ITH Poker Forum

[taz115]

I recently played a 'big-ante's' $22 MTT on Stars and placed 2nd. There were only about 60 or 70 players playing but the heads-up lasted a long time and would have likely lasted a lot longer if I had played a bit tighter against my opponent's 3-bet shoves. Anyways here is some background info and specific questions I have after reviewing my HH. I don't get to play deep HU matches very often and I'm primarily looking general observations about how tight/loose I'm playing in certain spots and my general approach.

Secondly I have listed some specific hands that I am unsure of or want a second opinion on below.

If anyone is interested fire away, I've never been shy about being called a donk

http://www.pokerxfactor.com/HA237602/5341_20110513_124423/5341

Some Commentary/Background:

We went into HU with me being the primary aggressor at the final table. I thought I would continue with this general approach. My opponent had stayed reasonably tight at the FT winning a couple of big pots but not being involved in lots of pots. He kind of continued to play weakly for the start of the HU as he folds his BTN too often and typically only min raising me from the BTN when opening the action.

The number of pots that I won was way higher than his and throughout the match I felt as if I was in control, not just because I was picking up a lot of pots but I felt like I was making good balanced decisions for the most part.



General Questions:

1. Am I too loose calling raises out of the BB preflop? He min raised from the BTN most of the time and because I was chip leader most of the way I thought a decent strategy was to call out the BB alot, especially because he gave up post-flop a decent amount of the time. Hand #42 is a bad preflop call with 62o, hand #74 with 95o

2. Did I call the flop with nothing too often? See the following hands for examples (#2-loss,#22-loss).He seemed to let me take the pot off of him for a bet on the turn after floating the flop a few times which is why I was doing this more often than I normally would. Actually after watching the replay I only did this with air twice and lost both as expected. I thought I had done it more than twice and that I had won a couple of pots via this float call, but I was probably mistaken with some of the other post-flop pots I was picking up. Two bad calls in the hands quoted in this point.


Comments/Questions about specific hands:

Hand #8 - Stupid bet on the river, a pair is calling me there everytime. Bet the turn instead or just check it down?

Hand #10 - Bad river call with bottom pair there?

Hand #21 - is this turn call ok with bottom pair?

Hand #22 - Comments on the whole hand welcomed

Hand #28 - Is the flop raise stupid since I have so little opportunity to improve my hand correct? Also I should bet less on the turn there so I can fold more cheaply if he shoves over me.

Hand #36 - I don't remember this hand, should I shove the turn after he bets half the pot? Perhaps I though since I was so far out in front I would have a better spot to pick instead of a potentially dead draw. Does my flop call suck?

Hand #54 - I should call the flop here and not raise. I thin I'm trying to balance calling the flop and raising the flop, both with made and prospective hands, but betting the flop here isn't bringing him a long with many hands I beat, especially given the way he is playing.

Hand #64 - My high point in the HU match, I have him outchipped 156k to 23k. All downhill from here.

Hand #65 - Ugh... probably an iffy call here. I think I was getting tired of chipping him down and wanted to end it. He had also pushed over my raise more often since he had been at a big chip disadvantage, I figured KTo was somewhere close to the bottom of the range I could call with. Opinions?

Hand #66 - Fold the flop here or raise over top?

Hand #70 - This looks silly because I'm holding 42s but I don't think I hate it, he's never 4-bet me yet and I've picked up a decent amount of pots by 3-betting him. Opinions?

Hand #78 - I think this hand I decided to donk bet just because I hadn't yet and it was a pot I wanted to win. I should have waited for a hand when I had a piece of it because this hand turned out poorly. Bad river bet given previous action?

Hand #81 - Fold the preflop three bet here? Odds are good and I have the button, but my hand isn't great.

Hand #87 - Opinions on this hand? River fold good?

Hand #90 - Mistake of the match, I should fold to his massive 4-bet with A9 I think... opinions? 93k in the pot 71k to call that 4-bet. I was getting worn down and again made a call with the bottom of the range I figured might be good. Too bad a couple of preflop mstakes ruined my otherwise pretty solid performance.

Hand #95 - I shouldn't shove here, he's too tight. I should raise and bet the flop with this big hand. I was frstrated and almost resigned to having lost this long match.

Hand #97 - Again a bit of a loose call agaist this guys 3-bet range.


Post-mortem

In my opinion I played pretty solid throughout. I made 3 iffy/bad calls to his 3 or 4-bet all-in pushes, all with hands that might work against a more aggressive players range. I'd say my downfall was not adjusting to his tighter 3-bet all-in range. I'm more used to playing shorter stack HU matches (usually turbos). Any general feedback is more than welcome.

[Radford]

Hand 8
I am folding. Suited i probably call. But not un-suited. I think i bet the turn instead of the river though. It looks less likely to be a bluff and he showed weakness by checking behind an ace king flop. On this occasion he is obviously calling with a jack. But most of the time you are probably taking it down.

