6-Max Tournament Strategy And The Differences Between Short Handed And Full Ring Tournaments
At the 6-max tables, do try to play the maximum number of hands from favorable positions. This concept is as important as playing aggressive. Poker is a game of information which can be best. Aggressive play is often the right play from late positions. However, you should really.
While 9 or 10 player tables still make up the majority of poker tournament formats – 6-max is catching up fast. This article compliments the many poker tournament strategy basics articles here at SNG Planet by highlighting some strategies which are specific to the short-handed tables. By the end of this article you will be able to switch between different table sizes effortlessly, and you will know the kind of mistakes to watch out for from your opponents.
I'll start with a quick summary of short-handed games, what ‘counts' and some situations where full-ring tournaments play with 7 or fewer players at certain times. Next the drivers of the strategy adjustments you will need to make to succeed in a 6-max game. Finally some more advanced topics, for those who want to turn a basic understanding of the strategy into something more profitable.
Short-Handed Poker Tournament Strategy – What Is Included?
Tournaments range from 2-player tables, through 4-max (at PokerStars), 5-handed (OnGame), 6-max (most sites) and up to the larger 9 and 10 player tables. This article will focus on the 6-handed tournaments, though a lot of the strategy covered will work just fine in 4 or 5 handed games.
If you play the full-ring tables, there are often times when you find yourself playing short-handed. The final table is the obvious situation, where hopefully you get to play all the way from 10 players to heads-up. There are also ‘bubble' situations from 3 tables (where in 9 player games you will find 2 tables of 6 and one of 7) and 2 tables to go, where you find two tables of 5 players for a 9-handed final table. You might also find situations where one of more players is sitting out. When this happens, being able to quickly adjust to the short handed situation will give you a real edge on your opponents.
If you are in the process of learning the game, or simply looking for a profitable alternative, I recommend you check out 888 Poker where the ratio of grinders / recreational players is much better than at PokerStars. Click here to check out the easiest shorthanded poker tournaments online at 888Poker.com!
6-Max Poker Tournaments – Overview Of Strategy Considerations
Blind pressure drives your strategy in 6-max poker tournaments. It does this both directly and indirectly.
The direct effect is that, since the blinds come to you faster, you have to be more active in accumulating chips in order to keep your stack from shrinking. This means playing more hands, and playing them more aggressively. In a full-ring tournament you can get away with waiting for a decent hand to play (though you still need to make some moves). In a 6-handed tournament this is a bad strategy, especially during the mid to late stages.
Indirect effects on your strategy occur because everyone else is playing more hands and playing them more aggressively. Since your opponents are less likely to have a strong hand when they bet or raise – you can re-adjust to this by playing back ‘lighter', making moves like re-stealing or even letting opponents spew their chips by trying to push you around when you do have a great hand.
Sure, the first 3 positions from a full-ring table are missing, and so your base starting hand requirement will be lower. However, for me this is not quite enough to cope with the more aggressive game. If you never raise ‘light' then you'll both blind away and observant opponents will know that your raises are with the better hands from your range. Conversely, if you get into the habit of raising too big a range, you set yourself up for re-steals – especially during the middle to late stages with shallower chip stacks.
6-Max Tournament Strategy – Advanced Factors
You will find a lot more ‘BVB' play in 6-max games. This is Button against Blind(s) and has a dynamic all of its own that you need to understand. Finding the sweet spot of hands to defend your blind with will often depend on who is on the button and their tendencies as far as raising (especially when folded to) and whether they will tend to call re-raises or fold. You need to defend more in a 6-max game, and you'll need to steal more too! Remember, the button is a strong position, acting last on all the post-flop betting rounds. I like to steal more and defend less in a full-ring game, with 6-handed poker tournaments you need to practice both!
Video Poker Strategy Charts
Set mining and is slightly less valuable when short-handed. Since your opponents are less likely to have a great hand to pay you off with. In a full ring game where is a better chance someone has a premium hand in a raised pot which will pay you off when you hit, in 6-max you might win a bet on the flop, but getting someone to stack-off is more difficult. By flat calling a raise with your pair in an aggressive game you might find a re-raise (‘Squeeze') coming from behind you.
Your image at the table will be a bigger factor when playing short. This works at both the aggressive and tight / passive ends of the spectrum. If you never defend, never 3-bet and never call anyone else's 3-bets without a hand then you can expect to be noticed and become a target. If you raise mechanically every time you are folded to then you can expect this to be noticed too – and for people to start playing back at you ‘light'. Of course, as you gain experience at the tables you can use people's impressions of you to your advantage by making some moves. While you are learning the game it effective just to be aware that your image matters, and to mix up your play to avoid this becoming an issue.
