Triple Draw - Heads Up strategies

[Luv2DriveTT]

I've done well adapting to 3 handed tripple draw, but heads up I am still a blibbering idiot. I have adjusted my play to inlude starting hands that include such garbage as 876. Is this a wise choice, or will I be bound to loose in the long run? I have been raising every semi-playable button, is that a pointless exercise as well?

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[Chris Daddy Cool]

i'll touch up more on this later as i have to go to bed soon, but HU you gotta play much looser and call down way more especially against aggressive players. also your snowing frequency should go way up as well.

[TakeMeToTheRiver]

I have played a little heads up online -- usually trying to get a table started (I finally opened that UB account).

Just like with hold'em or any other poker, heads-up is much more of a head game then multi-way.

Based solely on the cards -- Heads up, I would probably raise from the Button/SB with 876 and sometimes from the BB.

Aside: I may try to stop by the club early tomorrow if we can get a TD game going. I will be out-of-town for the rest of the week.

[DeathDonkey]

It's all about adjustments to your opponent. For instance, if he is not adjusting properly and drawing to the same hands he would in a full game, I would snow every button pretty much. If, on the other hand, he is the type that stays pat with rough 10s etc. I will never snow and call down every time I make any semblance of a hand. If he is tricky and random and snows himself than he is a tougher opponent and I don't know what I do specifically but that's a tough match.

So in answer to your original question I would play many hands worse than that on the button. I also always raise from the button if I play, I would estimate my button raise / folds are about 50:50 but it totally depends on the opponent.

-DeathDonkey

[timprov]

You should be able to pretty much map headup adjustments from holdem onto TD. The most important thing to pay attention to about your opponent is how often he shows down.

[Luv2DriveTT]

[ QUOTE ]
i'll touch up more on this later as i have to go to bed soon, but HU you gotta play much looser and call down way more especially against aggressive players. also your snowing frequency should go way up as well.

[/ QUOTE ]

I would assume it becomes wise to play a hands such as 2-6, 2 card draws with an 8, and so on. How loose can we become? I'm generally about even playing heads up (which makes sence, its a coin toss at that point) but I'd like to have a better understanding of starting hands here.

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[Chris Daddy Cool]

trash 8's even, 876, can become playable, especially if your opponent isn't going to punish you too hard for it. and seeing showdowns is important too as you don't want to get ran over (as is the case with a lot of forms of HU poker)

[Luv2DriveTT]

[ QUOTE ]
trash 8's even, 876, can become playable, especially if your opponent isn't going to punish you too hard for it. and seeing showdowns is important too as you don't want to get ran over (as is the case with a lot of forms of HU poker)

[/ QUOTE ]

so it seems that my natural instincts have been most likely correct, thanks for the feedback all.

Do others feel HU TD is very similar to a coin toss against the average player at UB (meaning they don't totally suck)? Is there any reccomendations that would help add a few percentage points in my favor?

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[fnord_too]

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also your snowing frequency should go way up as well.

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I haven't played much HU td (though I am working on playing a lot more. Had a fun session against luckyfish on UB last night). At any rate, I don't think I ever snowed. I'm not sure I aggree that you should snow more, since your opponents are going to be calling you down a lot lighter since it is HU. I did catch LF snowing once, but mainly, were were folding pre flop. (A whole lot of sb open folds, a bunch of sb open raise/bb folds, a few contested pots and a very rare sb open limp.)

My basic strategy is to raise any two card draw to an 8 or better (though I probably still muck 678xx, and maybe 5, 6 or 7, 8) from the button, and defend with almost all of those too. Three bet all my one card draws or good two card draws from the BB.

I have yet to find a good reason to snow at the typical UB games 4/8 and below. I suppose I will (do?) when I get trip or quad 7's or 2's, but I hardly ever see those. The problem with snowing I have found is that there are bucket heads who will call you down with 98 a lot of times, and just cannot be moved if they have committed money to a pot (gotta love these guys). So, in the case you say kill the key cards after the first or second draw, it's too late to bluff anyone.

I do rarely bluff on the end when I miss. Probably not enough given my value betting standards (typically 86 or better, but that depends on who is in the pot.) I will almost always bet or raise with one one draw left and 9 or T if I think it will make the other guy draw, but that's not really snowing.

[fnord_too]

Oh, I do remember inadvertenly snowing a long time ago and getting someone to break an 8 when I thought it was A-5 and had a 64, good times. A couple hands later when my "wheel" got beat I realized, along with the table, what a moron I was. (That's when the guy told me he broke the 8 and hand or two before.)

[DeathDonkey]

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I do rarely bluff on the end when I miss. Probably not enough given my value betting standards (typically 86 or better, but that depends on who is in the pot.)

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I think you could do alot better by bluffing more frequently in these spots. When I draw one and so does my opponent on the last draw and I am out of position, I think I bet there at least 75% of the time. If he folds, he folds, if he catches me bluffing fine. The real benefit is that I can value bet 9's and 10's and get paid off. I've had some opponents pay me off with a pair.

-DeathDonkey

[fnord_too]

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I do rarely bluff on the end when I miss. Probably not enough given my value betting standards (typically 86 or better, but that depends on who is in the pot.)

[/ QUOTE ]

I think you could do alot better by bluffing more frequently in these spots. When I draw one and so does my opponent on the last draw and I am out of position, I think I bet there at least 75% of the time. If he folds, he folds, if he catches me bluffing fine. The real benefit is that I can value bet 9's and 10's and get paid off. I've had some opponents pay me off with a pair.

-DeathDonkey

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I think this is a big leak in my game, both in and out of position. I will work on this and see how it goes.