Hand 9
I really don't like the limp with A2o here. I'm raising 100% of the time.

Hand 10
Fold fold fold pre. No need to play this garbage hand OOP. I agree with calling the flop. Bottom pair could easily be good. But on the river, i think you just gotta fold.

Hand 13
Don't really like the limp with 34o. Stick in a raise! I probably bet the turn too. If he calls, i'll just check/fold the river.

Hand 15
Again, not a big fan of limping HU. Just stick in a raise and put pressure on your opponent.

Hand 20
Nice 3-bet

Hand 21
First of all raise pre. Yeah i call the turn too. It's fine. A 4 could easily be the best hand.

Hand 22
Meh. Too passive if you ask me. I probably just 3-bet pre too and call a shove.

Hand 24
Fold fold fold pre

Hand 35
Too poor of a hand to just be limping in with here. Either toss it away or raise.

Hand 36
Just fold pre. You don't have to defend your blind every hand. at least call with a suited connector or something.

Hand 52
Why call here? You hand is absolute trash and you are OOP. I know you are the chip leader. But calling here with T2o is a stretch.

Hand 53
Raise pre. And i bet the flop too. And probably get it allin on the turn. Top pair HU is a massive hand. I know you owuld have got it allin with a turned straight, but that doesn't alter the fact that i would have played it more aggressively.

Hand 54
Folding pre would be a start And yes, no need to raise. Reel him in! Slowplay! you've got a big hand!

Hand 65
Nah. I think i'm calling here all day long. It's likely that you are behind. But i think this is one of these spots where you call and just try to catch something and end it right there!

Hand 70
I don't really mind it either. He obviously had something to shove though.

Hand 78
Just fold pre. I hate flatting. Your OOP with just a terrible hand. I just cba with the headache of playing with such a shitty hand.

Hand 81
No i fold. Don't waste precious chips on such a terrible hand. I know you have position, but your hand is too weak to be calling here.

Hand 87
I think i play it the same way. Definetly raising pre. Definetly betting the flop and also folding the river. I just can't see his bet being a bluff tbh.

Hand 90
Meh. I dunno it's close. It ain't really bad tbh with you. I probably make the same call. I know we arn't getting the correct odds. But personally odds go out of the window with me when it comes to HU. It's more about the feel for the player and instinct.

Hand 95
I disagree. Shoving looks weaker than raising 2.5xbb imo. And i think he's definetly calling with ax.

Overall, i think i am raising less pre. Just below 2.5xbb. Or maybe just pressing the min raise button like your opponent was doing. It does the same job as a 2.5x or a 3xbb raise would do and puts less chips in the pot, making continuation bets smaller. Also, your calls from the BB were far too loose. If you are going to play min raises from the BB with J5o, then either raise or fold. Nearly every flop you are going to be folding to a continuation bet. And if you keep doing this, your chip stack soon seems to disintigrate. Also, raise more from the SB. Limping in, especially with the chip lead with suited/un-suited connectors is really passive. You want to be raising as much as possible and putting your opponent under pressure every hand. Who cares what cards you have. Just raise from the SB EVERYTIME. Never limp. I hardly ever limp from the SB HU. Even with 72o i will be raising. Obviously there will be exceptions, i.e. when i have a really short stack and my opponent is 3-betting everyhand. But besides those factors i'm raising with anything.

[taz115]

Thanks very much for having a look rad! I read all your feedback but I'll go through it hand by hand on PXF when I'm not no on my phone.

[chrisjp]

Hand 8
I am folding. Suited i probably call. But not un-suited. I think i bet the turn instead of the river though. It looks less likely to be a bluff and he showed weakness by checking behind an ace king flop. On this occasion he is obviously calling with a jack. But most of the time you are probably taking it down.

I like the call pre. I would never bet on this one, esp the river, but you know that already. Also your bet size on the river is too large. I'd bet around half the pot when I have a betting hand, or maybe slightly less

Hand 9
I really don't like the limp with A2o here. I'm raising 100% of the time. Me too.

Hand 10
Fold fold fold pre. No need to play this garbage hand OOP. I agree with calling the flop. Bottom pair could easily be good. But on the river, i think you just gotta fold. The worst hands are unsuited hands with no chance for a straight. Just fold these out of postion--you have to have at least a king, and I don't even like a king. 53o is better than this.

Hand 11...I don't like trapping period heads up. It's OK to do it rarely. More importantly I'm not raising the flop. Just try to get another bet out of him. Sure you are giving him a chance to draw out on you, but heads up that is unlikely. He led so he probably has a weak hand. Let him try to take it down on the turn. Then you can raise or not depending on the board. I'm convinced one of my weakness in blind v blind play or heads up was betting too much. Let them bluff at you. Sure they sometimes overtake you, but it is worth the risk.

