how would you play daniel in a heads up situation?

[Saint Joel 0]

i was just wondering how all if you would stategically play daniel in a heads up situation, lets say you're the last two people in a tourney. im assuming daniel would outplay all of us, so i think a good amateurs best bet would almost just be to go hoyt corkins on him and go all in repeatedly, take the post flop play away from him. i know the chip counts make a difference, so specify what the they would have to be for your strategy to work.

[iveyfan30 0]

id spike his drink with a laxative ,,then steal his chips when he ran to the crapper....gurananteed victory!!!!

[jayistheman 0]

i would just play as agressive as possible... in an attempt to make it more of a crap shoottwo agressive players playing heads up is essentially a slightly weighted coin toss.... i dont know about moving in all the time, but its a possibility

[chach2046 0]

i would tell him that ive already got him beat no matter what, and then ask him if he just wants to split the prize money 50/50. hopefully he goes for it.

[iveyfan30 0]

i would just play as agressive as possible... in an attempt to make it more of a crap shoottwo agressive players playing heads up is essentially a slightly weighted coin toss.... i dont know about moving in all the time, but its a possibility

wow back to back posts with the word crap in them.....niceeeeee....

[NormanHaupt 0]

I'd strike up some chatter and try to out psych him, and I'd also appeal to his sense of morality .. somehow

[Tritz 1]

You are all nuts :shock:

[Eclypse 0]

I'd try and out-play him after the flop, because, you know...he really sucks after the flop.D'oh!Seriously, I think your best chance would be to go all-in before the flop every hand. That way, he couldn't out-play you.

[TheMathProf 0]

I'd say that I'm a huge Annie Duke fan and how I think that she is the best female poker player of all time.Then I'd pray for tilt.

[KDawgCometh 2]

I'd play draws harder as I know that I couldn't outplay him. Another question is what is the chip situation HU against Daniel, do we have a nice lead, or ar we even in chips. This would factor into how I would play him too

[CheckRaise 0]

I'd say that I'm a huge Annie Duke fan and how I think that she is the best female poker player of all time.Then I'd pray for tilt.

LOL!!!!! She looks like a haggarad Crack Monkey I would tell daniel im too stressed to play and ask him to hold me in his arms while i get blinded out!!!That would get some viewers on the WPT

[Saint Joel 0]

I'd play draws harder as I know that I couldn't outplay him. Another question is what is the chip situation HU against Daniel, do we have a nice lead, or ar we even in chips. This would factor into how I would play him too

yeah i wanted to leave that up to you, it would effect the way i played him as well

[Absolution 0]

Just go super aggressive with anything semi decent. I think there has been some math done on this very scenario (an amateur vs a top pro heads up and the amateur just pushes). If the pro doesn't catch cards there's nothing he can do. He'll have to push back eventually, and if the blinds are even slightly meaningful he can't wait for long. And, even then he's at the mercy of the cards. I think the estimate was that it was at most 60% in favor of the pro (depends a lot on structure of course). I think this is on of the reasons Sklansky doesn't like NL hold'em as the main event game (but he also concedes that it will always be that way). Hmm, if enough amateurs got together in a pro event and played the all-in game, that would make it quite tough for the pros don't you think?

[rkkkkjj 0]

fold that AA, hed never see that coming.

[BilliardsBoy 0]

I'd play a completely different style then I had been playing the whole tourney. It would hopefully throw him off since he'd be expecting a certain player and getting another.That and I'd pray a whole lot.And shine a laser at him till he went blind or the FAA comes after me.

[johnboys1 0]

Order a bacon cheeseburger and start eating it at the table and making a big mess. Maybe even get some bacon grease on your chips

[MaXimuS 0]

I would just beat him plain and simple lol

[RonBurgundy 0]

can't let him draw for cheap, if you read a draw RAISE RAISE RAISE

[ArseneLupin3 0]

