HU Play

[TruFloridaGator]

How do you play hands like Q10, K10, etc when you are first to act? What happens if you are re-raised? Should you be pushing these hands to start with?

[Jason Strasser]

When playing HU, the blind levels dictate your aggression.

[TruFloridaGator]

So, I'm about 4000, he is 8000, blinds are 150/300.

[Wes ManTooth]

depends on many factors, stack levels, blind levels, range of hands played by opponent, etc...

[TruFloridaGator]

I'm about 4000, he is 8000, blinds are 150/300.

Dealt Q10o, first to act? Limp? Push? Raise? Call a re-raise AI if I raise? I put him on a pretty wide range..He's pretty loose

[Jason Strasser]

Your question to us could be rewritten like this: "How do you play poker?"

[LeVoodoo]

When in doubt, put chips in middle.

[curtains]

My normal play is to push. Pushing is +EV with the cards turned face up, so the only thing to do now is to weigh it against calling and raising smaller and then folding to a reraise.

Personally I hate making a small raise and folding, because people can get very imaginative headsup, and don't be shocked to have something like JTs or 98s move allin on you. Also you'd be making a mistake to be folding against small pairs and hands like A5o and so on. Also making a small raise and calling is annoying because you might convince hands to play that beat you, but would have folded to your allin.

I like calling 2nd best but still prefer to push. If I did call and my opponent checked the flop I'd bet every time. Note that this is assuming a lower buyin event where the players aren't very sophisticated.

[TruFloridaGator]

Thanks, I've actually been around a while, I know better than to be this general. It's more of just mere confusion of just on the wrong end of the hand in similar positions lately. I'll post the entire hand:

$10+1, blinds are 150/300
Hero(4000) is SB
Villian(8000) is BB semi-loose, raises a wide range, Ax(even called a significant AI w/ A5 earlier in SNG), any 2 broadway, any pair, suited connectors from the time we were 5 handed

Hero is dealt Q10o
Pre-Flop:
Hero raises to 800, Villian re-raises AI, Hero?

[TruFloridaGator]

Thanks as always Curtains. Only thing, he re-raised AI pre-flop..i posted the hand now. Sory for the confusion.

[Degen]

Push everything once the blinds hit 200-400...before that its player dependent. If they are super tight then just start 3BBing it and fold to a reraise. If they are pretty loose then push PF.


Andre

[Phoenix1010]

Woops just found the range you posted. I definitely do not fold this if villain is as wildly aggressive as you have him. There's too much in the pot, and you're not very far behind his range of hands. Push it preflop. Blinds are too high for significant post flop play.

[curtains]

Well this is why I dont like raising to 800. I'd call at this point, but it's not pretty, especially if you encouraged him to move allin with something like K8s, that he may have folded to an allin. Also I have no idea what site you are playing in which there are 12k in total chips, even Stars has 13.5k.

[shejk]

4800 in the pot to be won by calling with 3200 more. I'd say call, but I, as some previous poster suggested, would try to avoid such a situation by pushing.

[TruFloridaGator]

Alright, thanks! /images/graemlins/cool.gif

[TruFloridaGator]

I did, read up.

[curtains]

[ QUOTE ]
Heads up play is very read dependent. You should have been able to pick up something about how this guy plays by this point. Put him on a range of hands. Anyone who tries to answer this question without a range of hands, or at least some sort of description like tight or aggressive, won't be doing you much help.

[/ QUOTE ]


Yes reads are important. However if you move allin preflop you are guaranteed +EV. If you believe that something else is more +EV then go for it, but playing like that against most opponents is a little too fancy for my tastes.

[TruFloridaGator]

Sorry, off on the chip count.. 9000 to 4500. It's at Full Tilt. Nonetheless, thanks Curtains. Good advice.

[curtains]

Based on your read you have to call the 3200 more, but that just makes raising to 800 so much worse of a play. Just move allin preflop against this type of opponent.

[TruFloridaGator]

[ QUOTE ]
Push everything once the blinds hit 200-400...before that its player dependent. If they are super tight then just start 3BBing it and fold to a reraise. If they are pretty loose then push PF.

