6-max (or 6-handed) poker games are by far the most popular online cash game format. They’re so popular, in fact, 💰 that they’ve almost completely replaced full-ring (or 9-handed) games on most online poker sites.
If you want to become a successful 💰 online cash game player, having a strong 6-max game is mandatory. If you’re a tournament and/or live player, it won’t 💰 hurt your win-rate to bolster your short-handed skills.
Here is what we’ll cover in this article (click to skip to that 💰 section):
We’re about to dive deep into 6-max strategy. You may want to bookmark the page so you don’t have to 💰 read the full guide in one sitting.
Let’s get to it.
This guide has been updated to include more important advice for 💰 6-max cash games (originally published 12/20/2024)
What is 6-Max Poker?
Put simply, 6-max is a format that allows a maximum of six 💰 players to be seated at the table. Traditional ‘full-ring’ games, by contrast, allow up to 9 players.
This means that the 💰 positions from which we play the tightest — UTG (Under the Gun), UTG+1 and UTG+2 — no longer exist in 💰 6-max; the positions are as follows:
Lowjack (LJ)
Hijack (HJ)
Cut-Off (CO)
Button (BTN)
Small Blind (SB)
Big Blind (BB)
With three fewer players, 6-max just feels 💰 looser than full-ring poker. The result is a larger average pot size, a higher percentage of players seeing flops, and 💰 more hands per hour. These reasons are why both skilled professionals and recreational players prefer 6-max — they get to 💰 spend less time folding and more time playing hands.
While there are 6-max tournaments, the format is most commonly a cash 💰 game, which is what we will be focusing on here today.
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6-Max Starting Hand Range Charts
Solid poker strategy begins with good 💰 preflop hand selection. Having well-structured ranges will lead to fewer tough spots and more profitable ones.
Here are 6-handed preflop charts 💰 for every position at the table (starting from the LJ) from the Upswing Lab:
You can see that our range of 💰 raising hands gets wider as we move around the table. This is because, with fewer players left to act behind 💰 us, we are more likely to win the blinds with our raise and less likely to run into a strong 💰 hand.
Your opening range is at its widest from the small blind because there is only one player between us and 💰 the 1.5BB in the pot. However, limping with a wide range can also be a reasonable strategy from the small 💰 blind, especially against a tough opponent who might punish our wide opening range with 3-bets and floats.
When to Adjust Your 💰 Preflop Ranges
Starting hand charts like the ones above are a great guideline — but they aren’t set in stone. Successful 💰 poker players adjust their ranges regularly based on a number of factors, including but not limited to these three:
Opponents’ tendencies/specific 💰 reads
Your opponents’ tendencies are the main determinant of how you should adjust your opening ranges. You should exploit your opponents 💰 whenever possible, and modifying which hands you open is a good way to do this.
For example, at a table where 💰 all players are playing tight and conservative, you should loosen your opening ranges so you can pick up more uncontested 💰 pots. On the other hand, if you have an extremely aggressive player to your left who is constantly 3-betting you, 💰 you should play tighter the ranges outlined above. This gives you a stronger set of poker hands that are easier 💰 to play against 3-bets.
Skill Level of Competition
You can get away with playing a wider range of hands when you have 💰 an edge over your opponents. Playing more hands means more opportunities to exercise your edge postflop. Likewise, if you are 💰 playing at a table with very strong opponents, it’s reasonable to tighten up your ranges. The idea is to widen 💰 the skill gap against bad players by playing more hands and to narrow it against good players by playing stronger 💰 hands.
Rake
In games with particularly high rake, there is a good argument to be made for playing a slightly narrower range 💰 of hands. Marginal hands that are on the cusp of being break-even can become slightly losing when rake is considered.
The 💰 Perfect 6-Handed Open-Raising Size
When open-raising, you should raise to a size between 2.25 and 3 times the big blind (BB).
A 💰 smaller size gives your opponents a great price to call, which you want to avoid because it is more difficult 💰 to win multiway pots. On the other hand, raising much larger than 3BB makes your own price worse, forcing you 💰 to tighten your range (theoretically, at least).
