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6 Pool Champions - The Blight on the Ladder

Blogs > Plansix
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Plansix
Profile Blog Joined April 2011
United States60190 Posts
November 14 2011 01:43 GMT
#1
Oh man it is the weekend. And with it comes to ladder heroes, the 6 pool warriors. These warriors of the internet charge the beaches of Battlenet with one mission. To end their game with me in under 5 minutes.

God I hate 6 pools. By the time you scout them, its to late. No amount of probe micro can save me. But such is playing on the ladder.

So I used to have I started blog called "The Quest for Diamond" back when there was only Diamond League and Reapers were the thing to do in TvZ. I was gold league, hated stim and the 1-1-1 was not the thing of glory it is now. But times have changed and so have I. I'm now brave enough to post my struggles on TL, which is not a place that is very noob friendly.

As my previous blog stated, I work full time at a law firm, which requires a lot of hours. I was there this Saturday, slogging through documents. If I am lucky, I get to player a 10-15 games a week and the first 5 of those is scrubbing the rust off. And with those limited number of game, it makes my hate toward those 6 pooling fools that much greater.

But my climb continues. I feel I have a solid handle on PvT, which is a huge leap for me. A lot of terrans in the platinum leagues have some really bad habits. Being over aggressive with marines and marauders, assuming that the I won't have enough units. That or the return of 2 port banshees. I don't know why that build came back, but I faced it twice today.

The other match ups are less so. PvP is so unstable now, I will be happy when there are some solid builds. And PvZ is still rough. The 12 minutes appears to be go time in that match up, one way or another. I feel so at least. I've given up on stargate after FFE. If the zerg isn't prepared for Voidrays, they are not ready for 5 zealots as their 3rd base. And zealots don't cost gas and help any zergling all-in that may becoming.

I'll post some replays soon, for those who care. Maybe some more games this week, until Providence.

*
I have the Honor to be your Obedient Servant, P.6
TL+ Member
Kibibit
Profile Blog Joined July 2009
United States1551 Posts
November 14 2011 01:49 GMT
#2
I'm disappointed, I saw the title in the sidebar and thought someone had held a championship where you are only allowed to pick zerg and 6 pool. D:
R.I.P. 우정호 || Do probes dream of psionic sheep?
Chef
Profile Blog Joined August 2005
10810 Posts
November 14 2011 01:55 GMT
#3
Why don't you just play a build which is safe vs 6pool?

If the ladder is full of 6poolers as you say, then you will win most of your games vs Zerg in 4 minutes. The players who are greedy (as you are now) will have an advantage, but they will get owned by 6 poolers and rise slower than you on the ladder.

If the ladder has an even number of 6 poolers, greedy players, and cautious players, and it's not really fun to play at a disadvantage vs any of them, perhaps you're just playing a flawed game and should find a better one.
LEGEND!! LEGEND!!
Plansix
Profile Blog Joined April 2011
United States60190 Posts
November 14 2011 02:00 GMT
#4
I don't think there is a "safe build" vs the 6 pool. But I do not want to debate the issue. They people who do it are not very good players and I beat them some of the time. I just don't feel like a learning anything from playing and they waste the limited free time I have to play, which was the real point of the post.
I have the Honor to be your Obedient Servant, P.6
TL+ Member
DreamChaser
Profile Blog Joined February 2011
1649 Posts
November 14 2011 02:07 GMT
#5
On November 14 2011 10:49 Kibibit wrote:
I'm disappointed, I saw the title in the sidebar and thought someone had held a championship where you are only allowed to pick zerg and 6 pool. D:


Haha me too
Plays against every MU with nexus first.
ploy
Profile Joined January 2006
United States416 Posts
November 14 2011 02:11 GMT
#6
6 pool is not hard to stop, these should be free wins.

