|
||
|
||
|
Server Time: 11/21/2008 5:56:35 PM PACIFIC |
 Question: Playing "Heads Up" against a maniac?, Machinegun68, 10. Jul 2003 14:45 | ||
| View ( Message | Thread ) | Return to Thread List | |
| Hello. I am a beginner looking to be a serious poker player. I have had moderate success being fairly tight in a weekly super-loose game. Sometimes I play heads up (against one other player, an ultra-loose maniac). Playing tight just does not seem to work because: I can never tell what this guy is holding, except REALLY good hands (AA, KK, etc.) he tends to check-raise. He NEVER folds anything, maybe 2% of the time that he is in the SB. I have seen him take utterly worthless cards like 8-6o, calling me all the way past the river when I have top pair or better. He will literally play anything. Also, playing super-tight I tend to fold the majority of the time i am in SB, but checking or raising mainly when I am in BB with decent cards. I will check in the BB with crap just to see a cheap flop, then generally fold. I never call a raise with crap just to see the flop. My concern is, he is always stealing the blinds when I play tight. I am giving him $1 most every time I am SB, and $2 a lot of the times that I am in the BB. If I don't get quality cards I get killed. My question is, what is a good strategy to play "heads up" with, especially against a loose cannon like this? He generally puts me on the road to tilt by constantly sucking out my good hands, etc. Sometimes I try to play looser just to compete with this guy, but usually that sends me on tilt, pressing a large pot with Ace-high, etc, and getting beat by 4-2o that he paired up on the river. He's basically driving me crazy. With 3 maniacs in the game I fare OK, but not heads-up. Any strategy or critiques of what I'm doing will be very appreciated. Just remember, I have been playing poker for about 2 months. (But still beating these loose maniacs). Thanks guys for any help. | ||
| Return to Thread List | ||
| Re: Question: Playing "Heads Up" against a maniac?, stdioh, 10. Jul 2003 15:15 | ||
| View ( Message | Thread ) | Return to Thread List | |
| When you are playing heads up, agression is important, but too much is just as bad as not enough. If he is betting hard on every hand then you need to punish him for it. Fold your garbage and bet strongly on your great hands. Are you playing limit heads up? This is a very hard game to play well and it is something that you could write a number of books on. It'll be hard to beat him badly playing a limit heads up game. If you are playing no limit however, you can anihilate him by playing tight and coming back at him when you have something great. | ||
| Return to Thread List | ||
| Re: Question: Playing "Heads Up" against a maniac?, Machinegun68, 10. Jul 2003 18:47 | ||
| View ( Message | Thread ) | Return to Thread List | |
| Quick correction. When I fold small blinds I am giving him $0.50 all the time, not $1 of course. Stdioh, I am indeed playing limit HE heads up. For a beginner such as myself it is maddeningly difficult as you suggest, especially against a super-loose maniac. It is not in my nature to play too aggressively, although sometimes he manages to drag it out of me. Any more advice not only playing Heads Up, but say 4-handed Limit HE with 1 out-and-out lunatic and 2 very loose players? Just play tight and don't make mistakes or go on tilt? Thanks. | ||
| Return to Thread List | ||
| Re: Question: Playing "Heads Up" against a maniac?, stdioh, 11. Jul 2003 10:10 | ||
| View ( Message | Thread ) | Return to Thread List | |
| Sounds like your opponent is outplaying you. If I am playing limit heads up and I have an opponent who is always willing to fold when he doesn't have a good hand then I really turn up the heat and start bullying him. Sounds like you need to start loosening up yourself a little. Get looser and get more agressive. You should probably semibluff more and be willing to call a bet with middlecards (ie if you have TJ and the board is A64-rainbow) | ||
| Return to Thread List | ||
| Re: Question: Playing "Heads Up" against a maniac?, Machinegun68, 12. Jul 2003 10:47 | ||
| View ( Message | Thread ) | Return to Thread List | |
| Thanks for your advice. I absolutely think that he is outplaying me and is not as much as a maniac as I think. He tends to tighten up slightly in 4-handed games. One thing I have learned VERY quickly is that tight/aggressive play doesn't work real well short-handed. I must learn to rethink my strategy and to play the players more than the cards. I have been cleaning up lately 3 and 4-handed (played $.50/$1 No Limit 3-handed last night, played VERY aggressively and ended up cleaning out the table ($60). I have been good/lucky recently, but I suspect my opponents of being permanent tilt machines. I am ready to see how I fare against decent, tighter players. Stdioh, thanks again for your good advice. | ||
| Return to Thread List | ||
| Re: Question: Playing "Heads Up" against a maniac?, palman, 12. Jul 2003 11:39 | ||
| View ( Message | Thread ) | Return to Thread List | |
| Caro mentioned something in one of his online tutorials that may help. Basically when up against the maniac... if you try to be aggressive back at him when you have a hand and punish him in limit one of 2 things happen. 1) If he has you beat, then he knows he can use his image to get a lot of bets out of you (say he has a monster and you just have a slightly smaller monster) 2) it also lets him know if he's beat If you just try and bluff him out of pots and be aggressive.... it sounds like that's not your style nor comfort level so he would likely send you on tilt as you say. What caro suggests is this.... Suppose someone bets every round, and you call every round heads up. He'll win 50% of the hands and you'll win 50% of the hands, so you'll break even (fluctuating depending on who gets the cards) Against maniac raisers heads up in limit... just call more often than you normally do. The perception of a calling station isn't bad in this instance. Fold when you have total crap, call when you have any piece of the flop, and either punish him when you have a REALLY good hand, or just let him do the betting for you. If he bets EVERY time every round, and you call when you have a piece of it on 4th street, and fold when you don't, you should be able to come out ahead. (throw occassional raises in there to mix it up of course, occasionally try to steal a pot, perhaps semibluff drawing hands, and of course when you have the goods so he'll fear the raise) but in general become more like a calling station. **** This is how I interpreted caro's advice.... I am NOT a great heads up player, nor have I even really tested what I just wrote. This is an idea and perhaps some of the other guys can say whether its strong advice or just idiocy. ***** (these are on www.cardplayer.com and he has things you can listen to if you want to hear it for yourself) | ||
| Return to Thread List | ||
| Re: Question: Playing "Heads Up" against a maniac?, Machinegun68, 13. Jul 2003 21:02 | ||
| View ( Message | Thread ) | Return to Thread List | |
| Thanks palman, this has helped me a lot and probably others here as well. | ||
| Return to Thread List | ||
| POKER FORUM HOME | POKER FORUM | LINK TO US | ARCHIVE | ONLINE POKER | Copyright 2002, United Poker Forum |
|
Getting Started |
UPF Tournaments |
Poker News, Views, Rules |
Poker Strategy & Psychology |
Money and Bankroll Poker Bonuses & Promotions | World Series of Poker (WSOP) | Play Online Poker | Poker Odds & Statistics | Tournament Poker | Poker Books, Videos & Learning Tools Looking for a Poker Game | Poker Bad Beats | Not Quite Poker | Quizzes and Polls | Forum Suggestions & Bugs |
|
|
|
|
Interesting Links: Online Poker | Free Poker Games | United Poker Network |
|