Switching from from full ring to shorthanded

Who is qualified for the change and when is the right time?

The question when to change to shorthanded tables is varying in individual cases and cannot be answered generally as there is no keylimit indicating such a change. However, you should have played full ring games successfully over a long period of time and should have understood and realized the basic concepts of the game (see also silver-/gold content) before changing to shorthanded tables. Well, if you still feel like playing shorthanded now, you'll be ready for switching over.

Why change at all ? The advantages of playing shorthanded

I) There are more fish. The higher the limit you play, the fewer full ring tables are available. On the other hand, when changing to shorthanded games, you've got a wider choice of tables. Moreover, shorthanded tables attract bad players in a magical way, which is probably due to the faster and looser game that is generally played at these tables.

II) Your winrate increases as you are more often involved in a hand against above-mentioned players and also since you're loosen up your own game.

III) You're playing more hands per hour with the same amount of tables for the simple reason that six players complete a hand faster than ten players. As a result, your hourly winrate is increasing likewise.

The differences between full ring and shorthanded games

Let's get down to the main topic of this article, the differences between the two modes of the game and the question in which situations you must adapt your play. It should be said in advance that you don't need to change your postflop game from the way you have learned it - the basics are the same.
Even in preflop play the name of the game is still no limit hold'em, hence you should approach the shorthanded tables like a full ring table where the first four players have folded their hands and MP2 would be first to act at every time. This is a highly important fact, since a lot of beginners usually make the mistake of playing way too many hands.

The principle: We keep playing our solid, tight game and adjust to the situation of a 6max table.

Preflop

With only six players, there are less good hands at a table, which is why the relative hand strength increases. That is why you can play more hands. Another difference occurs in late position in which you are first to act more frequently or just faced with a loose limper in front of you. This fact also extends your hand range, which is shown by the following Open Raising Chart. This chart can be used against unknown opponents and enables a solid TAG preflop play at the beginning.

If you've got reads and/or Pokertracker statistics about your opponents, you have to adapt your play accordingly and either loosen- or tighten up, of course. It's very important to play a tight style in early position and start to play more and more hands towards the button, since we rarely tend to play out of position after the flop. NL-postflop play mostly depends on the opponents, so it'll certainly take a while before you'll find your individual preflop range. You can find a possible Open-Raising-Range below:

No Limit Open Raising Chart SH

Explanation of the Open Raising Chart SH

An Open Raise is a raise which is made when no player has entered the hand before you. The chart says what kind of hands you need at least in order to raise preflop if it's folded to you. It's a no-brainer to raise better hands even more so. For example, if there is an AT listed, you also raise with AJ, AQ and AK. If there is a J9s, you raise with JTs as well.

This chart points out a very tight game out of position and the closer we get to the button, the more hands we want to play. The range on the SB is tighter as the range on the button, because we would have to play out of position if someone calls our raise from the small blind.

The range of the BB refers to the situation in which the SB limps first in.

The chart reveals nothing about 3 betting ranges nor will you find a solution against limpers, since this is highly dependent on the opponents you are up against.

I'd recommend an extreme tight 3 betting range, especially in the beginning. Further explanations regarding 3 betting can be found in the article about tight aggressive preflop play for advanced players.

You should be inclined to isolate weak players with a huge range of hands, whilst playing tighter versus good players, because otherwise your postflop edge would be decreased and you would find yourself in marginal situations more often.

Postflop

Basically, the game does not differ much after seeing the flop, nevertheless there are some necessary adjustments to do. Due to the loose preflop play at shorthanded tables the hand range of your opponents is much bigger. As a result the opponents are difficult to read and hold weaker hands more often. However, don't be fooled into not believing a possible strong hand on the opposite side!

You should read the hints in the article „reads" in order to evaluate your opponents hands in a better way. Besides, it's wise to go into detail with your opponents statistics and to consider these values with every single decision. Furthermore, you will be heads up as a preflop aggressor more often, so you have to make sure to internalize the „Continuation Bet" article.

In order to master those difficult postflop situations successfully, you have to feel confident to apply the no limit content of pokerstrategy; therefore I recommend to thoroughly work through all the articles once again, the above mentioned articles in particular.

Psychology

In comparison with full ring, the variance turns out noticeably higher. In preparation for the big swings, which is not a rarity in shorthanded games, you should have gone through the article about „upswings and downswings" beforehand.

Many swings (also the small ones) increase the risk of tilting. It's a challenge to handle the frequently occurring ups and downs of your bankroll, especially for those players who are more endangered going on tilt. For those players it's inevitable to read the article about „Tilting".

Bankrollmanagement

As mentioned before, variance is bigger in shorthanded games, which is why I recommend a more conservative bankroll management of at least 25 but preferably 30 stacks. So, if you want to play at NL 0.10/0.25 SH, you should have a bankroll of not less than 625$. I suggest even more money for those who are unwilling to descend to a lower limit after a bad start.

What should be considered when switching?

During your first attempts to play at 6max tables it's absolutely recommended to play only two tables to get used to the fast play at shorthanded tables. It's important to apply your gained knowledge at a reduced number of tables, even if you are an experienced multitabler.

Concerning book recommendation: Read everything what you can grab about No Limit. Actually, every article refers to No Limit in general and is neither specialized to full ring nor shorthanded.

Have your hands analyzed and visit coaching regularly! The points mentioned above are an abstract word of advice. However, you should follow these instructions in order to avoid greenhorn mistakes.

Conclusion

This article gives you an introduction into shorthanded games. Moreover, you should be able to understand the advantages of switching to shorthanded games now and are well prepared to give it a try.