Positions

Start with the button and go backwards instead of starting with UTG and going forward.

Originally Posted by spoonitnow

Start with the button and go backwards instead of starting with UTG and going forward.

To clarify what I mean by this, consider the differences between a six-handed game and a nine-handed game. Both games have a player who starts three seats off of the button:

9-handed
[-6] [-5] [-4] [-3] [HJ] [CO] [BU] [SB] [BB]

6-handed
[-3] [HJ] [CO] [BU] [SB] [BB]

CO always means 1 off of the button, and HJ always means 2 off of the button.

If you're open raising, then the strength of your position is based on how far you are off of the button. So if it folded to the -3 position in the 9-handed game, that's basically the same situation as if the -3 position started off the action in a 6-handed game.

There is an effect known as bunching that can change this a little, but when comparing hold'em games of different sizes, it's negligible. If you want to know more about bunching, search Google for mike caro bunching.