An exception to this rule is when you’re in the small blind, where a 💰 larger size (between 3BB and 4BB) should be used. This is because the player in the big blind has position 💰 and money already committed to the pot, both of which incentivize him to defend very loosely. You can’t do anything 💰 about your positional disadvantage, but you can make his pot odds worse with larger open-raise sizes.
You may have noticed that 💰 the big blind is absent from the ranges above; that’s on purpose. We’ll talk about big blind defense shortly.
Understanding 3-Betting 💰 is Crucial to 6-Max Success
3-betting is a powerful and highly profitable tactic when done right. There are a number of 💰 reasons to 3-bet preflop:
For Value. Re-raising with your strongest hands allows you to build a pot and extract value from 💰 weaker hands that your opponent will call with. Many inexperienced players slow-play with their strong hands too often, but fast-playing 💰 is usually the optimal route.
As a Bluff. Including bluffs in your 3-betting range allows you to keep your range balanced 💰 and prevent your opponents from realizing their equity. If you only 3-bet with nutted hands, your opponents could exploit you 💰 simply by folding almost every time you 3-bet. When your last opponent folds, you win the entire pot, even if 💰 your hand had only, say 60% equity to win. In this example, we denied our opponent 40% (his equity) of 💰 the pot.
To Isolate. When you 3-bet, you decrease the likelihood of a multiway pot. This is in your interest, as 💰 the equity of your hand diminishes with every additional player who enters the pot. For example, AA is 85% to 💰 win against one player holding a random hand, but in a pot against four other players with random hands, AA 💰 is only a marginal favorite:
3-betting to isolate will usually result in a heads-up pot against the original raiser. Against a 💰 fish who open-raises (or limps), you can isolate them with a 3-bet (or raise) and take advantage of their weaknesses 💰 postflop.
Calling and 3-Betting Ranges in 6-Max Poker
6-max calling ranges and 6-max 3-betting ranges vary more than opening ranges. The larger 💰 discrepancy is because calling and 3-betting ranges are heavily influenced by the position and tendencies of the original raiser.
In general, 💰 the tighter the open-raising range, the tighter the calling or 3-betting range should be, and vice versa. Let’s compare a 💰 tight range to a loose range to highlight this difference. First, the tight range (HJ vs LJ raise):
Now, let’s take 💰 a look at a loose range (BTN vs CO raise):
As you can see, the BTN’s value range is much wider 💰 than the HJ’s value range. This wider value range allows the BTN to 3-bet more bluffs as well.
Here are a 💰 few rules of thumb to consider when facing a raise:
If your hand is too weak to 3-bet with but clearly 💰 too strong to fold, you should probably call.
Consider 3-bet bluffing with hands that seem slightly too weak to play (break-even 💰 or slightly losing calls are usually perfect choices).
Hands with good playability when called function well as 3-bet bluffs, such as 💰 suited and connected hands. (This has the added benefit of improving your board coverage, which is a generally overrated but 💰 still relevant concept.)
These rules of thumb apply to all positions, but there’s even more to consider when facing an open-raise 💰 from the blinds.
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Small Blind vs Raise Strategy for 6-Handed
When you’re in the small blind facing a raise, you should lean 💰 towards 3-betting your entire continue range unless the raise is very small. Against a small raise from a player with 💰 a loose range, your pot odds and hand may warrant a call.
The reason you should mostly 3-bet is to mitigate 💰 your positional disadvantage. If your opponent calls, you will then head to the flop with a range advantage and the 💰 initiative, which makes out-of-position play easier.
Further reading on small blind play: 6 Steps to Stop Bleeding Chips from the Small 💰 Blind.
Big Blind vs Raise Strategy for 6-Handed
The player in the big blind is in a unique position, having already committed 💰 1BB to the pot. This gives them a “discounted” price to call when facing a raise. This is why you 💰 can call from the big blind with a very wide range of hands compared to other positions.
