourself to the more narrow and difficult postflop spots is to experience them. So I say start opening up, even just a few % in the CO and BTN to start with. Once you come up with a few tough spots that have come about from your wider opening range, post them on here for feedback. Slowly you will start to get used to those situations.

Last thing, don't worry about winning or losing too much in these situations. Opening up is going to be a learning experience that will make you a better player and return more money to you in the future than you might lose now.

Good luck at the tables.

akaRobbo said:

Ive tightened up my play a heck of a lot recently, but I fear im playing too tight for 6max. Reason is because im not opening up enough from the CO and BTN. BUT the reason im not playing garbage from there a lot of the time is because fish/calling stations and aggro players are often to my left in the blinds and BTN.

Do I just need to embrace the inevitable bigger swings I will get by playing pots vs these players?

Im not really breaking into the 19 or 20+ VPIPs, so im getting little action from regs and average players. The fish and donks still play back at me because loads dont use a HUD and are just terribad.

Results are decent, as the bad players keep me ticking over, but I see that my VPIP and PFR are considered too nitty at 6max. After a really good run, I think im wary of loosening up too much and losing bigger pots, then ill think to myself, why the hell didn't I just keep playing tighter.

Cheers for any advice.

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Not that I believe VPIP really tells the tale, but you probably want to be somewhere around 22. Tight but with a somewhat wider range.

6 max is a little more personal than full ring - so how wide you should open, 3-bet, and what spots you should flat are very much dependent on who's on the table.

If my guy to my left is aggro and strangle-calling the blinds, I'm looking to open hands that are just generally ahead of the average holding from the button. K9+, Ax, any pocket pairs, and I'm going to up my opening bet to at least 3xBB, 4xBB if I can get away with it. None of that 2x or 2.5xBB stuff. Cause think what they're calling you with: Q5off, 78s and 78off, A2, J7... basically Paint-Rag, connectors, and suited anything they feel at the time. You're going to go into the flop with a range that's ahead of your opponents AND position. That's very ideal! Average hand hits the flop 1/3 times, so if you are ahead of your opponents range you can be c-betting for value against your opponent almost every flop.

Remember, if you are in the pot with A5, and the flop comes K 6 9 rainbow you are actually ahead of your opponents range. All Qx (exclude AQ, QQ, KQ, Q9, Q6)), Jx (exclude AJ, JJ, J9, J6, QJ), A2-4, 78, T8, T7s, 75s are behind you. Kx (exclude AK), A6-J (exclude AQ), T9, 98, 76, 97s, 86s, PPs are ahead.

Hands ahead: about 400.
Hands behind: about 300.

Given, you have to modify this line of thinking for the board and your cards, but against a loose caller from the blinds (an aggro guy) - you are a 4:3 favorite, so c betting abstractly is +EV. Especially if you are c betting enough to start getting called when you do hit top pair.

Alot of what your saying is more about adjusting to table dynamics rather than general opening ranges. Im working right now but I will more of my thougbts later.

21/19 is not too nitty. It's fine.

Especially at the smaller stakes. I think playing tight is under rated, even though people say it all the time.

Here is the thing, how do you adjust differently to a 21/19 v. a 24/22? Probably you don't adjust at all.

So if you are playing against a 24/22 in much the same way you would against a 21/19 then the 21/19 is actually going to do better because he will get more value calls than the 24/22 who is going to (because of his range) be bluffing more or betting with thinner value hands.

There is a point where that stops being true, clearly a 17/15 is going to be treated differently than a 24/22. That being said, being on the tighter side is going to be a benefit. Actually, if people are not adjusting to your game, tighter is going to be better pretty much always. If people are not adjusting to how you play, and are calling with essentially the same frequency, then playing a tighter game will be a much better default style than playing a slightly more loose style.

If you are a 20/18 or 19/17 player in 6 max at the lower stakes, you are probably fine. If the regs don't play you and the fish call, you should be fine and happy. You just need to work on folding post-flop, not over valuing your hand (a common mistake tight players make) and being able to extract value when you are ahead.

Remember, preflop mistakes are the smallest mistakes you can make, and also the smallest correct decisions you can make. If you can read your opponents and know where you are in the hand, whatever your pre-flop calling range is will be fine.

Uber brings a good point. Lots of good reads here.

akaRobbo said:

Ive tightened up my play a heck of a lot recently, but I fear im playing too tight for 6max. Reason is because im not opening up enough from the CO and BTN. BUT the reason im not playing garbage from there a lot of the time is because fish/calling stations and aggro players are often to my left in the blinds and BTN.

Do I just need to embrace the inevitable bigger swings I will get by playing pots vs these players?

Im not really breaking into the 19 or 20+ VPIPs, so im getting little action from regs and average players. The fish and donks still play back at me because loads dont use a HUD and are just terribad.

Results are decent, as the bad players keep me ticking over, but I see that my VPIP and PFR are considered too nitty at 6max. After a really good run, I think im wary of loosening up too much and losing bigger pots, then ill think to myself, why the hell didn't I just keep playing tighter.

Cheers for any advice.

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What stakes?
Also if fish is after you you can loosen up,and if aggro is there stay tight.. My avg vpip/pfr is like 25/20 or such also my open range is very wide...
Also if you mass multi tab nitty can be good (too bad i cant play like one)

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Probably anything less than 15/12. But I really struggle to comprehend how anyone can be that tight in 6max

There's no reasonable vpip/pfr that will automatically optimize or even improve your win rate. The rest of your game matters too. A lot. As just one example, if you're far superior to your opponents post-flop, you're likely to win more by playing somewhat looser pre- than you would if you only have a small post-flop advantage.