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Server Time: 12/3/2008 12:37:40 PM PACIFIC |
 Playing Heads Up, beigs, 20. Jun 2003 07:01 | ||
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| What sort of mentality shift does one need to make when playing heads up? I had a really difficult time adjusting to my opponents aggressiveness during Heads Up play. I felt like Jerry Buss running from Layne Flack! Thanks, Beigs | ||
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| Re: Playing Heads Up, MozMan, 20. Jun 2003 08:13 | ||
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| Hey beigs- I struggle with heads-up play myself; primarily because it is so different, and because I get to do it so rarely (I play mostly ring fames)... it just feels uncomfortable. What I have discovered though, is that you have to loosen up considerably. The name of the game heads-up is stealing... espcially in NL games. Any decent holding is grounds for going for the jugular... and keep in mind, many more hands qualify as decent holding than did when there were 8 or 10 at the table. With only one opponent, there is a much higher probability that an 88 will hold up in the BB. The flip-side is, there is a lot more luck involved heads-up, particularly if you get into the habit of pushing all-in a lot. Everytime you get called on an all-in bet, strategy is now out the window and it's up to the board to help or hurt you. -Moz "Apples, fool! Because vests have no sleeves!" | ||
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| Re: Playing Heads Up, TKarrde, 20. Jun 2003 08:27 | ||
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| From my nexperience there isn't a whole lot of all-in calls heads up. What will happen is one person will bet and the other will fold. Or the second person reraises and the first folds. Or the small blind folds right away. I have gone 10 minutes without ever seeing a flop. And then the same thing usually happens after a flop. Finally the two of you will get a hand that you cannot let go of and then comes the all-in. Even if you are the small stack you have got to stay aggressive. Can't let the big stack push you around or you will get whittled away waiting for that big hand that your opponent is just going to fold on when you bet big or try and trap. I don't have a strategy except to play as aggressive as possible. Drop my cards when the aggression comes back at me. And make smart all-in calls. TKarrde "You fool! You fell victim to one of the classic blunders! The most famous is never to get involved in a land war in Asia. And only slightly less well known is this: never go in against a Sicilian (Mozman) when death is on the line!" | ||
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| Re: Playing Heads Up, stdioh, 20. Jun 2003 08:31 | ||
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| It's a very different game. You need to be agressive and you need to control your opponent, but most important you need to adjust to your opponent's style. If he is too agressive you need to get trappy. If he is too passive you need to start value betting anything. If he is weak then you need to start stealing. Basically, it is something that requires a lot of practice to be good at. For a start, don't limp with much ... most hands should be raised preflop or folded. This topic came up some time ago on this forum and I think I produced a list of about 10 things to think about when playing heads up ... if you want to look back through everything you can probably find it. | ||
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| Re: Playing Heads Up, Wren, 20. Jun 2003 08:56 | ||
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| Dammit dammit dammit. I wrote a long, detailed post on this awhile back, but didn't save it. Anyone know whether it's possible to access expired UPF posts? Anyhoo, the long and short of it: In general, yes, you've gotta be much looser and more aggressive than usual. However, more important is that you must be VERY observant of your opponent, and adjust your play according to his/her heads up playing style. In a nutshell: If your opponent's tight/weak: Raise preflop on the button any hand you're going to play anyway. Bluff at a lot of flops. Aggressive, aggressive, aggressive. If he's betting, or raising, give up unless you have a strong hand or draw (or unless you have strong reason to suspect that he's "growing wise" to you and starting to bluff himself) If your opponent's loose/passive: You can limp more preflop. Bet/raise for value. Don't bluff very often. If your opponent's loose/aggressive, bordering on maniacal: Trap a lot. Sit on your good/great hands and let him bet them for you. Fold more preflop so you don't get into as many iffy situations with marginal hands. Don't become ultra passive though, or he'll run over you (especially in a tournament with increasing blinds). If your opponent's solid - You're going to have to mix things up. For example, usually, but not always, bet good hands like top pair. Bluff, but not excessively. Realize that he's capable of rebluffing at you. Scrutinize his play and look for patterns. Don't let him take control. If I find my older, more detailed reply on this, I'll post it. Good luck! | ||
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| Re: Playing Heads Up, Kid, 20. Jun 2003 10:26 | ||
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| Personally, I love playing heads up. I think Wren's comments are very good. Your play should really depend on your opponent. The biggest mistake you can make playing heads up is playing too tight and getting run over. If you play overly tight when the blinds are big, you don't have a chance. In a tournament situation, I like to keep the pots small so I can make lots of decisions. If you gamble it up in the big pots, the tournament will become shorter and involve less decesion making. So, if you find yourself out matched by a top pro, play very aggressive and make the tournament more luck based. If you find yourself against an inferior opponent, play lots of small pots and pick away at his stack. Nice job in the tournament by the way. KID | ||
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