Jnelson12 0 Posted July 26, 2005 Share Posted July 26, 2005 Hello ya'll, I'm an average player and make a decent amount of money online. However over the past few weeks I have been playing heads up matches against a guy here at school. He isn't that great of a player and I know that I have way more skill than he does. 8 times out of 10 he raises pre-flop and gets me to fold some semi decent hands. How should I play him?? Should I be more aggresive and pick my hands and re-raise him? Any insight would be wonderful. Link to post Share on other sites
....Ian.... 0 Posted July 26, 2005 Share Posted July 26, 2005 come over the top with ANY ace, pretty much any king, and even a strong queen Link to post Share on other sites
Jordan 1 Posted July 26, 2005 Share Posted July 26, 2005 HU you have to play more hands. Is this limit or no limit?HU you have to play more hands.HU you have to play more hands.- Jordan Link to post Share on other sites
Jnelson12 0 Posted July 26, 2005 Author Share Posted July 26, 2005 It's no Limit. I play a lot of poker and don't have trouble with anyone usually. It's just this raise all the time pre-flop stuff that I haven't been able to find out. I was going to go over the top with a A or K. I'll try that and see how it goes. Link to post Share on other sites
PhishForChips 0 Posted July 26, 2005 Share Posted July 26, 2005 check raise his ass. Link to post Share on other sites
Jnelson12 0 Posted July 26, 2005 Author Share Posted July 26, 2005 He does fold a lot when I check raise. Link to post Share on other sites
Sea Wasp 0 Posted July 26, 2005 Share Posted July 26, 2005 Sounds like he has the right idea for heads up play. You should raise every pot when you are in position (providing you are a sound post flop player).Playing tight aggresive here is playing right into his hands. You will be folding too many hands, and he will know when you have a hand because you would have called. This is not good heads up strategy in my opinion. I am by no means a HU expert, however i have spent alot of time watching some ofnthe better HU players on UB playing 300/600 and what i see is alot of raising in posotion regardless of the cards. If he is raising every pot, then you need to pick afew hands where you will gamble with him and throw out a reraise. You need to do this for 2 reasons : first, so he thinks twice next time he decides he is going to raise you with 75o, and 2ndly, so that you will get action when you reraise hi with your premium hands.If you are playing NL, then you can trap him easily with afew nice moves and bust him, however if you are playing limit, you will need to get in there and fight him for the pots, or else he will beat you every time if you sit back and wait for premium hands.I am sure it gets more comlex than this however i am alsosure that playing tight aggresive heads up with this guy, esp in limit, will result in many more loses. It may even be the reason you are losing to him now, just folding too many hands and giving away too much.I'd be intereste to see what some more savvy HU players have to say. Link to post Share on other sites
justblaze 0 Posted July 26, 2005 Share Posted July 26, 2005 Hello ya'll, I'm an average player and make a decent amount of money online. However over the past few weeks I have been playing heads up matches against a guy here at school. He isn't that great of a player and I know that I have way more skill than he does. 8 times out of 10 he raises pre-flop and gets me to fold some semi decent hands. How should I play him?? Should I be more aggresive and pick my hands and re-raise him? Any insight would be wonderful.sounds like hes completely outplaying you, quite frankly. i would re-evaluate your concept of skill. Link to post Share on other sites
Jnelson12 0 Posted July 26, 2005 Author Share Posted July 26, 2005 I'm a way better tournament/live action player than I am a heads up player. I usually do raise when I am in position but however I do fold a lot of hands. Sea Wasp has a pretty good evaluation of what's going on. Link to post Share on other sites
LuckyMcCatcher 0 Posted July 26, 2005 Share Posted July 26, 2005 If he is raising you 8 out of 10 times preflop and you are folding alot, make no mistake he is better than you. This strategy alone makes you a loser no matter how you play after the flop. You have to call often and reraise more than you think you should. You should plan to check raise alot of the time when you call and dont reraise preflop. THis will slow him down. I like to fold a couple of times to make sure he doesnt catch on to what Im doing. The trick is not to thwart his strategy its to make it proffitable for you w/o tipping him off to this fact. I.e. let him feel comfortable in what he is doing, but make sure you are playing back at him a fair amount. Link to post Share on other sites
Jnelson12 0 Posted July 26, 2005 Author Share Posted July 26, 2005 And to answer you Just Blaze: I didn't claim to be the god of poker. I'm a decent player and I play against players that have way more skill that I do. I'm very confident that I'm a better player than him, I just need to crack his little scheme that he has been pulling lately. Link to post Share on other sites
Jordan 1 Posted July 26, 2005 Share Posted July 26, 2005 it's really not hard.raise, raise, raise, raise.and then raise again.- Jordan Link to post Share on other sites
Jnelson12 0 Posted July 26, 2005 Author Share Posted July 26, 2005 Thanks for everyones input.....I'm going to see if I can bust this guy! Link to post Share on other sites
DRskateNT 0 Posted July 26, 2005 Share Posted July 26, 2005 Mike Caro University says..."How to make a poker bully beg for mercy"Call More OftenRaise Less OftenSeldom Value BetI play a lot of heads up matches... and I raise a crap load. I try to get an early lead and continue the pressure.How does he play when you call? Have you ever started with a chip lead? What does he do then?Your idea of getting more aggressive is exactly what he wants you to do. Then you start playing crappier hands.*Edit* - Being agressive is fine/necessary, just don't start playing too much junk when you aren't supposed to.You just need to play position and try to get a read on his bet amounts. Then just figure out what makes him think that you have a big hand. Then exploit it.You can do it. I believe in you. Link to post Share on other sites