6-Max Tournament Strategy – Summing It Up
Casino theme dress ideas. These games are ideal for players who like to get involved, play post-flop and are able to make moves to play back at their opponents when the situation is right.
You should be aware that not all 6-max games are equal when it comes to the experience level and skills of your opponents. If you are in the process of learning the game, I recommend you check out 888 Poker – where the cross-over traffic from the big casino keeps the games very profitable. You can even grab $8 free to try out the games… any who knows, you might end up turning this into a big tournament bankroll! Click here to check out the best 6-max poker tournaments online – at 888Poker.com.
Related Articles
The final table is set in the ‘International Tournament' segment of the 2020 World Series of Poker $10,000 buy-in no-limit hold'em main event. The tournament attracted a total of 674 entries over the course of three starting flights, but now just nine players remain with a chance to win this event. The final nine are all guaranteed at least $75,360 paydays, but surely all have their eyes on the top prize of $1,550,969.
This year's WSOP $10,000 main event features an unprecedented live-and-online hybrid model that will see two separate events play out, each beginning online and continuing until both final tables are set. The two eventual champions determined at those final tables, which will be played live and in person, will then square off in a live heads-up showdown to determine which will win the championship WSOP gold bracelet and an added bonus prize of $1,000,000 to go along with whatever they won at their initial final table.
Day 2 of the ‘International Tournament' began with 179 players remaining. Over the course of around 10 hours of play, the field was whittled down to just nine players. When the dust settled, Brazil's Brunno Botteon held the chip lead with 10,317,743. Botteon had a breakout summer at the WSOP Onoline, making three final tables in as many weeks to cash for over $1 million. He finished runner up in a $500 buyt-in limit hold'em event for $41,855, and then four days later placed sixth in the $25,000 buy-in no-limit hold'em high roller for $388,827. Just a week later he made it down to the final in the $25,000 buy-in heads-up no-limit hold'em event, but lost to Fedor Holz. He added another $622,300 for that runner-up showing.
Portugal's Manuel Ruivo is second in chips with 6,213,759, while Argentina's Damian Salas sits in third with 5,653,528. Salas finished seventh in the 2017 WSOP main event in Las Vegas for $1,425,000. He has also had plenty of success playing online this year, with his biggest score being a third-place showing in the $10,300 buy-in World Poker Tour World Online Championships main event for $814,663.
Video Poker Strategy Training
Sure, the first 3 positions from a full-ring table are missing, and so your base starting hand requirement will be lower. However, for me this is not quite enough to cope with the more aggressive game. If you never raise ‘light' then you'll both blind away and observant opponents will know that your raises are with the better hands from your range. Conversely, if you get into the habit of raising too big a range, you set yourself up for re-steals – especially during the middle to late stages with shallower chip stacks.
6-Max Tournament Strategy – Advanced Factors
You will find a lot more ‘BVB' play in 6-max games. This is Button against Blind(s) and has a dynamic all of its own that you need to understand. Finding the sweet spot of hands to defend your blind with will often depend on who is on the button and their tendencies as far as raising (especially when folded to) and whether they will tend to call re-raises or fold. You need to defend more in a 6-max game, and you'll need to steal more too! Remember, the button is a strong position, acting last on all the post-flop betting rounds. I like to steal more and defend less in a full-ring game, with 6-handed poker tournaments you need to practice both!
Video Poker Strategy Charts
Set mining and is slightly less valuable when short-handed. Since your opponents are less likely to have a great hand to pay you off with. In a full ring game where is a better chance someone has a premium hand in a raised pot which will pay you off when you hit, in 6-max you might win a bet on the flop, but getting someone to stack-off is more difficult. By flat calling a raise with your pair in an aggressive game you might find a re-raise (‘Squeeze') coming from behind you.
Your image at the table will be a bigger factor when playing short. This works at both the aggressive and tight / passive ends of the spectrum. If you never defend, never 3-bet and never call anyone else's 3-bets without a hand then you can expect to be noticed and become a target. If you raise mechanically every time you are folded to then you can expect this to be noticed too – and for people to start playing back at you ‘light'. Of course, as you gain experience at the tables you can use people's impressions of you to your advantage by making some moves. While you are learning the game it effective just to be aware that your image matters, and to mix up your play to avoid this becoming an issue.
