Why play short-handed poker (6 max)?

At short-handed tables, you can find more bad players (fish). The higher the limit you play, the fewer full ring tables there are. On the other side, you have many short-handed tables and really bad players. You will find more bad players at short-handed tables because they can play more hands there. Your edge comes in playing more often against these bad players, because you'll play more hands per hour against them and increase your win rate as a result.

What is different between full ring and short-handed games?

Postflop play is mostly the same and preflop you have to play like on a full ring table where the first four players have folded their hands. This is very important because many beginners play too many hands.

Preflop Play

For a better understanding I will use some abbreviations. 6 players are normally at a short-handed table so I'll refer to players in this way:

First player after the blinds = UTG (under the gun)
Second player after the blinds = MP (middle position)
The next player = CU (cutoff - player in front of the button)
The player in front of the blinds = BU (button)
The small blind = SB
The big blind = BB

Note that the "s" means suited and the "o" means offsuit. Also note that these hands are only good enough for a raise if you are first to act.

From UTG, I would raise these hands when I am first to act: 88+, AJs+, KQs, AQo

From MP: 66+, ATs+, KJs+, AJo+, KQo+

From CU: 22+, A2s+, KTs+, QTs+, JTs+, T9s+, ATo+, KJo+, QJo+

From BU: 22+, A2s+, K9s+, Q9s+, J9s+, T8s+, 98s+, 87s+, 76s+, 65s+, 54s+, A2o+, KTo+, QTo+, JTo+, T9o+

From SB: 22+, A2s+, KTs+, QTs+, JTs+, T9s+, ATo+, KJo+, QJo+

From BB: 22+, A2s+, K9s+, Q9s+, J9s+, T8s+, 98s+, 87s+, 76s+, 65s+, 54s+, A2o+, KTo+, QTo+, JTo+, T9o+

Some people will now ask, why is the raising range from the small blind tighter than the raising range from the button? This is very simple. When you raise from the button you will always have position on your opponent and if someone calls your raise from the small blind you always have to play out of position!

Hands like suited connectors may look weak to some people, but these hands have great playability because when you hit nothing, you know that you are beat and can fold easily. When you hit something you are nearly always ahead. Last but not least, when you raise suited connectors you are hard to read because most people will put you on Ax or something like that.

3 Betting

If someone has raised before you, I mostly re-raise with these hands: AA, KK, QQ, JJ, sometimes TT, AK, and AQ. Important: These hand ranges are BASICS... if you have a read on your opponent, you have to move them up or down!

Postflop

Postflop play in short-handed games does not change as much as you might think. You only have to keep in mind that the hand ranges of your opponents grow a bit because of the looser game at short-handed tables.

The Swings

When you look at a full ring table compared to a short-handed table, you are bound to have bigger swings in your stack at the short-handed tables. You may often find yourself up or down 5+ Stacks in one session. You have to be aware of this and make sure not to go on tilt!

What bankroll should I have for short-handed No-Limit Hold 'em?

As I said before the swings are bigger so you need a bigger bankroll! I suggest that you should have 25 stacks or more. For example: When you want to try NL25 with 0.10/0.25 blinds, mostly you should have at least $625. The more the better.

Last word

This article is an explanation of short-handed basics at no-limit hold 'em. Many of you will not agree with everything in this article, but it is a solid approach for those just starting out with a tight-aggressive style of play. When you move up in limits, you have to change your style a bit. Maybe I will write some more articles for the intermediate player.

Thanks for reading.

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