SB vs BB Heads-up Play - 4 hands against the same guy.

[balkii]

I am terrible at shorthanded blind play (steal/defense situations). These hands are from a full ring 5/10 game but I posted here because they are all heads-up and you guys know these things best. I am the SB in all hands. The BB is too loose (24%VPIP) and avg aggression (7% PFR). He was capable of deception, although not very good at it (twice he limped UTG with KK, and nobody raised behind him).

Anyways

Hand 1: I have A /images/graemlins/club.gif 7 /images/graemlins/heart.gif
Folded to me I raise. BB calls.
Flop is 3 /images/graemlins/spade.gif 8 /images/graemlins/spade.gif 9 /images/graemlins/spade.gif
I bet he calls.
Turn is T /images/graemlins/spade.gif
I bet he raises I fold.

Hand 2: I have A /images/graemlins/club.gif 6 /images/graemlins/heart.gif
Folded to me, I raise BB calls.
Flop is Q /images/graemlins/club.gif 6 /images/graemlins/spade.gif J /images/graemlins/diamond.gif
I bet, he raises I call.
Turn is 4 /images/graemlins/heart.gif
I check, he bets, I raise, he 3-bets, I call.
River is 8 /images/graemlins/spade.gif
I check fold

I know I [censored] that hand up good

Hand 3: I have 7 /images/graemlins/heart.gif 7 /images/graemlins/club.gif
Folded to me I raise He 3-bets, I call. One thing I should mention here is that all these hands have come up each time it was folded to me. So not every orbit, but every time it has been folded to me I have had these raising hands. (they are all raising hands right?) Should I back off when it starts to make me look like a dirty thief? Anyways
Flop is 2 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif 5 /images/graemlins/spade.gif 4 /images/graemlins/club.gif
AHA, gotcha this time!. I check (going for CR) he checks behind.
Turn is the A /images/graemlins/heart.gif
Good grief. I check call
River is the K /images/graemlins/diamond.gif
Ugh. I check call.


Ok now the next few times it is folded to me in the SB i fold a few hands like J9s and 75s. Try to gain some image back or something!?

So now I've seemingly backed off on the steals but now I am dealt
Hand 4: A /images/graemlins/heart.gif J /images/graemlins/club.gif
Folded to me I raise, He 3-bets, I call.
Board is [3 /images/graemlins/heart.gif 8 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif 6 /images/graemlins/club.gif] Q /images/graemlins/spade.gif 7 /images/graemlins/club.gif
And I just check-called the whole way down.

Everytime I raise with these hands I feel like I shouldnt because they are weak and easy to be drawn out but at the same time how can I just fold, or limp, when I am heads-up against a random hand and there is money in the pot?! I feel helpless...

[Robk]

Hand 1 I think it's OK to check fold the turn unless you think he'll call the flop with just about any 2.

Hand 2 No reason to get fancy out of position. Just call him down if you think he's agg enough to have a high, 44, 76, etc. Against most I check fold on the turn.

Hand 3 I would have folded on the turn. I don't think you have proper effective odds to call here.

[ QUOTE ]
Ok now the next few times it is folded to me in the SB i fold a few hands like J9s and 75s. Try to gain some image back or something!?


[/ QUOTE ]

Those hands are too good to fold for image reasons IMO.

Hand 4 Again I don't think you have effective odds here against all but the most agg opponents.

I think I noticed a trend in my suggestions. /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[balkii]

Rob - thanks for replying. Ok folding of course seems fine in all those hands, IN A VACUUM. BUT he was calling my raise everytime preflop. I dont see how checkfolding everytime I miss can be a viable option when he is calling every time.

Im just kinda confused. When I read about shorthanded and especially heads-up play - any pair, and A-high are supposedly showdown hands. Of course not everytime but if I folded everyone of these hands whats to stop him from just raising me everytime and hoping I fold. He would probably show an automatic profit, just hoping I didnt hit a strong hand...

Also - you said J9s and 75s are too good to throw away?! What should I do? When raising (apparently) has NO chance of taking it down, should I really just limp and hope to hit a flop? And 75? come on just because its suited doesnt mean it aint 7-high...

[Robk]

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Im just kinda confused. When I read about shorthanded and especially heads-up play - any pair, and A-high are supposedly showdown hands.

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HU and SH plays are very sensitive to the board, opponent, pot size, action, etc. Thinking you have to get to showdown with a certain range of hands is the wrong way to go about it. It's an oversimplistic strategy that people fall back on because they don't understand how to properly assimilate all the information available. There are no shortcuts to learning how to do it well.

[ QUOTE ]
Ok folding of course seems fine in all those hands, IN A VACUUM. BUT he was calling my raise everytime preflop. I dont see how checkfolding everytime I miss can be a viable option when he is calling every time.


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You don't know that his strategy was to play all his hands against you. Sometimes he'll have 4 good hands in a row. Sometimes he'll have 8. You have to base your strategy on the information you have on the hands he's played so far. If you don't have enough information, you give it your best guess.



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Also - you said J9s and 75s are too good to throw away?! What should I do? When raising (apparently) has NO chance of taking it down, should I really just limp and hope to hit a flop? And 75? come on just because its suited doesnt mean it aint 7-high...

[/ QUOTE ]

You have basic misunderstandings about heads up play. 75s has 44% pot equity against a random hand. It's clearly too good to throw away with the dead money in the pot. And no, you shouldn't limp with it against most opponents.

[balkii]

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There are no shortcuts to learning how to do it well.



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I keep forgetting this but I know - the only way to learn shorthanded is to just play.

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You have basic misunderstandings about heads up play.

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haha this is becoming more and more evident....Thanks