the low blinds in heads up is killing me

[pearljam]

Because of the new level the blinds are usually much lower when it reaches heads up (20+2). I am not a heads up player, but I can push fold heads up with high blinds with the best of them. Please somebody post a primer of sorts on how to play heads up when the blidns are 100-200 and around there.

[Karak567]

One good tip I always found helpful for *GASP* post-flop heads up play is "bet middle pair like top pair - but don't call off chips on middle pair like top pair"

[OrcaDK]

You're heads up at level 6? What does your HU play matter then?

[pearljam]

It's not that uncommon (unless I have been seing more of them then I should) for it to be heads up at level 5, a couple of bad players and rigged juiced flops and your there.

[valenzuela]

OK 20X the BB requuires a raise of 4x the BB, and an all-in. Those are the two levels, u must always be agressive so if someone raises or u fold or u re-raise.(re-raise all-in). When its like 15-18 x the BB, its 3,5 and all-in. This system was invented by me so it might not be optimal but I like it.(maybe 15-18 x the BB requires a push/fold game as well)

[microbet]

There is a HU and shorthanded forum. Does anyone know if it sucks or not? You could practice playing HU tournaments.

[Blarg]

It's easily one of the best forums. HU and short-handed play is tough and not the first thing players get into, or they get bounced out fast and hard. Lots of the best 2+2 players do a lot of posting there, or at least used to when I was looking at it regularly. That forum can be really great.

[Oluwafemi]

[ QUOTE ]
Because of the new level the blinds are usually much lower when it reaches heads up (20+2). I am not a heads up player, but I can push fold heads up with high blinds with the best of them. Please somebody post a primer of sorts on how to play heads up when the blidns are 100-200 and around there.

[/ QUOTE ]

a clear example of the downside to playing Party's structure--
no postflop skills. in order to be a complete player, you gotta know how to play beyond Push Fold Preflop Poker .

[Blarg]

I'll toss out a few ideas, hopefully non-stinky.

Well, at that level, push-fold better be done with the goods and/or with reads. Developing reads on your opponent is very important.

You might want to complete some small blinds with utter crap, and every intention of abandoning the hand on the flop unless you hit a miracle, just to get him used to seeing you play small blinds. Do it with really good hands sometimes too, instead of always raising or going all -in. That way he won't figure you couldn't possibly be completing unless you have a crappy hand, prompting him to put a huge raise on you every time you complete your SB, which will basically be doing a lot of donating to him and making it so that you never have the luxury of completing a SB. Don't make your SB completions too rare or you signal the strength of your hand. This also sets you up for a great trap in case the occasional miracle flop does come your way, or you happen to squeak by into a miracle turn.

Similarly, varying the size of your bets and raises almost at random when you do have a hand, at least once in a while, helps do the same thing -- keep it harder to read you and know exactly how to play you by the size of your bet.

Finally, realize that people value hands differently than you do and differently over time. Some guys thing K9s is a much better hand than K9, and some don't. Some do only if they've just been beaten on a hand they think they should have won, or just had a blind stolen. And, they can become bored or exhausted from nervousness and start playing hands they wouldn't, or valuing hands differently -- for instance playing bottom pair or a straight as well as that aforementioned K9. Remember that playing standards change during play, so just because someone calls loose or tight at first doesn't mean you're under no obligation to refine your reads of them and notice changes. You definitely have to come off auto-pilot. I've often noticed very tight or even-tempered players get flustered after a longish heads up session(well, longish for SNG's) and start playing some really weird cards, maybe trying to force a win or something.

Try to notice that. I don't believe in only taking notes on good players or finding some way to minimize note taking, like some players, and some very good players, do. I've found my notes extremely handy heads up and ITM. Under the stress of HU play, you can forget some of your observations or incorrectly assign them lower priorities as new observations flood in and take their place in the forefront of your thinking. Notes help keep perspective and memory accurate and accessible.

They keep you aware of changes in pacing, too. When you see a note that says something like "surprisingly passive w/A9 HU when Axx flops" and then notice him getting extremely aggressive with A2, it could signal changes in the pace of the game that you'll be glad to know. Maybe he's losing his cool, maybe he's mixing up his game, whatever. Notes help you keep track of the flow of the game, too.

Anyway, I guess I'm saying to pay attention. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] And realize the way someone plays can change up quite a bit, not always intentionally or predictably.

You're still going to have to push crap or bet out on a missed flop here and there, most likely, at least sometimes. But sometimes you can clue in on especially dangerous or good times to do it according to more than the mere math.

[lastchance]

Big Stack HU is a lot different than regular SNG play. Here, you must play "poker." This is where you can go Giga or DN. Play literally every hand, try to move your opponents off much of their holdings, play tricky. You have to really observe your opponents and outplay them postflop. It requires a lot of thinking and good play rather than formulaic standard plays.