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fundiver199
Legend
Loyaler
Full ring teach you patience and waiting for good hands. There are also less tricky postflop situations, because your average hand strength is going to be stronger. 6-max on the other hand is more action filled, because you are never in early position, where your range need to be really tight, and you also dont need to deal with situations, where someone else has opened from early position and have a very tight range.
Both can be profitable, so its largely a matter of personal preference. I will say though, that for cash games 6-max is simply more popular these days, and for tournaments its the other way around. So if you want to play cash games, you probably have to get into 6-max sooner or later, but you can still begin with full ring. And for tournament players there is no way around full ring games, since the vast majority of tournaments run in this format.
Both can be profitable, so its largely a matter of personal preference. I will say though, that for cash games 6-max is simply more popular these days, and for tournaments its the other way around. So if you want to play cash games, you probably have to get into 6-max sooner or later, but you can still begin with full ring. And for tournament players there is no way around full ring games, since the vast majority of tournaments run in this format.
SavannahPanda
Rising Star
Bronze Level
I very much enjoy 6-max. I'm typically playing short limit-poker cash games, and the strategy is much simpler and I actually get to play a few hands. If I only have 30 minutes, it's possible in full ring I never get a hand I can play. I'm more aggressive in 6-max due to the tighter expected range of hands.
BRANCASLIM
Visionary
Silver Level
Hi! In particular I have chosen to play more 6-max games lately for what the mtt tournaments are. In these there is much more action and you can have more control over your rivals. also if you get tired of mtt you can go to play cash game or from cash to mtt, much of what I have learned to play mtt 6-max comes from 6-max zoom cash game courses. I think it is the best option since full ring will depend a lot on your position at the table when playing a hand and very often you will have more opponents within the same hand to face, which increases the difficulty. regards!!
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vittopio
Visionary
Silver Level
Is there still a game in 9 max? I am sure that full tables are already a relic of poker!
StealTheButton
Rock Star
Silver Level
6 max- these are in turbo format (tournaments). I am a tight player and playing these has really brought up my game and forced me to play more. Most people claim that there is more variance and less skill with these, but I have done very well, consistently. These also last a lot shorter typically 35-40 minutes and if you learn how to play these they art really profitable. 9 player tourneys I now just get so bored waiting for hands. If I play one of these I will have a few of the 6- max going in the background.
Lets be real- most players are weak, and they get run over in the 6 max format.
Hyper-turbo six max I do not care for. That is just shoving from the very first hand.
Lets be real- most players are weak, and they get run over in the 6 max format.
Hyper-turbo six max I do not care for. That is just shoving from the very first hand.
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fundiver199
Legend
Loyaler
On some sites cash games only run in 6-max format now. However on pokerstars and 888 Poker you still find 9-max cash games running, although not quite as popular as 6-max. And then of course there are tournaments. They mainly run in 9-max format, so its certainly not a relic.
Zapahlohotrona
Visionary
Silver Level
If you are a beginner, it will definitely be easier for you to get comfortable with poker at a full table, and you can safely grow in limits in this particular format of play. A calmer and tighter game at the tables will allow you to make easier decisions and make fewer mistakes. And the effect of variance will be felt much less precisely at full ring tables. Well, in my opinion, a really experienced player should be equally able to play at both types of tables.
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vittopio
Visionary
Silver Level
I absolutely agree about the tournaments, but the question seemed to be about the cash game?
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fundiver199
Legend
Loyaler
OP did not mention, if he play tournaments or cash games, so this is purely your own interpretation. Also in my opinion it is very relevant, that tournaments mostly run in 9-max or sometimes 8 max format. And also that live games (barring pandemic rules) tend to run in such formats.
So basically if you eventually want to play anything other than online cash games, you are going to need to learn to play with 8-9 players at the table. So why then spend a lot of time and effort to perfect your strategy for 6-max, when you are probably not going to be playing that format in the long run?
Here I am making a bit of a leap of course, but basically I agree with Doug Polk, that if you have ambitions in poker, then you need to move into either MTTs or live cash games, because the high stakes online cash game scene is basically a desert already, and this will only get worse with time.