When Hero's stack is like mine or at anypoint? And do you mean even for the 13.5k chip format?

Andre

[/ QUOTE ]

[TruFloridaGator]

[ QUOTE ]

Based on your read you have to call the 3200 more, but that just makes raising to 800 so much worse of a play. Just move allin preflop against this type of opponent.

[/ QUOTE ]

Got it. Thanks as always.

[curtains]

Degen's advice is too rigid. It's never that systematic where you can just sum up what to do in 2 sentences. This is especially true on party, where it's almost always terrible to raise to 1200 and fold to a reraise headsup, especially in the $33s and lower.

[Degen]

I didn't see the part about the 13.5k chip format...that i have no experience with. I thought this was 8k. I wouldn't even use what i wrote for 10k, far less pushing HU in those.

When you are chip dog, pushing all SB's is a must. When you are chip leader, pushing all SB's is a must /images/graemlins/grin.gif


Andre

[Phoenix1010]

[ QUOTE ]
When you are chip dog, pushing all SB's is a must. When you are chip leader, pushing all SB's is a must /images/graemlins/grin.gif


Andre

[/ QUOTE ]

This is not good advice. There are more than a few factors that go into every hand heads up, not the least of which being the tendencies of your opponent. If you're really pushing every single hand heads up regardless of your hand or your opponent, you are not maximizing your EV. This works a lot of the time, but it is not a universally good strategy, such as you seem to be implying.

[Degen]

Works for me /images/graemlins/grin.gif /images/graemlins/grin.gif /images/graemlins/grin.gif

Andre
Who will now start attaching 'well, as with all questions in poker the answer is 'it depends'...but what might work is...' to all of his responses.

[Phoenix1010]

[ QUOTE ]
Works for me /images/graemlins/grin.gif /images/graemlins/grin.gif /images/graemlins/grin.gif

Andre
Who will now start attaching 'well, as with all questions in poker the answer is 'it depends'...but what might work is...' to all of his responses.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, as with all questions in poker the answer is 'it depends'... but what might work is doing this. It's just crazy enough to work. I'll try it for a day.

[Degen]

[ QUOTE ]
where it's almost always terrible to raise to 1200 and fold to a reraise headsup

[/ QUOTE ]

What if you are holding a suited connector? What about A-rag?
So if I am hearing you correctly you are saying if:

SB Hero t4000
BB Villian t4000

Hero has 8/images/graemlins/spade.gif9/images/graemlins/spade.gif

Hero raises to 1200. Villian pushes. Hero???

Calls??? Same with A3???



Andre

[Phoenix1010]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
where it's almost always terrible to raise to 1200 and fold to a reraise headsup

[/ QUOTE ]

What if you are holding a suited connector? What about A-rag?
So if I am hearing you correctly you are saying if:

SB Hero t4000
BB Villian t4000

Hero has 8/images/graemlins/spade.gif9/images/graemlins/spade.gif

Hero raises to 1200. Villian pushes. Hero???

Calls??? Same with A3???



Andre

[/ QUOTE ]


Well, as with all questions in poker the answer is 'it depends'... but what might work is

I believe he was referring to low buyin games. This implies wider than average reraising standards. Folding getting nearly 2:1 when your opponent has a very wide range heads up is usually going to be pretty terrible, especially with a hand like 89s where you're usually drawing live and not far behind, or a hand like A3 where you're actually going to be ahead of a lot of hands he'll push at you. (This is assuming that the blinds are 200/400 or above. With lower blinds and a skill edge you should fold this quickly and wait for a better spot, but then why would you have raised to 1200 preflop?)

[curtains]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
where it's almost always terrible to raise to 1200 and fold to a reraise headsup

[/ QUOTE ]

What if you are holding a suited connector? What about A-rag?
So if I am hearing you correctly you are saying if:

SB Hero t4000
BB Villian t4000

Hero has 8/images/graemlins/spade.gif9/images/graemlins/spade.gif

Hero raises to 1200. Villian pushes. Hero???

Calls??? Same with A3???



Andre

[/ QUOTE ]


Correct, you should call in both cases, even against a tight player, and it's pretty clearcut. For this reason you should open allin with these hands.