converting from 9 handed to 6 handed 2nl

A

anthony c

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Jun 27, 2010
Total posts
174
Awards
1
Chips
2
Hi there

I want to convert to 6 handed cause i can only play om Black chip poker and there's a lot of 6 handed tables but only a few 9 handed tables and most have regs waiting to take the suckers money which i am one of them cause i am a tourney player but i have some experience playing tourney poker so hope that transfers to my cash game but i know i have a lot to learn playing cash games so i am the sucker at these games.

I know i should be starting at 9 handed 2nl but like i said not much tables and i think there are more recreational players at 6 handed tables and i think with my experience playing poker even though it was tourneys i can beat 2NL 6 handed but i need so adjustments and hope someone here would help me.

I need help and tips for going from 9 handed tables to 6 handed tables. Any adjustments i should make?

Any tips you can give me would be much appreciated

Thank you
 
makisaa

makisaa

Legend
Loyaler
Joined
Oct 6, 2015
Total posts
3,252
Awards
10
GR
Chips
544
You must play more aggressively and be faster. And your session can be smaller, you can take a modest profit from each table and leave.
 
S

Sopt

Rock Star
Bronze Level
Joined
Feb 21, 2023
Total posts
377
Awards
1
SI
Chips
177
The most important part of going from 9 to 6 handed is that blinds come around faster so you need to open the range of hands you play a bit. At same time you must of course understand that your opponents will play way wider ranges than they do on 9 handed tables so to cope with that you usually need to be a bit more aggressive, especially while in position.
Try not to fall into the trap of just playing every hand as some players do. You'll just bleed your chips away when people 3 or 4 bet you.
From my experience (I mainly play 6 handed) you will have easy time finding tables with 2+ very loose players on them. Make good notes for them, especially if you see them playing a lot. Those are your targets to make good money.
And lastly, since it's low limits, don't bluff. People just call with whatever most of the time.
 
A

anthony c

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Jun 27, 2010
Total posts
174
Awards
1
Chips
2
The most important part of going from 9 to 6 handed is that blinds come around faster so you need to open the range of hands you play a bit. At same time you must of course understand that your opponents will play way wider ranges than they do on 9 handed tables so to cope with that you usually need to be a bit more aggressive, especially while in position.
Try not to fall into the trap of just playing every hand as some players do. You'll just bleed your chips away when people 3 or 4 bet you.
From my experience (I mainly play 6 handed) you will have easy time finding tables with 2+ very loose players on them. Make good notes for them, especially if you see them playing a lot. Those are your targets to make good money.
And lastly, since it's low limits, don't bluff. People just call with whatever most of the time.
"you will have easy time finding tables with 2+ very loose players on them." Wow great info, thank you

How does one deal with the rake at 2nl or any limit? I am a tourney player so not sure how rake works really.
 
S

Sopt

Rock Star
Bronze Level
Joined
Feb 21, 2023
Total posts
377
Awards
1
SI
Chips
177
"you will have easy time finding tables with 2+ very loose players on them." Wow great info, thank you

How does one deal with the rake at 2nl or any limit? I am a tourney player so not sure how rake works really.
House will take a portion of every pot, pretty much the same way as they do on 9 handed. The difference in going 6 handed is however that you will generally be playing more hands and with that giving away more in rake. Sadly there is no way to go around rake, you pay it up and suck it up.
With good play you should be earning more in shorter sessions on 6 handed anyhow.
 
liuouhgkres

liuouhgkres

Visionary
Bronze Level
Joined
Dec 21, 2016
Total posts
920
Awards
2
KH
Chips
33
It's not very different, you just play your ranges. Ep at 6max table is UTG+3 at 9 max table. But your BTN, CO, HJ, SB ranges are similar for both tables. The main difference is that you will see postflop more often so your postflop skills must be stronger.
 
S

Station_Master

Legend
Platinum Level
Joined
Oct 26, 2022
Total posts
1,484
Awards
1
GB
Chips
509
It's not very different, you just play your ranges. Ep at 6max table is UTG+3 at 9 max table. But your BTN, CO, HJ, SB ranges are similar for both tables. The main difference is that you will see postflop more often so your postflop skills must be stronger.
Agreed.

The player pool can be a bit looser and aggressive, but you dont want to over adjust.
 
