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How to win at 6max (I wish!!). By a beginner for beginners.
xfgwdtbosw
Member Posts: 45
in Strategy
I’m new to Poker. I’ve been playing on Sky for 12 months and previously I had 2 months on another Poker site. A chance conversation got me interested and I now I’m totally hooked and play most days. I guess i’m a winning player cos I’ve only deposited once and I now have more money than when I started! I play cash games NL4, and recently some NL10 (plus the odd free roll) and I only play one table.
I have no desire to play more than one table as it seems too much like hard work!
I use the forum and also watch plenty of YouTube videos. It’s all very interesting but a lot of the advice is given by experts who are playing at higher levels. When you are playing micro stakes I think you need to keep it simple (I certainly do!).
For what it’s worth here’s my top 10 beginners tips for playing the micros. (Your comments will be appreciated but be gentle with me cos I’m no expert)-
1. Position is everything. The first thing I learnt and one of the most important. It took me far too long to really appreciate it.
Don’t just see 2 good hole cards and play them regardless. You can get into some tight and losing spots playing out of position.
2. Don’t worry about losing.
Don’t get too down if you are on a bad run cos you’ll get some good ones to make up for it. I used to keep a daily record of my balance but gave that up because it’s not good to be fixated with daily results.
3. If things are going very badly just stop!.
I saw a survey recently that showed that the biggest problem for most players was physiological. We’ve all been there; you play a few bad hands and suddenly you loose the plot and start chasing every hand. This is simple to correct. Just stop!
4. Don’t worry about playing against multi tablers.
You will often be up against opponents who have several tables in play, I’ve seen as many as 14 recently. I tried to avoid these players until I realised that profitability falls as table numbers increase. I need all the help I can get so if someone is multi tabling, making snap decisions and their profitability is less, that’s fine by me.
5. Avoid the good players.
If there’s a good player at your table who’s giving you problems then try not to get too involved with them.
6. Move tables.
Following on from 5 above. If there’s too many players you are struggling against then move tables.
7. Watch your opponents.
This took me a while, I was initially more concerned with playing my hand than watching others. If someone is folding most hands then suddenly 3bets you, the chances are he’s not bluffing.
8. Poor hands loose you very little.
Most players want to get involved and the temptation is to play too many hands. Don’t try and force a poor hand . If your not sure then fold it, folding costs you nothing.
9. You only loose big when you have a good hand.
Don’t assume you are going to win just because you have KK. I saw someone with KK go bust recently when an A came on the flop. When this happens someone with an A is going to beat you.
Don’t worry about folding big hands if you need to, you'll get another chance later.
10. Here’s the hardest part.
Smile when you loose. There’s going to be times when you think the pokers gods are against you. It’s all part of the game. Just remember your bad beat is someone else’s good beat!
P.s. I was initially concerned about writing this post and giving away my strategy!
I thought long and hard about it and eventually decided to go ahead.
Of course the whole thing could simply be one big bluff!
I have no desire to play more than one table as it seems too much like hard work!
I use the forum and also watch plenty of YouTube videos. It’s all very interesting but a lot of the advice is given by experts who are playing at higher levels. When you are playing micro stakes I think you need to keep it simple (I certainly do!).
For what it’s worth here’s my top 10 beginners tips for playing the micros. (Your comments will be appreciated but be gentle with me cos I’m no expert)-
1. Position is everything. The first thing I learnt and one of the most important. It took me far too long to really appreciate it.
Don’t just see 2 good hole cards and play them regardless. You can get into some tight and losing spots playing out of position.
2. Don’t worry about losing.
Don’t get too down if you are on a bad run cos you’ll get some good ones to make up for it. I used to keep a daily record of my balance but gave that up because it’s not good to be fixated with daily results.
3. If things are going very badly just stop!.
I saw a survey recently that showed that the biggest problem for most players was physiological. We’ve all been there; you play a few bad hands and suddenly you loose the plot and start chasing every hand. This is simple to correct. Just stop!
4. Don’t worry about playing against multi tablers.
You will often be up against opponents who have several tables in play, I’ve seen as many as 14 recently. I tried to avoid these players until I realised that profitability falls as table numbers increase. I need all the help I can get so if someone is multi tabling, making snap decisions and their profitability is less, that’s fine by me.
