Tonight sees the first ever 6+ No Limit Hold’em tournament at a PokerStars Live stop. The €2,200 Single Re-entry (Triple Chance) event kicks off at 9pm.
There’s a first time for everything, even after 15 years of European Poker Tour stops.
While the EPT Main Event and €50,000 Single-Day High Roller play out in their respected corners, a brand new live event for PokerStars Live will take place tonight, as 6+ Hold’em moves from the online streets to the virtual felt.
The €2,200 buy-in tournament allows a single re-entry, and also offers a ‘triple chance’ stack format. This means players can either take their entire 30,000 starting stack at the beginning of play, or divide it into three 10,000 stacks which they can claim at any point (in a bid to reduce variance). Indeed, variance plays a big role in this format.
Scroll down for a full breakdown of how 6+ differs to regular NLHE
Max Silver: Another 6+ convert
“I think €2,200 is a very reasonable buy-in point for players who may want to play 6+ for the first time,” said UK pro and SnapShove founder Max Silver, who will be in the mix tonight. “6+ is a gambly game and equities run really close, so I expect to either win a lot of all-ins or be out pretty fast!”
Like Silver, Mike “SirWatts” Watson is another seasoned pro who will be pulling up a chair in tonight’s game. Both have played 6+ a lot on PokerStars, but neither have made a trip to Asia to try it out live yet. Luckily, thanks to this EPT addition, they won’t have to.
“I think it will be interesting to see how the game catches on in America and Europe with traditional Hold’em players and tournament players,” Watson told us. “I hope there’s going to be a lot of interest in the game, as people who are used to NLHE should be able to pick it up quickly, especially if they have a little PLO experience too.
“I think it’s the kind of game that when people get exposed to they’re going to really enjoy playing. I hope it catches on far and wide.”
Unfortunately, as it clashes with the aforementioned EPT Main Event and €50,000 Single-Day High Roller, there’s a good chance we won’t see many of the high rollers here in Monaco taking a seat. Nevertheless, we asked Watson who he wouldn’t like to see at his 6+ table.
Mike Watson in action today at EPT Monte Carlo
“The players who are spending a lot of time over in Asia are ahead on the experience curve,” he says. “I know Rui Cao plays a lot, Peter Jetten plays quite a bit, Isaac Haxton has had some success, and Stephen Chidwick is great at every game. All of these guys would be great guys to bet on, but I don’t imagine any will be playing tonight. It will be interesting to see who turns up, it seems like it could go any way. I hope we make a few more converts today.”
Play kicks off at 9pm tonight.
Unsure of how to play? Here’s all the info you need.
€2,150 – NL Hold’em – Single Re-Entry – Triple Chance – 6+
Date: April 30 – Tuesday | Start Time: 21:00 | Starting Stack: 10,000
Buy-In Breakdown: entry – €2150 | entry-cost – €2000 | entry-fee – €150
- Everyone posts an ante and only the button posts a blind – known as the ‘button blind’
- The left of the button will be first to act
- Triple chance (Players may start with 10,000/20,000/30,000 chips) from the start of the tournament
- All chips must be claimed before the close of registration
- Registration closes at the start of Level 9
- Single re-entry
- All of the 2 to 5’s are removed to make a total deck just 36 cards
- A flush beats a full house
- As in regular Hold’em an ace can play high or low
- The highest straight is still T-J-Q-K-A, the lowest straight is now: A-6-7-8-9
You can play 6+ on PokerStars. Simply click here to open an account.