You can be especially 💰 loose against raises from players in the small blind since you will enjoy a positional advantage postflop. Given that many 💰 players will attempt to steal (or limp) at a high frequency from the small blind, you will get to play 💰 versus a wide range in position — a recipe for a high win-rate.
Now that we’ve covered the major aspects of 💰 preflop play, let’s move to postflop.
6-Max Postflop Play
This aspect of the game is much more complex, and you will forever 💰 find something new to improve on. In fact it’s so complex that even the strongest supercomputers in the world haven’t 💰 been able to produce a perfect GTO strategy.
In this section, we’ll take a look at the most common plays in 💰 the game, and then we’ll discuss how to approach each one.
C-Betting
If you’re an experienced poker player or fan, you’re likely 💰 already familiar with this fundamental tactic.
A c-bet (short for ‘continuation bet’) is a bet made by the last aggressor from 💰 the prior street. This section will cover the strategy behind c-betting and how you should react to your opponents’ c-bets.
We’ll 💰 start with how to approach c-betting on the flop, both in position and out of position (there’s a big difference 💰 between the two).
C-Betting on the Flop: In Position
In position, you have a massive advantage for the rest of the hand 💰 as you get to act last on each street. Consequently, you will be able to value bet and bluff more 💰 effectively.
There are multiple strategies that, if executed correctly, work from in position:
You can choose to bet small with a higher 💰 frequency and merged range.
This betting strategy works best on dry, disconnected flops (such as A♣️ 9♠ 5♣️, Q♦️ Q♥ 6♣️, 💰 J♦️-6♠ 2♥). This approach works because the out of position player will have a hard time continuing with enough of 💰 his range, and your bluffs will profit greatly as a result.
You can choose to bet big with a lower frequency 💰 and a more polarized range.
This betting strategy is usually best on wet, connected flops (such as Q♠ J♠ 8♣️, 9♦️ 💰 8♣️ 7♥, etc.). Why? Because the out of position player will have a lot of hands to continue with, and 💰 you want to give him the worst pot odds possible while still forcing him to continue with those hands.
You can 💰 be a bit more liberal with your value bets in position. Hands like top pair with a good kicker should 💰 be bet for value on a wet board. On the dry boards, where you want to use a smaller c-bet 💰 size, you can bet all of your pairs for thin value and protection.
You should still bluff with hands that have 💰 a chance to improve on the turn or river (draws and backdoor draws).
C-Betting on the Flop: Out of Position
You’ll generally 💰 want to play a defensive strategy when out of position, betting fewer hands than you would in position. This is 💰 because you’ll be at an informational disadvantage throughout the hand, being first to act on every street.
You should mainly c-bet 💰 on the flop with hands that can comfortably bet 3 streets for value (on most run outs), plus some bluffs 💰 that have a chance to improve to a strong hand on the turn or river. Your betting range should be 💰 quite narrow in these spots, and it’s usually best to play a mixed strategy — sometimes betting, sometimes checking — 💰 with your strong hands.
Why is playing defensively so important when out of position? Because your opponent will almost always have 💰 a strong, condensed range of hands when they call a raise in position. You have to pick your spots carefully 💰 when betting into such a range.
For example, on a board like K♠ 9♦️ 6♣️, your c-betting strategy should look something 💰 like this:
Value range: 66, 99, K9
Mixed strategy: AK
Bluff range: QJ, QT, JT, 87s
Hands that may seem like slam-dunk value bets, 💰 like KQ, should be checked in order to protect your range.
If the board is lower, like T♣️ 5♦️ 3♣️, your 💰 c-betting range should look something like this:
Value range: 55, 33
Mixed strategy: AT, JJ, QQ, KK, AA
Bluff range: 76s, J9s, QJ
Further 💰 reading on flop c-betting: How to Print Money with Your Flop C-Bets In and Out of Position.
C-Betting on the Turn 💰 (aka ‘Double Barreling’)
Once your flop c-bet is called, you should double barrel on the turn with a polarized range containing 💰 both value bets and bluffs.