Learn to beat it, stop whining

User was warned for this post
DOMINOSC
Profile Blog Joined August 2010
Canada345 Posts
November 14 2011 02:16 GMT
#7
On November 14 2011 11:11 ploy wrote:
6 pool is not hard to stop, these should be free wins.

Learn to beat it, stop whining


i love how you bitch about him whining but give him no advice on his problem

try doing 1 gate expand vs zerg then go into 7gate it is safe if u make nonstop sentries till wg is done add a forge after the nexus and get 2 cannons to be super safe.
Sen Fighting!!! / JulyZerg Fighting!!! / Ret Fighting!!! / Reach Fighting!!! / well intentioned people of average intelligence
pathy
Profile Blog Joined December 2009
Taiwan619 Posts
November 14 2011 02:29 GMT
#8
If you're going gate first (13 gate) versus six pool and walling then six pool should be no problem. Just turn your wall into a complete wall-off until you have a lot or two, then free win from there...
Graphicscolosi suck
ClysmiC
Profile Blog Joined December 2010
United States2192 Posts
November 14 2011 02:34 GMT
#9
I'm not a protoss, so take this advice with a grain of salt... but if you open up with 1gate at the ramp and scout a 6pool or see lings on the way, you can throw down a second gateway to form a complete wall at your ramp. By the time they take one of the gateways out, you should have at least 1 zealot up, which you can use in combo with your probes to win.
Plansix
Profile Blog Joined April 2011
United States60190 Posts
November 14 2011 02:35 GMT
#10
I regret the title of the post already. I really don't need to know how to beat 6 pools. Everyone loses to them. I just faced a few today with some memorable opponents.
I have the Honor to be your Obedient Servant, P.6
TL+ Member
komokun
Profile Joined July 2011
France343 Posts
November 14 2011 03:11 GMT
#11
Not everyone loses to 6 pool... and 6 poolers on lower leagues are even easier to beat as their micro is far from perfect.

I'm not a protoss player but you need to identify where the problem is. As a zerg, here is my 2 cents.

If you FFE, throw your forward forge away and build a cannon in your mineral line. If he goes for it he loses. Switch to normal one base play and you'll be ahead any day.

If you open gate first then I don't understand why you have trouble... send a second drone to scout on the 4th spawn location if it's a problem of spotting it on time.

Learn to drone micro and remember you can lose a few and still be ahead. Hold position micro, mineral moves, quick selection of weaker units are all useful micro to practice in a short 5 min game. Be grateful, if you can't hold it, it's useful practice. If you can, it's a free win.

Learning to solve problems. That's what SC2 is about.

Plansix
Profile Blog Joined April 2011
United States60190 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-11-14 03:30:15
November 14 2011 03:28 GMT
#12
On November 14 2011 12:11 komokun wrote:
Not everyone loses to 6 pool... and 6 poolers on lower leagues are even easier to beat as their micro is far from perfect.

I'm not a protoss player but you need to identify where the problem is. As a zerg, here is my 2 cents.

If you FFE, throw your forward forge away and build a cannon in your mineral line. If he goes for it he loses. Switch to normal one base play and you'll be ahead any day.

If you open gate first then I don't understand why you have trouble... send a second drone to scout on the 4th spawn location if it's a problem of spotting it on time.

Learn to drone micro and remember you can lose a few and still be ahead. Hold position micro, mineral moves, quick selection of weaker units are all useful micro to practice in a short 5 min game. Be grateful, if you can't hold it, it's useful practice. If you can, it's a free win.

Learning to solve problems. That's what SC2 is about.



Maybe, but I'don't agree that the game is a free win if I "know how to respond". This is one of the myths of TL that most people have ingrained into them. Like all good cheese, the six pool is easy to do, abusive and more difficult to counter that it is to execute. Responding to the cheese is difficult and there is nothing free about the win. There is an entire thread about 6 pooling all the way up to grand masters. One of the top 200 players in an entire region made it there off of some sort of cheese.