Hand 13
Don't really like the limp with 34o. Stick in a raise! I probably bet the turn too. If he calls, i'll just check/fold the river. Again I hate limping. These low connectors are perfect raising hands. If the flop comes high to take it down on the flop or turn (hopefully). If the flop comes low you might stack him. No limping.

Hand 15
Again, not a big fan of limping HU. Just stick in a raise and put pressure on your opponent. As you know by now I agree with this.

Hand 16. At this point he has raised 6 times and folded twice in position. I think this one is a close call. No problem with it.

Hand 20
Nice 3-bet I like it too. You haven't done it yet, and your hand is at the bottom of your3-bet range which is good. I don't want my first one, which has max fold equity, to be with a really good hand. I might 3-bet like 87s the first time.

Hand 21
First of all raise pre. Yeah i call the turn too. It's fine. A 4 could easily be the best hand. Ditto, no limping with low connectors...wait I said that already. I figure i'm ahead on turn too.

Hand 22
Meh. Too passive if you ask me. I probably just 3-bet pre too and call a shove. 3bet this pre. This is a classic where letting him lead leaves you no clue about the hand, yet you have an Ace so you don't want to just fold. You like your Ace that's why you called him postflop. I personally hate the kicker but no matter I have to 3bet pre with this. He has raised pre now 8 times out of 11, that's active enough to 3-bet here.

Hand 24
Fold fold fold pre For sure. You can raise or fold this pre in position, but it's a clear fold OOP

Hand 28 I'd probably fold it pre. It's suited yes, but he's not an aggro player and has folded 4/14 hands pre. I'd hate to be dominated here. Why get involved with such a serious complete bluff? You've got heart though, I'll say that.

Hand 29 You just won a big pot off of him where he was weak. You have been chipping away at him and he is almost down to 20BBs. Why not just let this one go? He may show unusual aggression soon and you don't know weather he's frustrated or has the goods. Raising here is fine, no problem with the raise. Just keep in mind his psychological state at this point.

Hand 30 Like the aggression, but wish he had more chips. He has the kind of stack where you can call pre and then check-raise him all in on the flop when you flop a pair or a draw. Here if he were shorter you could just push pre. If he were deeper then you can play the hand this way. But with his stack your 3-bet pre makes the stacks awkward for you.

Hand 35
Too poor of a hand to just be limping in with here. Either toss it away or raise. Fold it!

Hand 36
Just fold pre. You don't have to defend your blind every hand. at least call with a suited connector or something.
Here's the high card/low card hand...fold it! These are very important to fold OOP

Hand 37 No calling here, raise.

Hand 39 Same hand as 37 but this time you raise. Nice! See what happens. Here you miss with high cards out there and you take it down with a c-bet. Perfect!

Hand 41 Now you are in positon here with the high/low but you still have to raise or fold. Lousy hand, no calling. I'm beating a dead horse I know. Personally I fold it. He's down to 20BBs or so. Let this go.

Hand 42 Ugh. Fold it! Just because you are getting good pot odds to call doesn't mean you should. This is the backside of a comment I haven't made yet. I don't like the size of your preflop raise. Do like villain here, just min raise, or maybe slightly more. I think min raise is the best though. It allows you to commit less chips, yet you still have FE with the min raise. Plus if you min raise you might get villain to call pre when he should fold, like when he has 62o

Hand 43 This is the perfect example of losing less when you raise the min.

Hand 46 Nice 3-bet

Hand 47 Another one that's a raise or fold.

Hand 51 Good fold!

Hand 52
Why call here? You hand is absolute trash and you are OOP. I know you are the chip leader. But calling here with T2o is a stretch. Good fold on 51, terrible call here Just because you are the chip leader and have been chipping away doesn't man you should try to run over him. He might be getting desperate, so play decent hands or spec hands that can hit something on the flop. Think you already know this by now with all the harping we've done on this. Time for me to shut up.

Hand 53
Raise pre. And i bet the flop too. And probably get it allin on the turn. Top pair HU is a massive hand. I know you owuld have got it allin with a turned straight, but that doesn't alter the fact that i would have played it more aggressively. Got to raise pre. Otherwise like Rad said it's perfect.

Hand 54
Folding pre would be a start And yes, no need to raise. Reel him in! Slowplay! you've got a big hand! You are betting too often with good hands. Good hands but not great hands. Hands where you want to win like two bets. So give him the chance to bluff at you. When you bet this type of hand he usually plays correctly. He folds when behind and calls or raises when ahead.

Hand 55 and 57 Broken record, no limping.
Hand 59 and 60 Good folds! Your play is uneven preflop. Sometimes you fold and sometimes you call or raise with similar hands. Now this is a good idea when you are mixing up your play. But that's not what is going on here really.
Hand 61 Fold this lol.