Choosing your value bets on a brick turn is the easy part: simply bet with the 💰 same strong hands that you bet on the flop. If the turn card is not a brick, you’ll have to 💰 re-evaluate your value range and bet with your new strongest hands (e.g. you should not continue betting with K♥ 9♥ 💰 on a board of 9♠ 8♠ 4♥ Q♠).
You should generally bet gutshots, straight draws, and flush draws as bluffs while 💰 giving up with other non-made hands (such as backdoor draws that missed on the turn). However, when the board is 💰 dry and drawless, you will need to get a bit creative with your bluffs. For example, on T-3-3-4, you could 💰 bluff with hands like QJ/J9 while continuing to value bet normally.
Playing Versus C-Bets on the Flop
The way you should play 💰 against flop c-bets depends heavily on both players’ ranges, the bet size, and whether or not you are in position.
Pay 💰 close attention to your opponent’s c-bet size and what it might mean for his strategy. If he bets big, his 💰 range is likely polarized and you should expect him to double barrel aggressively. If he bets small, his range is 💰 likely merged and you should expect him to check back on the turn often.
Pop quiz: Against which range should you 💰 raise the flop more often: merged or polarized? Click “Show answer” when you’re ready.
Show answer Expand Merged. The medium-strength hands 💰 in his merged range will be in a tough spot versus a raise. Plus, since a player with a polarized 💰 range will more often barrel on the turn and river, it makes more sense to just call on the flop 💰 so you can put in a bigger raise later.
Here are a few general guidelines for playing versus c-bets on the 💰 flop:
You should play looser when in position and tighter when out of position.
When out of position, you should check-raise with 💰 a range comprised of very strong hands and some draws (gutshots, straight draws, etc.) unless the flop is very favorable 💰 for your opponent’s range.
Continue with hands that will be playable on turns. Think about which and how many turn cards 💰 will allow you to call another bet with your hand. If there aren’t very many, consider folding on the flop. 💰 For example, even though 33 will often have your c-betting opponent beat on J94, you should still lean towards folding 💰 because you only have 2 outs to improve.
Playing Versus C-Bets on the Turn
Most of the concepts from the flop still 💰 apply on the turn, but you can play a bit more exploitatively in a couple of important ways.
First, you can 💰 make big folds or lighter calls based on how many natural semi-bluffs are in your opponent’s range. For example:
On a 💰 draw-heavy board like J♠ 9 ♥ 5♠ 4 ♥ , you can expect your opponent to be bluffing fairly often 💰 with one of the many possible draws, so you can make some lighter calls versus a bet.
5♠ 4 , you 💰 can expect your opponent to be bluffing fairly often with one of the many possible draws, so you can make 💰 some lighter calls versus a bet. On a dry board like K♠ 8 ♦️ 2♣️ 2 ♥ , your opponent 💰 would have to get creative in order to be bluffing and, since most players aren’t very creative, you can make 💰 some big folds versus a bet.
You can also call much looser on the turn if you know your opponent is 💰 not aggressive on the river (which is the case for most players). If he’s not going to put you to 💰 the test with your medium-strength hands on the river, you can comfortably call with them on the turn and expect 💰 to get to showdown relatively often.
Probing on the Turn
A probe bet is when you are out of position and bet 💰 into a player who had an opportunity to c-bet on the prior street but didn’t. Probing is only possible on 💰 the turn or river.
As a general guideline, you want to probe bet as a bluff with equity driven hands that 💰 don’t have showdown value, such as gutshots, straight draws, and flush draws. If your draw does have showdown value (such 💰 as ace-high or a pair), it’s usually better to check-call (or even check-raise). Keeping a few draws in your checking 💰 range has the added benefit of making your strategy more robust, allowing you to show up with unexpectedly strong hands 💰 on the river.
In cases where the board doesn’t have many possible draws, you can expand your bluffing range to include 💰 slightly weaker hands. For example, on T-7-2-2 you might bet QJ, which still has outs to improve to what will 💰 likely be the best hand on the river.