I don't always lose to a 6 pool, but it happens. I lost to a cannon rush too. If these cheese were easy enough to stop where you simply needed to hit a switch once you scouted it, no one would do them.

There is no crying is baseball and there are no free wins vs cheese.

I have the Honor to be your Obedient Servant, P.6
TL+ Member
OmniEulogy
Profile Blog Joined July 2010
Canada6593 Posts
November 14 2011 03:38 GMT
#13
On November 14 2011 12:28 Plansix wrote:
Show nested quote +
On November 14 2011 12:11 komokun wrote:
Not everyone loses to 6 pool... and 6 poolers on lower leagues are even easier to beat as their micro is far from perfect.

I'm not a protoss player but you need to identify where the problem is. As a zerg, here is my 2 cents.

If you FFE, throw your forward forge away and build a cannon in your mineral line. If he goes for it he loses. Switch to normal one base play and you'll be ahead any day.

If you open gate first then I don't understand why you have trouble... send a second drone to scout on the 4th spawn location if it's a problem of spotting it on time.

Learn to drone micro and remember you can lose a few and still be ahead. Hold position micro, mineral moves, quick selection of weaker units are all useful micro to practice in a short 5 min game. Be grateful, if you can't hold it, it's useful practice. If you can, it's a free win.

Learning to solve problems. That's what SC2 is about.



Maybe, but I'don't agree that the game is a free win if I "know how to respond". This is one of the myths of TL that most people have ingrained into them. Like all good cheese, the six pool is easy to do, abusive and more difficult to counter that it is to execute. Responding to the cheese is difficult and there is nothing free about the win. There is an entire thread about 6 pooling all the way up to grand masters. One of the top 200 players in an entire region made it there off of some sort of cheese.

I don't always lose to a 6 pool, but it happens. I lost to a cannon rush too. If these cheese were easy enough to stop where you simply needed to hit a switch once you scouted it, no one would do them.

There is no crying is baseball and there are no free wins vs cheese.



how is something that your workers can kill difficult to counter? the guy who made GM doing it brought all his drones as well. I have seen maybe 1 drone drill on ladder. 7/8 pools are much harder to stop imo as the zerg can actually drone up and have a stronger economy if you play poorly against it. 6 pool is just desperation and as long as you don't shit your pants when you see the lings you should be fine

If you REALLY have trouble vs it, either make your pylon part of your wall at the ramp so it only takes 1 pylon/gate/zlot or don't wall and simcity your base so your zlots spawn in your mineral line and you can just continue to build probes and counter 4 gate.
LiquidDota Staff
Pawsom
Profile Blog Joined February 2009
United States928 Posts
November 14 2011 04:28 GMT
#14
"No amount of probe micro can save me."

lol... micro better then? I can hold off a 6 pool just fine with a 9 pylon 12 gate in main, or a safe forge before nexus build.
vaL4r
Profile Joined May 2010
Germany240 Posts
November 14 2011 04:49 GMT
#15
On November 14 2011 13:28 Pawsom wrote:
"No amount of probe micro can save me."

lol... micro better then? I can hold off a 6 pool just fine with a 9 pylon 12 gate in main, or a safe forge before nexus build.


I second you Pawsom, wouldn't perfect control plus perfect response save you always no matter what? :o
If you really do need help with six pools just drop me a pm and i'll six pool you a bunch till you can defend it (currently playing on euro).
You need to play starcraft with a light heart. If you play with a heavy heart, you can't win. -NaDa
nanaoei
Profile Blog Joined May 2010
3358 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-11-14 04:53:31
November 14 2011 04:51 GMT
#16
i remember a day of playing 3v3 where in one game, i managed to hold off three 6-8pools with 1 marine and a whole bunch of mental preparation (along with other sorts of perparation too of course). if i was able to do that with a single marine then you can do it with some good control with a zealot as well.
many people in this thread (including me, haha) call it a free win to express how much of an inconsistent strategy it is when you learn a good method for yourself for dealing with a regular 6pool. 3v3 maps are much tighter, it is faster to scout, but it also requires a faster reaction and in some cases (because of mineral restrictions) makes it unviable to wall-off or to really gas after gateway like normal.