5. Avoid the good players.
If there’s a good player at your table who’s giving you problems then try not to get too involved with them.
6. Move tables.
Following on from 5 above. If there’s too many players you are struggling against then move tables.
7. Watch your opponents.
This took me a while, I was initially more concerned with playing my hand than watching others. If someone is folding most hands then suddenly 3bets you, the chances are he’s not bluffing.
8. Poor hands loose you very little.
Most players want to get involved and the temptation is to play too many hands. Don’t try and force a poor hand . If your not sure then fold it, folding costs you nothing.
9. You only loose big when you have a good hand.
Don’t assume you are going to win just because you have KK. I saw someone with KK go bust recently when an A came on the flop. When this happens someone with an A is going to beat you.
Don’t worry about folding big hands if you need to, you'll get another chance later.
10. Here’s the hardest part.
Smile when you loose. There’s going to be times when you think the pokers gods are against you. It’s all part of the game. Just remember your bad beat is someone else’s good beat!
P.s. I was initially concerned about writing this post and giving away my strategy!
I thought long and hard about it and eventually decided to go ahead.
Of course the whole thing could simply be one big bluff!
Comments
Nice post @xfgwdtbosw
What made you come up with that particular alias, & does it mean anything in particular?
Not really, everyone comes up with a ‘normal’ name so I thought I’d go for something different that no one could spell or pronounce!
My thought for today -
I did ok yesterday and finished slightly up but lost some hand needlessly. I’m really gonna try and focus on the playing styles of others around the table today.
I guess it’s all part of the learning experience.
Now I am a lot better and can soon pick up the styles around the table.
Thanks for the message. Ive had a recent break from cash and spent 2 months on MTTs. (I made a very small profit) but it’s not for me. I’m back now and enjoying it more than ever. I’ll take your comments on board for my next post, and thanks for the value, value tips.
12. Fold to serious action if you don't have a nutty hand! (Readless obviously).
Google Baluga Theorem - could save large chunks of your bankroll
There’s been a lot going on personally, including 4 major operations, so I guess I’ve had an excuse for not posting here recently!
I must admit I did loose my way slightly with NL4 cash. I wasn’t losing but realised that if I didn’t improve I was going to be a break even player at best; so what did I do, I tried MTTs for 2 months!
During this period I made a VERY SMALL profit, but more importantly, I realised it was not for me. I didn’t want to spend hours continually playing, particularly late at night, and actually found it boring at times.
So - I’m not playing MTTs and I’m not going to be a break even player!
1. Cash games only.
2. Lots of off table study. VERY IMPORTANT!
3. Conservative bankroll strategy. Don’t move up to NL 10 without 40 buy ins. Balance at the time was £340 (maybe not bad cos I started with £10) so the short term target was to get to £400.
I’d give it a couple of months and see if there was any improvement and I’m pleased to say there has been!
I increased my bankroll to £400 in 4 weeks at NL4 and am now playing NL10 and even the odd game of NL20.
It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster ride though and certainly not easy.
At the start of the month I lost 9 buyins in 10 days, mainly down to stupid play on my part and also to some terrible run outs but I got that back and my bankroll is now just over £500.
My next target is bankroll of £600+ and play some NL20. I’m not setting a time for this but hopefully sooner rather than later.
I think the important thing to take from this post (if anyone actually wants to take something from it!) is that if I can improve, then anyone can!
Longer term target has always been to play NL100. We can all dream!
- Before I go I often read on here of bad beats and Sky being ‘fixed’ (which I don’t believe for 1 second).
I recently was dealt JJ, the flop came J77 and I lost my stack. Now that’s a bad beat!
@xfgwdtbosw
Morning bud.
4 major ops? Sorry to hear that.
You all tickity-boo now?
GL with the cash, keep us updated please. Most of us don't reply as often as we should, but most of us like to read these player's journeys.
Green - I’m comfortable that I can bet against them/hook them up et
Amber- about the same as me
Red- choose my moments/hands and post it ion
Purple- oh why are they on the final table ffs....now I really have to pick my moment!
Glgl