Hand 65
Nah. I think i'm calling here all day long. It's likely that you are behind. But i think this is one of these spots where you call and just try to catch something and end it right there! This hand you should shove. He's almost down to 10BBs and like Rad said you have to call...so just shove.

Hand 66 Is this really a fold? He's made a small c-b, which I like by the way and which he has been doing, but I think a crai might be the ticket here. Or even better, make a min raise and let him know what leverage feels like. I like a min raise here. You could be betting yourself off a draw, but there is no calling here OOP so I'd just mix it up.

Hand 69 Another example where your bet size is too large. Just bet 40-50% of the pot. It will do the job just as well and same you money when he raises.

Hand 70
I don't really mind it either. He obviously had something to shove though. I don't like it because of stack sizes. You let him have the final raise with fold equity. If you just call and then ck raise all in, or fold, on the flop, then you have the FE. When he has the perfect 4bet all in stack and you still are not committed when you 3bet, then be very leery of 3betting. This happened before.

Hand 71 You already know I don't like the call here, I'd raise.

Hand 74 You alread know I don't like the call here, I'd fold.

Hand 76 This one I like. Now his stack size is too big to just 4bet all in. Nice bet.

Hand 78
Just fold pre. I hate flatting. Your OOP with just a terrible hand. I just cba with the headache of playing with such a shitty hand. You solve the problem here by just folding pre of course. Look how he just played pot control and got two bets from you with second pair--he never had to bet. Good play by him. Don't donk bet the flop here. Jack high is a decent hand. He won't fold a better hand than yours. And won't call with a worse. You haven't donked like this before. It is a sign you are getting tired or frustrated. I think one of the hardest things to do is to keep focus after a heads up match has lasted a long time. Very tough for me.

Hand 81
No i fold. Don't waste precious chips on such a terrible hand. I know you have position, but your hand is too weak to be calling here. He hardly ever 3bets so his range is tight. Just fold like rad said. Your hand is pretty good, but not to a reraise from this guy.

Hand 87
I think i play it the same way. Definetly raising pre. Definetly betting the flop and also folding the river. I just can't see his bet being a bluff tbh. I play it the same too.

Hand 88 I made a smaller river bet.

Hand 90
Meh. I dunno it's close. It ain't really bad tbh with you. I probably make the same call. I know we arn't getting the correct odds. But personally odds go out of the window with me when it comes to HU. It's more about the feel for the player and instinct. This is just a feel situation. Sure he overbet. What does it mean? Your hand is close. Either way is OK. I have no idea what I would have done. Looks like a pair to me but I guess I put his range at JJ-22,A7s+,A5s,KQs,A7o+. So you are 6-5 dog. He's been playing small ball, so maybe he is a bit frustrated. Or maybe he thinks you are getting frustrated. Tough situation.

Hand 92 I'm ck raising all in on the turn for sure. If he has better I have lots of outs.

Hand 93 Too poor a hand. Just fold it. Push is not terrible if you think he's waiting for a pretty good hand. It's definitely a Nash fold though.

Hand 95
I disagree. Shoving looks weaker than raising 2.5xbb imo. And i think he's definetly calling with ax. Easy push.

Hand 96 No calling pre here way too short. Either push or fold, I am pushing.

Hand 97 You still have <20BBs and are calling a push, so just push this.

Overall, i think i am raising less pre. Just below 2.5xbb. I min raise, but slightly more is OK, just slightly Or maybe just pressing the min raise button like your opponent was doing. It does the same job as a 2.5x or a 3xbb raise would do and puts less chips in the pot, making continuation bets smaller. Also, your calls from the BB were far too loose. Yup. If you are going to play min raises from the BB with J5o, then either raise or fold. Nearly every flop you are going to be folding to a continuation bet. And if you keep doing this, your chip stack soon seems to disintigrate. Also, raise more from the SB. Limping in, especially with the chip lead with suited/un-suited connectors is really passive. I think you should be limping in the SB almost never. Never say never tho . You want to be raising as much as possible and putting your opponent under pressure every hand. Who cares what cards you have. Just raise from the SB EVERYTIME. Never limp. I hardly ever limp from the SB HU. Even with 72o i will be raising. Obviously there will be exceptions, i.e. when i have a really short stack and my opponent is 3-betting everyhand. But besides those factors i'm raising with anything. I'll fold from the SB hands like J2o and 83o and 83s and 72s and stuff like that. So I'm raising maybe 80% of the time, but not nearly 100% of the time. Your other bets can be smaller too. Go back and look at his bet sizes, both pre and post flop. Mine would be almost identical.

[chrisjp]

If you ever get a chance to look at Scott Clements heads up tournament videos on pokerxfactor please do. They are great and I learned a lot. Of course you have to be a member, but maybe they will have a free trial some day.

Loved going through this taz. Post some more goodies.

Chris