Ron_Mexico 4,219 Posted July 26, 2005 Share Posted July 26, 2005 Ever try playing with your sack out? Just a suggestion. Link to post Share on other sites
auspex 0 Posted July 26, 2005 Share Posted July 26, 2005 Here are three tips that should help.1) you can trap him with a good hand.2) Realize that his starting requirements are really low. Which turns hands like JT os in to raising hands preflop. He will raise you with all kinds of cards... 67s , JTs, JQ, even AQ. The trick is to not get caught when he's holding a monster. You can generally flush out his bad hands by check raising or re-raising on the flop. Most aggressive players preflop aren't as aggressive when called preflop and raised on the flop. (note: this works especially well after folding a few hands in a row)3) Always raise when you are in position on him with any marginal hand.. including things as low as 67s. With this play you want to hit the flop pretty hard or just be done with the hand. Last thing to note, heads up isn't so much having a good hand.. but reading weakness/strength from your opponent. By raising all the time preflop is he is telling you that he is raising with weak hands.It also sounds to me like you play weak tight against aggressive players which will mean you will lose... and quickly.I hope this helps. Link to post Share on other sites
Kaedin 0 Posted July 26, 2005 Share Posted July 26, 2005 You have to play back at him, yes, but also, dont be afraid to just flat call with cards that have potential. You have to remember, he cant have a monster preflop everytime, and even if he does, your low cards still have a chance of hitting the flop. One thing I like to do when Im against a very aggressive person heads up is let them bet themselves out of the game. Here's an example of what I mean. I was playing a SNG today, and the table was full of what I would characterize as LAG players. When it got to heads up, we started with about 55/45% in chips me to him. He would raise a lot preflop, i would generally call, and when I'd hit my hand, Id let him do the betting. This worked particularly well on the last hand (though I was small blind).I had T-2os in the SB, raised it up, he reraised, i called. The flop comes Q-4-2 (with 2 clubs). he bet (min), which shouldnt scare you off, I hit part of the flop, chances are he didnt, and a min bet, with the size of the pot, calling here was correct. The turn was a 2. He bet out bigger now, and I had a feeling he had a queen and was putting me on a club draw, which was perfect, and now I prayed for no club. I called. The river was a J (not of clubs) and he immediately went all in. I guess the key here is to find a style of play that you're comfortable with that allows you to take advantage of their overly aggressive style. You can't be passive. If you find that reraising them a lot makes THEM passive, do it. If you find that they'll bet your hands for you, let them. Link to post Share on other sites
Jnelson12 0 Posted July 26, 2005 Author Share Posted July 26, 2005 So I'm under the impression by just calling more often and not raising makes him think that he is still in control. That way I slowly take chips from him?? I am a pretty tight player mostly because I don't play a lot of N/L. When I do get aggresive with him he usually will fold or go all in. I'm getting a better understanding on this situation now.There is a lot of talent and knowledge in this room!! Link to post Share on other sites
Ron_Mexico 4,219 Posted July 26, 2005 Share Posted July 26, 2005 So I'm under the impression by just calling more often and not raising makes him think that he is still in control. That way I slowly take chips from him?? I am a pretty tight player mostly because I don't play a lot of N/L. When I do get aggresive with him he usually will fold or go all in. I'm getting a better understanding on this situation now.There is a lot of talent and knowledge in this room!! Thank you. Link to post Share on other sites
LuckyMcCatcher 0 Posted July 26, 2005 Share Posted July 26, 2005 So I'm under the impression by just calling more often and not raising makes him think that he is still in control. That way I slowly take chips from him?? I am a pretty tight player mostly because I don't play a lot of N/L. When I do get aggresive with him he usually will fold or go all in. I'm getting a better understanding on this situation now.There is a lot of talent and knowledge in this room!! Thank you.You have to understand that tight is the opposite of what you wan to be in shorthanded and heads up, because if you are tight than an opponent that is loose and agressive immediatley has the edge. See Sklansky, Holdem for Advanced Players. He explains that by playing tight you have unwittingly made your opponents style correct. The reason his style doesnt work in a ring game is because there are others to stop him, but in thi case it is only you. He slowly make you fold all your chips away. Its true you can trap him but as you said the minute you get interested he knows or thinks you have a hand and folds. You need to take advantage of this without him catching on. Say things like wow finally getting some cards after dragging in some bluffed pots. Give up on a couple where you know he is bluffing to be able to take advantage of this image later. Link to post Share on other sites
ol'number7 0 Posted July 26, 2005 Share Posted July 26, 2005 Ever try playing with your sack out? Just a suggestion.Mexico rules -- thanks for the break every now & again Link to post Share on other sites
justblaze 0 Posted July 26, 2005 Share Posted July 26, 2005 Mike Caro University says..."How to make a poker bully beg for mercy"Call More OftenRaise Less OftenSeldom Value Betyou're applying full ring limit game advice to HU NL play. you need to reraise him, not call. Link to post Share on other sites
justblaze 0 Posted July 26, 2005 Share Posted July 26, 2005 And to answer you Just Blaze: I didn't claim to be the god of poker. I'm a decent player and I play against players that have way more skill that I do. I'm very confident that I'm a better player than him, I just need to crack his little scheme that he has been pulling lately.if by 'scheme' you mean 'optimal preflop strategy against an opponent who is folding too much' then you're on the right track. Link to post Share on other sites
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