6max tournies anyone?

[philly and the phanatics]

so who wants to step up and give me some 6max MTT strategy, i looked all over the internet and there is relatively nothing on this subject, so if anyone can help me out with some fundamental strategies when it comes to these then by all means help me out...


i know to start out youre supposed to imagine you are at a 9 person table and pretend those 3 others just folded preflop, that worked really well for me and my 6max game

[Kijjo]

Well I've done ok playing 6 max SnG's just by changing up my starting hand requirements. I guess what you said isn't bad, but your ranges can be slightly wider.
For example I rarely play A2o-A7o unless I'm on the button and it's been folded to me at a full table (whole lot of chances out there for someone to have a real A hand), whereas at 6 player table I would play those same hands from the cuttoff or the button. Might not seem like a big deal, but it's just one example. It opens up a whole lot more possibilities.
I would just search the net for short handed starting charts and find one that works for you, don't know if we have any on this site.

[drmcboy]

A2 is not a better hand on the CO in a 6 max game, but if you think people play differently in 6 max tourneys I guess it's OK.

re the OP I don't there are really any adjustments to make that you wouldn't make in a regular game. If people want to play loose because it's 6 max then take advantage by value betting more and raising less, just like 9 max.

[mcatdog]

For example I rarely play A2o-A7o unless I'm on the button and it's been folded to me at a full table (whole lot of chances out there for someone to have a real A hand), whereas at 6 player table I would play those same hands from the cuttoff or the button. Might not seem like a big deal, but it's just one example. It opens up a whole lot more possibilities.

What exactly are the "possibilities" that are available in 6-max but not at a full table?

BTW I'm the opposite, I'm looser from the CO and Button at a full table than at a 6-max table (in general) because I expect people at a full table to fold to steals more often.

[baudib]

I came here to talk about my cash tonight...saw this thread and figured it was as good a place as any...

(Sorry if this is a thread hijack)

I had taken a break from playing for a while....ran into months of maddening losses earlier. I've had a number of decent cashes recently (4 of more than $500 playing in $5-$20 MTTs).

Last night, I entered a $14 satellite to the $100+9 tourney at 11 p.m. I got my ticket and ended up finishing third out of 333, good for $3,690. It's my biggest cash to date.

I don't have a lot of experience playing 6-max tourneys, although I have played quite a bit of cash games 6-max. (I'm a much better MTT player than cash; I think I have finally gotten that through my thick skull.) There is a lot of advice on the Web about loosening up your hand ranges at a 6-max table, but to be honest, I played much tighter than usual...

I think part of it was because I am not used to playing at such stakes...of course, many of the players had also gotten in via satellite...but the level of play was noticeably higher than a $10 MTT. Of course there is a lot of stealing when the blinds get big, esp. from the CO or button, but there are a lot fewer reckless shove backs. What I noticed is there is a lot more reraising (without the shove), and those reraises are respected much more.

The thing is, if you get a run of slightly better-than-average cards over a short period of time, the blinds go quickly, so you may be stealing from the same BB over and over again...they are going to notice. You get AA, 88, KQ, AJ, A9s, QJs over the course of say, 20 hands without showing down...it's going to seem like you're out of control. There was a lot less donk limping at this level than what I'm accustomed to, so I never felt the need to limp along with everyone with J9s on the button -- it was all raise or fold. And I mostly folded.

For a long period, I let the button or CO feel like they could push me around and just waited to have the better hand. When I flopped a big hand, I played it strong probably 90 percent of the time. I rarely bluffed....making only two big semibluff reraises the entire tournament. I folded my gutshots to any reasonable bet, bet my hands when I made them and tried to play ABC poker as much as possible.

The only real adjustments I made for table size was this: I never open-folded a pocket pair once the blinds got over $200. If I had 22 UTG with 25 BB left, I would raise 2.5 blinds...at a 9-man table, I would probably just fold it. But if I raised with a small pair or AJ and got repopped, I would fold it most of the time. Maybe you want to reraise yourself with a slightly wider range of hands...

Speculative hands that you might call with in a cash game should be dropped against strength, unless you are EXTREMELY deep-stacked. It goes back to the old poker wisdom: If everyone else thinks they should loosen up their range, play tighter.

Oddly enough, I found it easier to be patient for bigger hands in a 6-max game than at a full table...the hands are played quicker, so you see more cards. Maybe I've found the game that suits my style the best.