Where is the advantage? 6Max or Full Ring games?

[DawnToDusk]

I've been discussing with my Dad the advantages of full ring games as opposed to 6Max games. This comes up as I am looking at taking my B&M game and get some more practice online, as I will be away at school and won't have the oppurtunity to play B&M as often now.

I'm trying to figure out what is the best size for a game online? It seems from general discussion on these forums that a lot of the players encountered online are weak/loose. I also tend to see some weak/tight players in the games (from watching my Dad), but don't hear a lot about them in these forums. I see it from this perspective.

Playing in a full ring game on a site like PartyPoker will give me a better chance to extract the most money out of a game. My game is sharp and respectable and I have been a winning player for this summer. Won't it be best to play in a full ring game, as more mistakes will be made as opposed to the amount in a 6max game? I can see the same amount being made in a full ring and 6max game if either player is weak. They will have the same oppurtunities to make them. But if you add another 3-4 weak players to your game, it just seems all your +EV moves profit even more. Is thinking along these lines sound? If so should I be looking at playing full ring games as opposed to 6max games?

[jason_t]

Read the relevant chapter in Feeney's Inside the Poker Mind.

[DawnToDusk]

For those of us without that book, is there some light you can shed on the topic?

[clownshoes]

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For those of us without that book, is there some light you can shed on the topic?

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You can purchase books in a bookstore.

[ArturiusX]

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You can purchase books in a bookstore.

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What kind of post is this?!

[DawnToDusk]

Ya. Was just looking for some helpful advice.

[LImitPlayer]

Shorthanded is more profitable then full ring.
More hands per hour means more mistakes made by players

Your variance will be higher on 6max tables, but you stand to make more for the reasons previously posted.

[MoP_86]

probably too offtopic... but how much do you guys change your game when playing 6max?

[naphand]

The game that is most profitable is the one where you have the biggest edge over your opponents, where you are able to exploit that edge.

While many will say SH games are the most profitable this is more certainly the case where FULL games have become SHORT and the players not experienced. Experienced SH players will eat you alive if you are not mentally prepared and understand the game mechanics and how to adjust. 1 chapter in a book is not enough preparation.

SH games are fast and aggressive, LAG players play closer to optimal and the swings can make you lean away from your best game, or flat out tilt you. 20K hands is not enough to know if you are a winner in them as the variance is shockingly high, plenty of posts to this effect in the HUSH forum, go see.

The speed of SH games means more hands/hr, but you are faced with a LOT of marginal/tricky decisions especially to start with. PLAYER READS ARE IMPORTANT. If you are not comfortable with being put into difficult spots repeatedly and if you are not comfortable with playing mediocre hands hard then keep away from SH. Of course, you might enjoy the experience... [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

Some players are best suited to HU, some to 3-4 handed etc. My WR in full is higher in BB/100 than short, but playing 120 hands/hr makes up for that somewhat...(a bit moot with multi-tabling online). If you are going to try SH online stick to 2-tabling to start with, play a limit you are comfortable splashing chips around. Otherwise if you want to make the transition from B&M to online you would be best advised to stick with the game you know best IMO, to minimise the changes. Good SH play really requires a complete rebuild, despite what you may hear about "playing as if the first 4 players have folded" (you can win playing like this, of course, but will be a distance from optimal).