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6 handed SNG strategy

If you’ve played online poker for more than a few hours, then you’ve likely seen the “6 Max” or short handed tables available at sites such as Full Tilt Poker or PokerStars. While this format is rarely offered at live casinos, it’s common to see it available at many online poker sites. Everything about this format lends itself to action and speed. If your style is an aggressive one, then these types of tables may be the perfect fit for you. So in this article we’re going to discuss the primary strategies that you should employ if you’re playing at these tables. You can see a quick impact to your game by only adopting one of these Sit N Go tactics, master them all and the sky’s the limit.

Hit ‘em hard and fast

The blinds at a 6 Max table come at you at a very rapid pace so aggressiveness is definitely the correct play overall. For starters, you will often have the opportunity to “buy the button”. This means that even if you’re second to act in this situation, an aggressive raise may cause the players to your left to fold. If the blinds decide to call your raise and see a flop, you will still have the benefit of being last to act so you’ve essentially “bought the button”. If the blinds check to you, a continuation bet is mandatory here. If you’re check-raised then you will clearly need to evaluate where you are in the hand and react accordingly. In most cases however, you may well take down the pot in this situation. Being successful in these situations will have a tremendous impact on your long term results, especially if you’re a Turbo SNG player.

Tight is right – but not at this table

Many newer players will adopt a tight-aggressive style based on what they’re read in books, etc. This will almost certainly put a dent in your bankroll if you’re playing 6 Max tables. The blinds are coming at you much quicker than if you were seated at a full ring game with 9 or 10 players. If you were to sit and wait for premium hands and fold to small raises when you’re in the blinds, you’re going to look down soon and realize that you’ve lost 10 or more blinds in the process. This isn’t the way to manage a bankroll so to combat that you must play “smart – aggressive” poker. Smart meaning that, just as the example above illustrates, know when to fold’em and when to continue being aggressive. Aggressive is just that: bet, bet, and bet some more. Trusting your reads and playing accordingly is a vital piece of this puzzle, so make sure you’re able to adjust your style when you sit down at one of these tables.

Check-raising to show strength

The check-raise is a powerful weapon in poker; it signals that you wanted your opponent to bet so that you could punish him or her after they make a bet. At a short-handed table this will very often get an opponent off of a draw or small pair. Being selective as to when you use this move can pay big dividends. Make sure that you switch gears when using this move and you’ll keep your opponents guessing. Check-raise that four flush draw on the flop, check-raise that middle pair that you just hit, check-raise when you have complete air but feel that your opponent will fold their middle pair or ace high hand. These are all solid examples of how to make the check-raise work to your benefit.

Summary

These are only a few tips that you should begin to employ when you’re playing any short-handed game. If you’re a standard ring game type player then you should make sure that you’re able to switch gears when you sit down at this table. The biggest danger to your bankroll is thinking that a six-handed table is going to play the same as a 9-10 handed table. So take these tips and work on implementing them into your game, read more strategy articles on this topic and before long you should begin to see very solid results.