F

fundiver199

Legend
Loyaler
Joined
Jun 3, 2019
Total posts
14,401
Awards
2
Chips
573
As others have said, a 6-max table is essentially just a 9-max table, where the first 3 players have folded. So if you know, what to do in that situation, then you also know how to play 6-max. Thats basically all, there is to it. As Station_Master say, as a broad generalisation the player pool at 6-max is typically a bit looser and more aggressive, so you might want to not fold quite as much, as you do at full ring. But this is mainly, when people have an option. If a site only has 6-max, or there is essentially no action at 9-max, then you will of course find all types of cash players at 6-max tables.

Furthermore at 2NL there is not much point in focusing on these subtle details. The far more important factor is, that its the lowest stake available, so its always going to be full of beginners and gamblers. The differences come more into play at stakes like 10NL or 25NL. Here you might see those, who like to sit around and wait for a set or an overpair, gravitate towards full ring, whereas those, who like to be the "table captain" and run big bluffs, will gravitate towards 6-max.

At 10-25NL you will also generally find the most ambitious players at 6-max, because the format has a higher potential to move up. So an argument can be made, that at these stakes 9-max might be a bit softer and easier to beat. But at 2NL it really does not matter, so just play, whatever is available, or where you can find a good table. Personally I dont see any problem with having 6-max and 9-max tables running in the same session. Its still just a ring game, and the biggest danger by far is to think, you need to do something completely different, just because there are a few more or less people at the table.
 
A

anthony c

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Jun 27, 2010
Total posts
174
Awards
1
Chips
2
As others have said, a 6-max table is essentially just a 9-max table, where the first 3 players have folded. So if you know, what to do in that situation, then you also know how to play 6-max. Thats basically all, there is to it. As Station_Master say, as a broad generalisation the player pool at 6-max is typically a bit looser and more aggressive, so you might want to not fold quite as much, as you do at full ring. But this is mainly, when people have an option. If a site only has 6-max, or there is essentially no action at 9-max, then you will of course find all types of cash players at 6-max tables.

Furthermore at 2NL there is not much point in focusing on these subtle details. The far more important factor is, that its the lowest stake available, so its always going to be full of beginners and gamblers. The differences come more into play at stakes like 10NL or 25NL. Here you might see those, who like to sit around and wait for a set or an overpair, gravitate towards full ring, whereas those, who like to be the "table captain" and run big bluffs, will gravitate towards 6-max.

At 10-25NL you will also generally find the most ambitious players at 6-max, because the format has a higher potential to move up. So an argument can be made, that at these stakes 9-max might be a bit softer and easier to beat. But at 2NL it really does not matter, so just play, whatever is available, or where you can find a good table. Personally I dont see any problem with having 6-max and 9-max tables running in the same session. Its still just a ring game, and the biggest danger by far is to think, you need to do something completely different, just because there are a few more or less people at the table.
Thanks for the info but things have changed and there are a few players looking for people like me fish to take advantage of and even the fish are 3bet ato and qto from sb vs steal and so on but yeah they are plobably exploitable regs and i just need to look out for them. will do that.

Thanks
 
Aballinamion

Aballinamion

Dark Lord of the Sith
Bronze Level
Joined
Dec 4, 2017
Total posts
2,606
Awards
3
BR
Chips
526
Thanks for the info but things have changed and there are a few players looking for people like me fish to take advantage of and even the fish are 3bet ato and qto from sb vs steal and so on but yeah they are plobably exploitable regs and i just need to look out for them. will do that.

Thanks
Hi there

I want to convert to 6 handed cause i can only play om Black chip poker and there's a lot of 6 handed tables but only a few 9 handed tables and most have regs waiting to take the suckers money which i am one of them cause i am a tourney player but i have some experience playing tourney poker so hope that transfers to my cash game but i know i have a lot to learn playing cash games so i am the sucker at these games.

I know i should be starting at 9 handed 2nl but like i said not much tables and i think there are more recreational players at 6 handed tables and i think with my experience playing poker even though it was tourneys i can beat 2NL 6 handed but i need so adjustments and hope someone here would help me.

I need help and tips for going from 9 handed tables to 6 handed tables. Any adjustments i should make?

