

Your opponents’ tendencies are the main determinant of how you should adjust your opening ranges. Successful poker players adjust their ranges regularly based on a number of factors, including but not limited to these three: Starting hand charts like the ones above are a great guideline - but they aren’t set in stone. Learn more about the Upswing Lab here > When to Adjust Your Preflop Ranges Lab members may also access the charts on the go with the Upswing Poker mobile app (for iPhone and Android). With extensive charts for online cash games, live cash games, and tournaments, you’ll be prepared with a winning baseline strategy no matter what game you play. Learn how to play any hand from any position with the 259 preflop charts inside the Upswing Lab!

Here are 6-handed preflop charts for every position at the table (starting from the LJ) from the Upswing Lab:

Having well-structured ranges will lead to fewer tough spots and more profitable ones. Solid poker strategy begins with good preflop hand selection. While there are 6-max tournaments, the format is most commonly a cash game, which is what we will be focusing on here today. 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. The result is a larger average pot size, a higher percentage of players seeing flops, and more hands per hour. With three fewer players, 6-max just feels looser than full-ring poker. 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:

Traditional ‘full-ring’ games, by contrast, allow up to 9 players. Put simply, 6-max is a format that allows a maximum of six players to be seated at the table. This guide has been updated to include more important advice for 6-max cash games (originally published ) What is 6-Max Poker? You may want to bookmark the page so you don’t have to read the full guide in one sitting. We’re about to dive deep into 6-max strategy.
