6 Player Max Starting Hands

[excel]

Hi,

First post in this forum.

I cant find any in depth info on 6 player max tables, texas holdem, not on the net or in books, so where do I learn to play this type of poker?

Can anyone answer any of these general questions, preferably from winning players at this type of game,

1)What is to high VP$IP, many play over 40. Is this ok, or 2 high?

2)Pre flop
a) suited connectors below 98s, play from any position? Raise or call if first in?
b)Axs from early,
c)Should I raise all hands from early, if Im a tight player, and if so would that include hands like QJ, JT, KT, QT,
Should I fold 98s,76s,Axs in early
d)Q9, J9, K9, T9, play in late, if so raise 1st in?
e)pocket pairs below 66, raise from early, reraise in late? Or do I fold these to a single raise?
f)Raise 1st in in late, 75s, 86s, 96s, kxs? or fold? or call ?
g)what hands always reraise and cap, AQs, AQ, AJs, AJ, KQ, KQs, any of these a no no,,,or any extra to ber added in?
h)call a raise with suited connectors for example 76s in late position and 1 caller and 1 raise already in the pot,
I)Raise Ax in late first in pot?

Please feel free to discuss any of the above,

Thanks in advance

[GeoffM]

I know I play about the same % of hands in both hold'em and O8B. Having said that I haven't played hold'em in a long time. But I can tell you that while playing O8B 6 handed I will generally play as much as 50% of hands, and 90% of the time if I'm taking a flop, I'm usually raising in any position and folding if I don't hit.

[ChipFish]

That is WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY to much.

[GeoffM]

Chip, I don't know about hold'em like I said. But I am comfortable enough at O8 after the flop to really play aggressive before it. I play more varied hands such as A4K8. I usually will only play a hand in which all four cards are going to possibly work for me, but when playing 6 handed, I'll play with 3 cards and 1 rag all the time as well.

[SirFWALGMan]

Yeah, if you assume you see like 17% of the flops if your playing tight full ring, then 23-25% is probably good for short. I try not to get overly loose. The 6 sided game is going to be high variance no matter what. I will try and find the article I have read. My strategy is to play anything I would play from Middle position basically anywhere. Not sure if this is good. This includes any pair, Ax s000ted, Premo Hands (AA,KK,QQ,JJ). AK,AQ,AJ,KQ. I also like some of the slightly weaker hands later like KJ, and s00ted connectors.

[Talking Poker]

Welcome to the forum! Love seeing new faces around here...

I am a winning 6 max HE player. In fact, I would say it's my best game. I play 2-3 tables at a tiome (4 is a little too fast for me, but I've done it), and I earn about 3 BBs per 100 hands per table.

Ok, now that my "credentials" are out of the way.... Like anything else in poker, the answer is usually "It depends," but hopefully I can give you some general rules of thumb and starting points from which to build your own system.

One more disclaimer - I believe that I play this game a little bit looser and a little but more aggressively than the average winning player. Does this cost me money in the long run? I'm not sure. I'm happy with my results, so like they say, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." I guess all I'm suggesting is if anything, especially as you are starting out with this game, play a little tighter than I do, not looser.

And now, finally, on to your questions...


Again, I'm no expert, but I do pretty well with this game... so hopefully you can uses these guidelines for your preflop play. after the flop, well, that a whole other discussion!

GL.

[excel]

Hi,

What stakes do you play at?

Thanks for the info talkingpoker. Do you use Poker Tracker or anything to track your hands and therefore see which hands are profitable in each position over a large number of hands.

My main quandry is the QJ, JT, KT, QT playing from UTG, I want to play them and raising in with them, but I cant say Ive got alot of confidence in them. Anyone that calls has surely got a better hand, although you play them.

Also in late the Q9, J9, K9, T9, hands which are very borderline, are they profitable long term?

Im really looking to tighten up my game, and the above hands are borderline for me.

Ive been playing the suited connectors and one gaps, but Im going to cut those out, Im trying to have a little break from playing and have a real good think about what hands to play etc

SirFWALGMan let me know if you find that 6 player article thanks.

Thanks again Talking Poker, what you say makes good sense, how did u learn 6 player, did you teach yourself over time what was good and what wasnt?

[Talking Poker]

I'm not really sure how my 6 max game developed, and I certinly don't know that it is the best, which is why I hesitate to tell how how to play all those borderline hands. As you have seen, it's not like there is tons of readily available reading material on the subject matter.

A friend of mine convinced me to give the 6 max tables a try - he had been doing VERY well with them. So I did, and I found myself winning from Day 1. Just kepy playing and playing, and eventually started tweaking how I played. It seemed to work, although I must admit, I don't think I make any more now than I did from the start. I didn't use Poker Tracker until I already had 30,000+ hands under my belt.

I mostly play $5/$10, but I've played as high as $15/30 on occasion. In my experience, the $10/20 games are the toughest out there. $15/30 is definitely softer.

One word of caution - there are large swings in shorthanded games. Your bankroll can change FAST in both directions. You need to be mentally prepared for that...

[excel]

If on the button in a 6 player game, what hands are worth calling with and how many players would you want in the pot to justify the call?

All of these? and what else?

AA-TT,AKs, AK, Aqs, AQ,AJ,KQs,KQ


I know its considered not good in general to call raises, but with 6 player being aggressive, surely folding to much on the button is wasting the best position.