6-Max Tournament Strategy – Summing It Up
Casino theme dress ideas. These games are ideal for players who like to get involved, play post-flop and are able to make moves to play back at their opponents when the situation is right.
You should be aware that not all 6-max games are equal when it comes to the experience level and skills of your opponents. If you are in the process of learning the game, I recommend you check out 888 Poker – where the cross-over traffic from the big casino keeps the games very profitable. You can even grab $8 free to try out the games… any who knows, you might end up turning this into a big tournament bankroll! Click here to check out the best 6-max poker tournaments online – at 888Poker.com.
Related Articles
The final table is set in the ‘International Tournament' segment of the 2020 World Series of Poker $10,000 buy-in no-limit hold'em main event. The tournament attracted a total of 674 entries over the course of three starting flights, but now just nine players remain with a chance to win this event. The final nine are all guaranteed at least $75,360 paydays, but surely all have their eyes on the top prize of $1,550,969.
This year's WSOP $10,000 main event features an unprecedented live-and-online hybrid model that will see two separate events play out, each beginning online and continuing until both final tables are set. The two eventual champions determined at those final tables, which will be played live and in person, will then square off in a live heads-up showdown to determine which will win the championship WSOP gold bracelet and an added bonus prize of $1,000,000 to go along with whatever they won at their initial final table.
Day 2 of the ‘International Tournament' began with 179 players remaining. Over the course of around 10 hours of play, the field was whittled down to just nine players. When the dust settled, Brazil's Brunno Botteon held the chip lead with 10,317,743. Botteon had a breakout summer at the WSOP Onoline, making three final tables in as many weeks to cash for over $1 million. He finished runner up in a $500 buyt-in limit hold'em event for $41,855, and then four days later placed sixth in the $25,000 buy-in no-limit hold'em high roller for $388,827. Just a week later he made it down to the final in the $25,000 buy-in heads-up no-limit hold'em event, but lost to Fedor Holz. He added another $622,300 for that runner-up showing.
Portugal's Manuel Ruivo is second in chips with 6,213,759, while Argentina's Damian Salas sits in third with 5,653,528. Salas finished seventh in the 2017 WSOP main event in Las Vegas for $1,425,000. He has also had plenty of success playing online this year, with his biggest score being a third-place showing in the $10,300 buy-in World Poker Tour World Online Championships main event for $814,663.
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Plenty of big names made deep runs in this event only to fall short of the final table, including 2019 WPT L.A. Poker Classic runner-up Matas Cimbolas (57th – $18,421), two-time WSOP main event final tablist Antoine Saout (53rd – $18,421), bracelet winner Toby Joyce (32nd – $26,507), Balz Zerjav (25th – $30,404), Preben Stokkan (23rd – $30,404), and 2020 WPT Germany main event winner Christopher Puetz (13th – $44,914). Thomas Macdonald was eliminated on the final-table bubble, taking home $50,131 after his A4 couldn't hold up against the K3 of Ruivo after all of the chips went in preflop. With Macdonald's exit, the final table of the ‘Internationa; Tournament' was officially set.
Here is a look at the complete list of players and their chip counts:
| Place | Name | Chips |
| 1 | Brunno Botteon | 10,317,743 |
| 2 | Manuel Ruivo | 6,213,759 |
| 3 | Damian Salas | 5,653,528 |
| 4 | ‘fullbabyfull' | 4,232,560 |
| 5 | Hannes Speiser | 3,515,744 |
| 6 | Dominykas Mikolaitis | 3,165,440 |
| 7 | Ramon Miquel Munoz | 3,035,940 |
| 8 | Peiyuan Sun | 2,185,676 |
| 9 | Stoyan Obreshkov | 2,119,610 |
Here are the payouts up for grabs at the final table:
| Place | Payouts |
| 1 | $1,550,969 |
| 2 | $1,062,723 |
| 3 | $728,177 |
| 4 | $498,947 |
| 5 | $341,879 |
| 6 | $234,255 |
| 7 | $160,512 |
| 8 | $109,982 |
| 9 | $75,360 |
The counterpart to the ‘International Tournament' segment of this hybrid event is the ‘Domestic Tournament'. That will begin on Dec. 13 with a single starting flight. The final table will be set the following day, with the in-person finale taking place on Dec. Poker hands ranking chart. 28. The winners of the two tournaments will then meet on Dec. 30 for a final battle for the bracelet and the added $1,000,000 in prize money.
Final table photo credit: Kevin Mathers (@kevmath).