Since Daniel is clearly (okay.. most likely) a better postflop player (as well as headsup player) than any of us, i offer the following advice for those of us lucky enough to get a chance to kick his ass on the felt. :][note: Please excuse/correct any errors in this post, as it's mostly me thinking aloud..] The most important factors in HUSH (heads-up or shorthanded) NLHE tourney play are, in increasing order of difficulty to master-response to stack/blind ratio -position-game theory: betting patterns, set-up plays, restealing and steal frequencies.With over 100bb in play between the two players, the more you know about your opponent, the better. You play like you're at an nl table w/ relatively short stacks. Postflop aggression is important, but so is getting a feel for your opponents game without getting run over. If your opponent is doing the same but you believe he is more skilled, you'll have to do some hard betting of draws, etc., and hope you can get in on close to a coinflop draw with the assumption of some folding equity (profit from the opponents frequency of folding in that situation). Big hands play themselves if you're aggressive enough. Otherwise, you're gonna have to resort to trapping--but you may never get the chance to do so before the blinds move up.. and move up they will.With 100bb or less in play, I'd probably make resteals my priority if it was clear that the game was going to be ultra-aggressive. Most pots in these circumstances are picked up w/o a showdown after 2 bets or less [i.e. raised or reraised pots]. These are some of the most powerful moves in shorthanded play. If you can pick up any sort of pattern on blind resteals, you might be forced at some point (w/ a chip disadvantage) to move in with just about any two. I'd randomly alternate between raising my button with any two and completing with any two. The key here is losing the minimum when you have crap, getting dead money in the pot with position, and getting playback on bigger hands. I'd probably play the BB like a limp noodle, though. I'd like to think I'd have the balls to resteal there, but I wouldn't be comfortable doing anything but moving in--which wouldn't be a viable option until we were playing...With 50bb or less in play, I would consider moving in w/ any pair, ace, king, or suited connector regardless of circumstances. Folding equity combined with the dead money in the pot makes this necessary. As for the out of position resteals and the increasing necessity of moving allin..

I. Available information1) Assume 1.8big blinds (Bb) in play [ex. 3kb/6k ante = .5Bb+1Bb+2*.183Bb=1.87Bb. I will round down to 1.8.]2) Assume your opponent makes a standard open(*) to 3-4Bb from the button.[note: pot size: 1.8Bb+2.5 to 3.5Bb=4.3bb to 5.3Bb]. [note: Your opponent is laying you 14:1 implied odds with a 2Bb raise [161k:12k] and 10:1 w/ a 3Bb raise 157k:18k]][(*) note: an open to 3Bb from the button would be a .5Bb call and 2Bb raise.]3) Assume even stacks of 25Bb. This would be 150k in our example.4) Assume, for the sake of a calculation off of which you can make reasonable estimates of implied odds, that your opponent will ALWAYS pay you off when you flop a better hand.II. The question:You choose to reraise your opponent, spotting a tell of weakness. How much do you raise?III. The options:You can make..A.) A min-reraise, another 2 or 3Bb to 5 or 7Bb [Pot size: 8.3Bb or 10.3Bb]PO: You are laying your opponent 4:1 (8.3:2) or 7.5:1 in direct pot odds.IO: You are laying your opponent roughly 15:1 or 10:1 in implied odds, as he is calling 2 or 3BB with a potential to win 29.3 or 30.3Bb [8.3+21, 10.3+20].B.) A moderate resteal raise of 4 or 6Bb to 7 or 10Bb. [Pot size: 10.3Bb or 14.3Bb]PO: You are laying your opponent 2.6:1 to 2.4:1 (10.3:4, 14.3:6).IO You are laying your opponent roughly 7:1 to 5:1 (10.3+18:4 , 14.3+16:6).C.) An allin reraise to 25bb [28.3 or 29.3Bb]PO: You are laying your opponent barely over 1.25:1 (28.3:22, 29.3:23).IO: Identical to the implied odds as all the money will be in.Option A....can typically be disregarded with a few exceptions. This kind of play, under the right circumstances, will mess with your opponent's head. Why? You look like you want a call, since this play will typically NEVER induce a fold with stacks this short. No matter who your opponent is, those odds are absurdly good. Against weak-passive players and players with no tendency to frequently steal, you're not going to earn a fold here and you may need to evaluate your read. You can make more money against them stealing their own blinds.Against most aggressive players, this play is foolish. They will either push here or call. They have too many ways to win the pot against you for you to make this raise w/o something strong. Smart aggressive players know that.Option B....ah! Now we're getting somewhere. Notice the sharp drop in both direct odds and implied odds. The essence of the resteal is that it commits a player to the point where he will either have to commit all his chips with a re-re-raise here, or face that decision on the flop. You've decreased the breathing room in your opponent's spectrum of hands by a significant amount as compared to the first option (or calling). I could go on and on about this play.. Suffice it to say, against all but strong opponents, a reraise like this will achieve many goals. You'll find out where you're at, you'll induce as many as five or more times the amount of folds compared to Option A, and--despite being out position--you'll only have a few plays postflop: allin, check-call allin, or check-fold. I don't recommend open-folding. :]Option C....takes balls. It's a great play if you read people well. Dan talks about players like Juanda who make this move when appropriate. When laying someone 1.25:1 odds, you want them to have as little correct information (and, of course, as much incorrect information) as to what range of hands you'd do this with. Like they say, this play works every time but the last one. If it works once, however, the next time you try it you'll have an insurance policy of a few leftover Bb should the previous play have given you the chiplead.IV. The conclusion:Obviously, the correct choice depends on a lot of factors. These are the difficult decisions that get Gus Hansen talking to himself. You must first try to integrate as much information about the hand as possible, assign degrees of confidence as to the validity of that information, and weigh the values of both what that information tells you and what your options may be.