You should then balance that range with an appropriate, polarized, value betting range, 💰 with which you are looking to double barrel very frequently. However, avoid going lower than second-pair top kicker, as you 💰 hand will become too weak to barrel for value on the river.
Further reading on probing: How to Play Turns When 💰 the Preflop Raiser Checks Back.
Delayed C-Betting
A delayed c-bet is a bet by the preflop aggressor after the action checked through 💰 on the previous street(s). It’s an underused and often misunderstood play, but it will help you to win more pots 💰 and avoid tough spots.
The exact delayed c-bet strategy you should implement is heavily dependant on your flop strategy. As a 💰 general guideline, you should delay c-bet bluff with an equity-driven range (just as you do for probing), which is made 💰 of gutshots, straight draws, and flush draws. And, again, avoid betting with these hands if they have showdown value.
As with 💰 probing, you will want to polarize your delayed c-bet range with strong middle pairs and better for value. You’ll usually 💰 be able to bet for value again with these hands on the river as well.
Note that delayed c-bet bluffing is 💰 a very effective play against most players since they’ve already shown a lot of weakness by checking twice. Few players 💰 are savvy enough to include strong hands in their range after checking twice, so you can attack them relentlessly (you 💰 don’t even need any equity — you can fire a delay with two random cards).
Further reading on this under-studied play: 💰 How to Win More Money with Delayed C-Bets.
Tips for Postflop Play in Low Stakes 6-Max
Postflop 6-max strategy is something that 💰 takes years to master, but these 4 quick tips will help you get started on the right track. These were 💰 primarily crafted to exploit leaks that are common at the lower limits:
Value bet often and thinly. The best way to 💰 win in 6-max games is to value bet heavily with your strong holdings because the most prevalent leak in weaker 💰 games is that players love to call. They just can’t help it. This makes betting for value more profitable than 💰 it would otherwise be, and slow-playing much less effective. Don’t be afraid to bet on the larger side, too—bad players 💰 will often decide they are going to call a bet before they even see what size it is. While you 💰 shouldn’t size up too much in tougher games since good players notice sizing tells, you can get away with doing 💰 so at softer tables.
Bluff with caution when your opponent has already put significant money in the pot. Since weaker player 💰 pools are characterized by a love to call, consistently going for huge bluffs isn’t a great idea. This is not 💰 to say that you should never bluff — you should absolutely still attack weak ranges and/or weak players. But you 💰 pick your bluff spots carefully against most players at the lower limits.
Take thorough notes and categorize your opponents. If you’re 💰 playing on a site where you can tag players and write notes, this is worth doing anytime you can. (You’ll 💰 have to settle for a notepad or mental notes if you’re a live player.) It’s important to learn new information 💰 about other players in your player pool. It’ll allow you to quickly profile your opponents and adjust your strategy to 💰 exploit them. If you’re up against a calling station, for example, you should bluff less since they’re not likely to 💰 fold. Or if you’re facing a nit who folds too much, you should be apt to empty the clip.
Don’t make 💰 many big calls on the river. Another tendency common in soft 6-max games is that aggression on the river is 💰 usually value-heavy. Players at these stakes rarely fire triple-barrel bluffs, so a good adjustment is folding slightly more than normal 💰 against river bets. Likewise, an opponent’s raise on the river is almost always going to be a nutted hand. Avoid 💰 calling light in these spots unless your opponent has many missed draws in his range.
Further reading on exploiting weak players: 💰 Crush Live Poker Games with These 8 Battle-Tested Tactics. (Don’t let the title fool you — these tactics work versus 💰 micro stakes online players too.)
Got any article topic suggestions? We’d love to hear them.
Drop them in the comments below.
If you’re 💰 looking to improve 6-max poker tournament strategy, I’d recommend starting with this article on big blind defense — a crucial 💰 part of 6-max tournaments.
Until next time!
Note: Want 10 quick tips that will help you win at poker? Get this free 💰 guide if you want to come out on top.
Note: Are you here just to learn how to play poker...or do 💰 you want to know how to win too? Get this free guide with 10 quick poker strategy tips if you 💰 want to come out on top.
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