you can scout it, you can react in time and in the right way, and you can do this each and every time by preparing yourself.
how many more times do you think i experience a 6-pool when i play as many team-games as i do ?

really, i just want to provide some words-----you can do it, you can hold it off.

as you know, the feel of the game changes dramatically as you play more. it also changes when you reach a certain level of play or when your hand-speed seemingly plateaus.
when you reach a certain speed and you manage to play slower than normal, it feels very awkward, but you'll naturally drift to where you were before.
when you reach a certain level of play (all of this can depend on many factors) you will cease to die to a 6-pool.

i'm not sure how else to word this... but it is as clear-cut as that to many people because of the many things you'll discover and dislodge over the years of playing. keep trying, and you will do it.
*@boesthius' FF7 nostalgia stream bomb* "we should work on a 'Final Progamer' fangame»whitera can be a protagonist---lastlie: "we save world and then defense it"
FinestHour
Profile Joined August 2010
United States18466 Posts
November 14 2011 04:58 GMT
#17
Im jealous of the 6 figure salary
thug life.                                                       MVP/ex-
tomatriedes
Profile Blog Joined January 2007
New Zealand5356 Posts
November 14 2011 07:25 GMT
#18
On November 14 2011 10:43 Plansix wrote:
That or the return of 2 port banshees. I don't know why that build came back, but I faced it twice today.



You can blame Yoshi Kirishima for that-

http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=283935
Cyber_Cheese
Profile Blog Joined July 2010
Australia3615 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-11-14 09:01:02
November 14 2011 08:53 GMT
#19
On November 14 2011 10:49 Kibibit wrote:
I'm disappointed, I saw the title in the sidebar and thought someone had held a championship where you are only allowed to pick zerg and 6 pool. D:

I would actually watch this.
When you micro workers vs an a-mover, use hold position instead of manual retreat on weak probes, and a-move back in quickly.
The moment you lose confidence in yourself, is the moment the world loses it's confidence in you.
Dhalphir
Profile Blog Joined November 2010
Australia1305 Posts
November 14 2011 10:09 GMT
#20
On November 14 2011 10:49 Kibibit wrote:
I'm disappointed, I saw the title in the sidebar and thought someone had held a championship where you are only allowed to pick zerg and 6 pool. D:


i'd watch that.
Supporting TypeII Gaming - www.typeii.net - TypeReaL, TypePhoeNix, TypeSuN, TypeDBS!!
VTArlock
Profile Blog Joined December 2009
United States1763 Posts
November 14 2011 17:30 GMT
#21
9 pylon
scout on pylon
/problemsolved

I've been 6pooled a few times recently which lead me to just scouting on pylon instead of gateway. Makes it pretty easy to wall off with a forge/gateway/cut probes to safely repel and win the game...Since this change I haven't lost to 6pool
Why?
Plansix
Profile Blog Joined April 2011
United States60190 Posts
November 14 2011 23:48 GMT
#22
On November 14 2011 13:58 FinestHour wrote:
Im jealous of the 6 figure salary


Me too, if only I had one...
I have the Honor to be your Obedient Servant, P.6
TL+ Member
SpoR
Profile Blog Joined November 2010
United States1542 Posts
November 15 2011 00:21 GMT
#23
On November 14 2011 10:49 Kibibit wrote:
I'm disappointed, I saw the title in the sidebar and thought someone had held a championship where you are only allowed to pick zerg and 6 pool. D:

It would actually disprove the mentality about cheese actually if we held a cheese only type of tournament. Because assuming top players entered as well as random skilless newbies, the top players would still win and rank highly in the tournament. Thus proving skill is required to cheese.
A man is what he thinks about all day long.
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