Any tips you can give me would be much appreciated

Thank yo
Don’t play weak hands out of position. Stop chasing flush and straight draws. Don’t play weak aces or kings. In theory our opening range of UTG is 15%, which is a lot of hands.
We need to adjust according to the table profile, how often players ahead will call or 3-bet, having this information we can or cannot open 15% hands from UTG.
I like to start building my opening ranges from EP, because they are hard to play and require more care. From EP I continue widening my ranges til I get to BU, where I could open even 50% range, only theoretically.
You have to adapt your ranges according to players you are facing. 15% from UTG, 20% from MP, 30% from CO, 40-50% BU, 100% SB and 50-80% BB, this is the ideal ranges for a 6-MAX table, it’s hard to put into practice because players have a little notion about ranges, even the bigger whales will start to exploit you either by calling or 3-betting you, if you open this amount of hands every time.
Avoid limping and calling, try to 3-bet more and use hands that have blockers or bluff catching properties, such as AXs (A2s-AKs), KTs+, JT+, and avoid 3-betting medium-low pocket pairs (22-99) for they don’t have blockers and more than 50% of times you will see a flop with overcards (T, J, Q, K and A), turning hard the playability.
Your range will be good in the same proportion and reason that you can observe your opponents and deduct inferences out of their gameplay.
Many players are just playing the range, not the psychology or the profile of the opponent:
e.g: UTG folds, MP folds, Hero in the CO is dealt AsKd and raises first to 3x, BU folds, SB calls, BB folds:

Flop: 3c2c9h, SB leads to 3 BB and hero raises to 12 BB.

Nothing wrong with this hero move, right? Yes, but what type of player SB is? We know that good players are almost never calling from the SB, and when they do it, they own a capped range, owning hands that they could not fold but also could not 3-bet, such as 22-88, 65s, K8s, etc.
Hero is playing his range in spite of the opponent: there only a few combos of two pair, we do not expect SB to be calling with 93, 92, we don’t expect SB to own much 32, but SB had all the 22, 33 even 99, it has K9, Q9, J9, T9, 98, sometimes even A9, and on top of that, SB has all the flush draws of clubs and baby straights and hero has two overcards and a backdoor straight. Why is hero raising the flop? Because hero is just playing ranges, not opponents. A call will do just fine around here, considering Hero have no further information about villain.
I used this information because a friend of mine had this simple philosophy: if he raised and got a donks flop, he would raise it ASAP, in spite of opponent or range, because he believed that only fishes use to donkey bet! :ROFLMAO:
 
antonis32123

antonis32123

Legend
Loyaler
Joined
Dec 25, 2014
Total posts
6,762
Awards
20
GR
Chips
385
Play in position way more hands than in 9 max . You have to watch many 6 max cash tables , then practice yourself in the action , then you will figure out what hands to play on what positions

The game evolved , players ' behaviour changes every sometime z you have to adapt .


I found it difficult to adapt to 6 max after the 8 max tables disappeared from PS lobby due to no many players playing at them . Tim s changes , you have to adapt . Still i have a lot to learn .
 
S

Station_Master

Legend
Platinum Level
Joined
Oct 26, 2022
Total posts
1,484
Awards
1
GB
Chips
509
Play in position way more hands than in 9 max . You have to watch many 6 max cash tables , then practice yourself in the action , then you will figure out what hands to play on what positions

The game evolved , players ' behaviour changes every sometime z you have to adapt .


I found it difficult to adapt to 6 max after the 8 max tables disappeared from PS lobby due to no many players playing at them . Tim s changes , you have to adapt . Still i have a lot to learn .
There are still 9max tables on pokerstars
 
R

Recreationalplayer

Visionary
Bronze Level
Joined
Aug 29, 2021
Total posts
913
Awards
1
Chips
237
Adjust the ranges by loosening up.
Multi way pots are less often on 6 handed table as compared to 9.
I think 3 bet bluffing and 4 bet bluffing is also done more frequently on 6 handed tables.
 
F

fundiver199

Legend
Loyaler
Joined
Jun 3, 2019
Total posts
14,401
Awards
2
Chips
573
Thanks for the info but things have changed and there are a few players looking for people like me fish to take advantage of and even the fish are 3bet ato and qto from sb vs steal and so on but yeah they are plobably exploitable regs and i just need to look out for them. will do that.
Not saying there is no 3-betting or no regs at 2NL. Just saying that 6-max and 9-max cash games are very similar at the end of the day. The main difference is, that action is faster on 6-max tables, because less players need to make a decision preflop. And of course you will also see more flops, because you are never in early position or facing early position action.

For what its worth I have recently played a little bit of 10 NL cash games on ACR, which is the same site as BCP. And I dont think, microstakes cash games are much different from, what they were 3-5 years ago, when I played them on PokerStars and 888 Poker. Its the same mix of recreational players and eastern european regs, as it has been for years.
 
Starting Hands - Poker Hand Nicknames Rankings - Poker Hands
Top