Texas Holdem: Shorthanded 6-Max Strategies

Poker

If you play any amount of Texas Holdem, you are most certainly fully aware of what a full ring game is. Although a full ring game of Texas Holdem can be very profitable for a good Holdem player, there is another variation that can be even more profitable. The variation I’m referring to is called 6-max Texas Holdem. It is also known as short-handed Texas Holdem. 6-max is exactly what it says. It is a Texas Holdem ring game (or tournament) that has a maximum of 6 players instead of the more traditional nine or ten players at the poker table. How does 6 max Texas Holdem and shorthanded poker compare with that of the full table?

For starters, shorthanded six man Texas Holdem games are more fun because there are definitely more hands played per hour than their larger full ring cousins. This usually results in lots more action and lots more profit if you are any good. Certain starting hands that are not normally playable in a full ring Texas Holdem game are suddenly very playable. Hands such as KTs can sometimes even take down pots uncontested, depending on who is at your table since high cards such as these go up substantially in value while lower cards and small suited connectors go down in value.

Shorthanded 6-max Texas Holdem games are usually much more aggressive in texture than the larger full ring games so you must adjust your game accordingly if you expect to be an effective shorthanded Texas Holdem player. Limping into a shorthanded game is a big no-no and you should never do it. Aggression wins shorthanded poker games so any display of weakness, such as limping in, will almost certainly doom you from the start. You want to play “pump-it-or-dump-it” hands by either raising heavily if decide to play a hand or folding. Checking and calling are obviously not aggressive strategies and really do not belong in your shorthanded poker weapons arsenal.

While aggression is an important part of the game, it does not bode well at times in Texas Holdem because it is all a matter of strategy where you need to have your wits against you and this is why most people fail to shine through in this game as they assume it to be a random bandarq online where everything is up for grabs.

The best shorthanded Texas Holdem players are tight aggressive and these kinds of players are usually rewarded handsomely at the shorthanded 6-max poker tables. Firing off a pot-sized bet following a large pre-flop raise is crucial to showing strength, even if you miss your flop since the flop usually will miss everyone else also. Following this strategy consistently should allow you to earn steady profits from shorthanded 6-max Texas Holdem games. In contrast, failure to play tight aggressive poker will cost you money in the long term.