Heads-up play versus a smart maniac

Given the limited amount of information on heads-up hold'em play in the standard poker literature, perhaps someone can offer me some advice for a game of heads-up hold'em with a kill.


Let me preface this by saying that I regularly beat 10-20 short-handed games online, but this heads-up game with a friend of mine is proving difficult.


My opponent (who is a very smart guy and a tight player at full games) has developed a strategy where he often raises complete trash hands and even defends junk like 62s, or 23off. He will raise trash in and out of position, and from the blinds. I generally three-bet with mid and high PPs and AK through A10s. I call with most suited one and two gappers, small pairs, Ax and Kx suited, 2 cards 9 or over, and some middle off-suit connectors with position.


For draws, I typically call using the advice found in HFAP.


Our games tend to involve huge swings and he seems to be winning more often than me. It's not a blow-out, but I think I am missing something.


Any advice would be appreciated!


Thanks,


Raise Da Roof

If he plays trash intelligently, his strategy can be quite effective, because it can result in his bluffing at an optimal rate, making it difficult for you to know what you should do with a hand that can only beat a bluff.


Here's an example of betting on the flop with trash hands. In the normal blind structure of 1/2 bet for SB and 1 for BB, assume SB raises and BB calls, so there's 4 bets on the flop. Since there are 4 bets in the pot, the game theoretical bluffing rate would be 20%. So if he were to bet 20% of the time he normally bets with trash hands, it would be a toss up for you whether you should fold your hand or play with a hand that would only be a favorite to beat a bluff. If you are more than 20% likely to fold, he makes a profit on his bluffs (and should bluff more). If you fold less than 20%, then he makes a profit when you don't fold (and he should bluff less).


This analysis is more valid for flop play because the hands are more likely to hold up. In pre-flop play, not only does the bluffing aspect come into play, but also the fact that he has a 1 in 3 chance (roughly) of helping on the flop, so his playing trash pre-flop is not likely to cost him very much, if anything at all. Actually, the more hands he plays, probably the better for him, because when low cards flop he can push you around. Also when high cards come, you don't know where he is, but he knows where you are. So you're more likely to make errors in that situation too.


I think you would improve your results by adding some hands on the low end of the spectrum. For example, any two cards that sum to 10 or less in position. (out of position, maybe two cards that sum to 8 or 9 or less). Play these cards the same as you would hands you would normally bet (like Ace high, low/medium pair), and your bluffing rate will be about 20%, which is about right. If you only play high cards, your opponent has too much information and will not make as many mistakes.


Given the hands you play, he is able to lay down hands pretty easily without worrying about being wrong. The only hands you would be pushing that would be likely to be worse than his are suited one and two gappers on the low end of the scale, and since you only play suited low cards, they don't come up that often. So he's usually right by folding.


Although HEFAP21 doesn't talk about bluffing in the short-handed section, the Theory of Poker does, and the principles would certainly apply. TOP brings out many principles that can be worked into a heads up game.


One other thing. My reading of the section in HEFAP21 was that was a suggestion of how to defend the blinds in a short-handed game, not heads up. I don't think the suggested hands were meant as hands you should play heads up.

Being a smart maniac is the correct way to play heads up.

not the correct way -- a correct way.