[SixForty]

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What are the basic strategy starting hands for six-handed?

I assumed it would be about the same as late MP standards in a ring game, but I don't know if I'm just assuming that or if the pot equity numbers work out that way.

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I'm only starting to learn 6-max, so take anything that I say with a grain of salt!

There is one thing that I have learned that I didn't realize before - with the increased frequency of the blinds, there is a slightly greater urgency to get involved in pots.

I used to think that I could play the exact same strategy as my full ring game pretending that the first 4 players just folded. So if I'm UTG in 6-max, I play like I would in a 10-handed game if I was MP2 and UTG through MP1 had folded. Or if I was the Button in a 6-max game, and UTG folded, UTG+1 raised, CO folded, then I'd play as if it was 10-handed with UTG+1 through MP2 folding, MP3 raising, CO folding and action to me.

But that's not quite true. Why? Because the blinds come faster in a 6-max game, and you are theoretically paying more per hand to play in 6-max game. In a 10-handed game, with a half-small-bet/full-small-bet blind structure, you see 10 hands per orbit, and pay 1.5 SB per orbit to do so. In the long run you are theoretically paying 0.15 small bets for every hand you play. So every time you fold preflop, it is theoretically -0.15 SB of negative EV (again, this is long term) In 6 max, you only see 6 hands per orbit, but still pay that 1.5 SB per orbit. So each hand you see costs you 0.25 SB, and each preflop fold costs you -0.25 SB in negative EV.

So there is some adjustment in needing to open up a little bit from your standard "late position starting strategy" in a full ring game.

Now, as for how to actually do that - I'm not the guy to ask! Like I said, I'm still learning! [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] The short-handed forum is better for those specific strategies.