Back to the strategies..With 30bb or less, I would consider moving in on any 2, especially with a slight chiplead. With 2Bb or so dead in the pot and 14Bb behind, you're laying 1.15:1. The expectation of this strategy has a weird inflection point, however, when you have a trash hand and the odds you're laying your opponent will make a fold difficult. The math gets really tricky, so I'll just rant about it and let someone point out my logical flaws. I'm really just showing an example of how complex the thinking can actually get on these hands.

I. The situation:You're up 26Bb:4Bb on the sb in a HU sng. You have 3c2d.Your opponent posts an ante (.2Bb) and a big blind (1Bb). II. The question:Do you go all-in or fold?III. The options:Option A.) Folding to his BB yields a loss of a small blind and ante, for -0.7Bb per hand.You're sacrificing a tiny bit of tournament equity here, as well:We know that you start the hand with 86.7% of the tournament buyin in equity(TE). If you simulate two equal opponents, one having 83% of the chips in play headsup, that player will win 83% of the time in the long run.After your fold, you have 25.2bb, or 84% of the chips in play. Therefore, you lose 86.7-84=2.7% of TE in this situation over the long run. You won't lose 2.7% the next orbit, though, unless the stacks are exactly as they were at the start of the first hand.Option B.) You push w/ 23o. He has 2.8Bb left, so he's getting 5.2:2.8 or 1.85:1. The odds of your hand winning vs. a random hand are about 32%. Thus, 32% of the time, you earn 8Bb for a net of 2.56Bb earned - 4Bb invested = -1.44Bb lost in chip equity.This is the part I'm not sure about:If you win the hand, you earn a great deal of tournament equity, as it WINS the tournament. This happens 32% of the time. 100%-86.7% = 13.3% TE gain. A 13.3% gain 32 times in 100 yields +4.26%If you lose the hand, your opponent only has 26.7% tournament equity, leaving you with 73.3%.This happens 68% of the time. 86.7%-73.3% = -9.7%TE loss.A 13.4% loss 68 times in 100 yields -8.83%Thus, your net loss here is 4.57% of the tournament's buyin, viewed solely from my (probably wrong) TE calculations. IV. The conclusion:Keep in mind that these calculations are under the assumption of ZERO folding equity, meaning your opponent tells you he will call your allin. Even if he doesn't say this, a smart player will fold all but a few (if any) hands because he has the knowledge that you will be moving in here with a lot. Of course, if he knows that you know that he knows that you know that he knows this then... eek! My head just exploded. A general rule of thumb is that as the stack sizes increase or balance out from a large differential, folding equity increases with standard raises. An allin bet's folding equity, experiences a sort of bell curve against the average opponent under the same conditions. There isn't much value in pushing allin for 500Bb when you and your opponent are even on chips. The times you get called, you'll be crushed. The rest of the time, you've picked up about 1/300 of the chips in play. Good job!

