I’ve decided on yet another change on direction. HU was a lot of fun, especially when I hit the $1k BR mark, but having fallen back down to a few hundred $$$ it’d become hard to tell what was luck and what was me 
Despite the rise and fall, there is a silver lining that I’ve learnt a lot of poker during the process. HU makes you really concentrate on the personality of your opponent. You’re constantly watching his lines looking for repeated habits and weaknesses. Then you’re thinking about how exploit those habits – how to change your range & how to change your betsizing.
Then the other way HU has improved my game is that you have to single table (multitabling HU is just one big headfuck). A lot less autopiloting, a lot more going over earlier streets & hands before taking your action.
So with that experience under my belt I’ve decided to return to 6max, and with a strategy that will sound incredibly unprofitable to many;
First, I’m actually going to aim at a low bb/100. Previously I embraced the No Limit element of NLHE a bit too much – playing for stacks was the only way to play. I think I was over-doing it way too much. I would build a big stack through redline play and lose it all + more with top pair medium kicker all-in donk plays. End result – losing player.
So by aiming for a low bb/100 what I mean is to play a lot more conservatively, being very very cautious about building big pots (esp all-ins), and build a stack 5bb at a time. Small ball I guess.
Secondly, I’m going to single table! I learnt nothing during the periods I multitabled 6max, I just autopiloted very basic moves (pfr, cbet) with very little consideration for my opponent’s character, and some days I did ok, most days I didn’t.
So single tabling & small ball sounds like it’s going to be a really low $/hour, but I don’t care – now it’s going to be all about the poker rather than the $$$. They’re not the same things, even though we keep score by the money we win.
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A little extra; remember my post earlier where I said I was backing Newff a tiny % of his buy-in for the Calgary Open? He still needs more backers – the event usually has < 100 entries, with ITM being 18k (slightly over 3xbuy-in) & 1st place $100k. He has to beat 3 people to be ITM, and he’s a solid player at the $100 husngs.
So if any of you have a few $$$ to spare (my share was just $60), here’s the link again; http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/163/staking-selling-shares/2010-candian-poker-open-5k-heads-up-main-event-shares-823965/
Good luck moving back to 6-max, I found those games pretty tough. I look forward to seeing your results
Not off to the best of starts – down two buy-ins already. Ran into KK & QQ while the table was shorthanded and I got a bit spewy.
I’m also finding it hard keeping the pot size down – no such thing as small hand small pot at NL10 it seems…
Like they say, it’s all about the quality and not the quantity played. Good you’re moving towards it.
If you fancy lower variance cash then I can recommend micro full ring although patience is a requirement. For some reason I’m fine with it but some people go mad with all the waiting around for spots to play a hand. And I totally sympathise with your pot size troubles, it’s very hard to strike a balance between being aggressive enough to win your fair share of red line money and not spewing too much on the other hand. Anyway, hope you figure it out. If you do, send me some advice as I’d like to try 6 max again at some point in the next few months
I definitely wouldn’t have the patience for FR – waiting for ages for a premium hand and having to fold it on a terrible flop seems soul destroying to me. I really wish it wasn’t that way for me as I’d love to build a BR by nut pedalling 10 tables…
Not sure I can offer any decent advice for 6max, other than you do need to get in there and make action happen – the ppl with vpip < 14 are very easy to spot and will get no action from anyone observant enough. Also ranges become more clear since there's only really one position per range as it were, while for FR it's more fuzzy where MP is – always worth keeping an eye at showdown & vpip/position to see if someone's narrowing their range with position (startling how many people don't – yet they still take all my money).
Oh, one bit of advice – steal every single blind. From CO as well if btn is tight. It's less obvious that you're stealing than it is in FR and nobody in the micros defends their blinds anywhere near enough. You can even blatantly be opening every btn 100% *and* have some defend a bit and still make more than you lose from 3bet folds.