Full to SH - how'd you do it?

[RunDownHouse]

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I went the other way around. Still trying to figure out full, to be completely honest.

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I tried out full a couple months ago and went running back to SH. Much more boring, and I'm sure I looked like a maniac raising all kinds of marginal hands.

[MicroBob]

yeah. just play down a limit or two and focus on 1 or 2 tables to get the hang of it a bit better.
and read this forum naturally.


the other advice about bonus-clearing to do it is pretty good also.

As I recall, that's how I got more into short-handed...clearing bonuses on party/skins and paradise.

[Derek in NYC]

Good advice here. My own transition (which I deem successful) involved a few specifics:

1. playing 1 table only for around 35k hands
2. trying to understand how loose you could go with weak aces
3. thinking about domination--how does it change in SH?
4. playing the blinds better/more aggressively (attempt this last)
5. thinking about middle pairs
6. reconsidering the value of drawing hands
7. realizing that heads up confrontations are g00t
8. thinking about when to bluff, particularly thinking ahead about bluffing
9. taking detailed opponent notes

I realize that my advice, given in the form "thinking about X", isn't specific enough to help you. However I think it is worth struggling with. Some concepts like #2 (weak aces) relate back to ones like domination, #3. When I first started, I assumed aces were automatically g00t and should be played, that way, but of course that's not right. You need to understand when A2o is a raising hand, and when AJo is a folding hand. Things are much more situational shorthanded.

In terms of reading, Id recommend the SH section from HPFAP, although realize that a lot of the stuff he talks about applies to HU confrontations, so you dont need to go as far with the concept as he suggests (e.g., ignoring the top card on the flop). King Yao's book has an excellent SH section, probably the best thing Ive seen in print.

As I type this, it occurs to me that maybe one of the most important steps I made was learning to play against different opponent types, particularly maniacs/LAGs, although playing against relentless calling stations was also important. In full ring, particularly at low limits, you can be something of a nut peddler, on account of the implicit collusion at the table and the need to "showdown the best hand." This is much less true in SH. With some guys like LAGs and maniacs, your goal is often to just get to showdown. With others like calling stations, your goal might be to valuebet as much as possible, but to minimize the tactics like semibluffing. Against smart players, the c/r, the semibluff, the river raise, etc are all important to use.

Learning about player types is implicit, I guess, in my recommendations to play only 1 table, and to take detailed notes. Also, read ITPM, which was helpful.

Sorry for the rambling response, but Im runnning on about 4 hours of gas, after a hellaciously good session last night, and I got to get going to work.

[Silverback]

Read the forum, within the last 2 days this exact question has been asked and one of the threads has some great links in it to other great threads.

Are you a good full ring player?

One of the posts you will find when you look will highlight players actually adjust to much to 6 max, whereas really they should play very similar to full ring as if the first 4 players had folded.

Im not looking for and linking directly to the post as it will do you more good looking for it yourself and hopefully reading a few interesting posts on the way, I read them yesterday so you wont have to look to deep to find.

Vpip is important, dont start out to loose, start tight around 23 vpip,

Now go read the forum.

[PokerBob]

I just gritted my teeth and dove in. It was a rude welcome (-180BB in my first 3K hands), but I got used to it. I think you just have to get in there and take your lumps. With the new 3/6 games, I think now is a good time as 5/10 can be very expensive but 1/2 is so retarded that it doesn't help all that much.

[sthief09]

it's the same game. there's nothign different about ti except adjusting to the mentalities of your opponents. if you go from 3/6 full to 15/30 full, you'll feel like you're in a completely different game. play your game and make the necessary adjustments.

[rory]

lost 3k