In summation, Tournament poker is a conundrum. Many people simply are unable to survive at it long term because of the high variance, emotional impact of busting, expectation of making a profit (10% of the field gets paid) and the wide variety of situations that make it difficult to recognize mistakes--which are often concluded by their performers to be quality plays! However, should you make the bold, risky plays with an even higher variance but a higher return, you will eventually see that return-- and it will be enormous. You just have be able to calmly deal with and integrate as much as you can from the large number of busts that they present.An added benefit to this style is that people will often think you're a complete buffoon for some of the plays you make. They will be totally wrong. CoughGusHansenCough.If you're patient, Harrington's second book will explain a lot of this stuff in great detail. If you don't own the first, you might want to get cracking.-adam

[jayistheman 0]

it is a masterpiece

[Stylistic 0]

If you're a no namer and just happened to make the final table and going heads up with Daniel Negreanu. This is what you should do well, what I would do. 1) most important is your image to the pro - what does this pro think of you?* i think that this is the key to beating a pro at his own game especially poker.When a pro looks at a new player, he's going to ask himself a million questions. Obviously if I play DN heads up, I know for a fact that he's going to look at my capabilities and incapabilities. He needs to find out if I am capable of folding certain type of hands or am I capable to fire 3 x with nothing. There are many other questions that a pro needs to know before they can make fancy moves on you. Otherwise they will be forced to play you straightfoward, and that is to your advantage. It's not how I'll "play" DN, it's how I want him to play me. I don't want him to know that I am capable of fire 3x all the way down the river with completely nothing. I don't want him to know that I'm willing to lay down a set if I believe he has a str8 or flush. Nor do I want him to believe that I think about his hand as much as my hand, or that I think about what he thinks about my hand. I don't want him to know these things! That way he will play me as if I am an amateur. Heavy Advantage.What people don't realize is that it's an advantage to you when you're a newcomer in the poker world. What the pros don't know about you is a huge disadvantage to them. Yet you already know that a professional poker player is capable of everything and anything. But they are not capable of making certain fancy moves when they "BELIEVE" that you don't understand certain aspects of poker. Like they say, you can't read a player if a player doesn't know what he's doing. Why not make DN think I don't know what I'm doing Pyschology at its best baby.

[Suited_Up 2]

can't let him draw for cheap, if you read a draw RAISE RAISE RAISE

He's always on a draw, lol.

[johnboys1 0]

can't let him draw for cheap, if you read a draw RAISE RAISE RAISE

He's always on a draw, lol.

You're a dick

[ChkDeezNuts 0]

You would really have to become an artist........Here is what you would have to do....A) If he raises pre-flop and you have anything that resembles a top 20 hand....go allin.....reduce all bordeline hands that he can push you off if you miss on the flop by taking the probable small dog or who knows...you might be a favorite?.....B) Every once and a while if you can limp with something interesting T8s, 78s...(get the picture?) try to make a hand and set up a trap....he will most likely not fall too deep so don't be dissapointed when he smells something fishy and you earn only one bet from him......That is it.Now....if you don't catch cards......refer to point A)...and pray for luck.You need alot of experience to play alot of pots post flop against somebody with the experience that Daniel has and be succesful.For example....do you remember John D'Agostino's match vs. Phil Ivey at Turning Stone? Jdags was actually getting a little flustered and making some amateurish moves.Experience, Experience, Experience.

[ArseneLupin3 0]

A) If he raises pre-flop and you have anything that resembles a top 20 hand....go allin.....reduce all bordeline hands that he can push you off if you miss on the flop by taking the probable small dog or who knows...you might be a favorite?.....

So 10% of the time he raises you push' date=' regardless of the situation?Keep in mind many of the "Top 20" hands will be dominated by almost anything that calls them. Do you base your top 20 off of HU odds vs random hands? There is a lot more to playing than your own hand. :']

B) Every once and a while if you can limp with something interesting T8s, 78s...(get the picture?) try to make a hand and set up a trap....he will most likely not fall too deep so don't be dissapointed when he smells something fishy and you earn only one bet from him......That is it.

For example....do you remember John D'Agostino's match vs. Phil Ivey at Turning Stone? Jdags was actually getting a little flustered and making some amateurish moves. That was the first time he'd ever been playing HU in a major. Give him the benefit of the doubt.. I do recall him getting short going allin with the best of it [77 vs a8], then hammering back when ivey clowned that one hand. Had the chiplead again after that, but got chipped away at by Ivey, who was coming over the top. You can't fault D'agostino's aggression, though. He only started to get a little tilty for the last 4 or 5 hands.