Adjusting to an opponent that becomes more agressive

[c4onastick]

I'm having trouble beating one person I play with heads-up. I consider myself a pretty good player, and I've started trying to be more agressive which seems to be helping, espectially before and on the flop. We usually play pretty short-handed games, $5 buy-in, with a 10 cent small blind only, and max bet/raise of $1. Not the greatest structure game, I know, but its all I've got to work with.

Anyway, in the normal 4-6 handed "full" game I can walk circles around most everyone, I have little trouble reading hands and adjusting, etc. But when I get heads-up, he usually gets the best of me.

Example:

Played tonite, cleaned house in about 2 hours, it was down to me and him. I had about $25 in chips, he had a little over $5. He usually insists on playing no-limit since its just us and we have so much money.

My "general" strategy for heads-up (from what I've read in HEFAP21, and Theory of Poker) is a lot of raising preflop and on the flop, since its pretty easy to get most players out when you show strength on before the flop and they don't hit. I call a lot on the river, even a few times when I'm 90% sure I'm beat. I usually come out betting on the flop if I'm the small blind, since you have a huge edge by doing so (I think, correct me if I'm wrong, according to HEFAP21).

I've played in "full" games of this type with him alot, and just recently started heads-up with him. Anyway, after about 30 or so hands, I've whittled him down to a little over $3, by (mostly) using the above strategy. We get to this hand and he holds J2off I have Q [img]/forums/images/icons/heart.gif[/img] 6 [img]/forums/images/icons/heart.gif[/img] . He blinds, I raise to 40 cents. Flop comes:
J [img]/forums/images/icons/heart.gif[/img] 2 [img]/forums/images/icons/spade.gif[/img] 6 [img]/forums/images/icons/club.gif[/img]

Not looking good for me (in retrospect, hindsight is always 20/20), but he checks, I bet, pretending that J isn't there. He had been playing pretty tight/passive previously, so (in retrospect) however at about this time, he was picking up that I was just betting almost everything on the flop and driving him out of most hands, and was (I'm sure) just trying to give me a taste of my own medicine.
After he calls my bet the turn comes:
2 [img]/forums/images/icons/heart.gif[/img]

So now I'm thinkin' great picked up my back-door flush also. He checks, but I heed the advice of those greater than me and also ignore the small pair on the board.
River Comes:
x [img]/forums/images/icons/heart.gif[/img] (don't remember the actual card)

In my head, I just landed a monster, he would never put me on a Q-high flush. I still smelled the stench of 2 pair from him. And I bet hoping to get raised, and he does, all-in. Showdown and I got had.

Was my strategy correct? What could be changed to avoid any undue losses? I'm not sure I remember all the details correctly, played many hands after that. But I'm pretty sure that's how it went down.

Anyway, that's not really the problem (and after all that writing), after that hand he became a little more agressive and adopted my strategy, so I countered by becomming slightly more tight, which I probably shouldn't have done. But none the less I continued, slowing the pace of the game slightly too. He took another big hand off me and I was down to about $8.

Last hand:

I get A [img]/forums/images/icons/diamond.gif[/img] K [img]/forums/images/icons/diamond.gif[/img] (one of my favorite hands to play, ya just gotta bully it)

I blind he raises to 40cents, I call, deciding to "rope-a-dope".

flop comes:
3 [img]/forums/images/icons/spade.gif[/img] Q [img]/forums/images/icons/club.gif[/img] 6 [img]/forums/images/icons/diamond.gif[/img]

He bets, I raise all-in. Again ignoring the high card as recommended.

Turn and the River come blanks.

He turns over:
Q [img]/forums/images/icons/spade.gif[/img] rags

And that's the game. What can I do? I'd love to beat him! Or am I on the right track, just missed that time? I'm beginning to thing the all-in bet was too risky.

[Robk]

A few points:

1. No limit heads up is a very different animal than limit play. You should check out Ciaffone/Reuben's book if you want to read more about it.
2. The concepts in HPFAP don't exactly apply to NL heads up for several reasons- you're only going to run yourself into trouble trying to apply them.
3. I think that section is one of the most misunderstood in the book. I don't think that it's meant as a "how-to" guide for shorthanded play. It's just supposed to illustrate how the game changes, and show you the concepts that you need to apply.
4. You should practice with playmoney online- I think paradise, planet, and probably many more sites have heads up NL tables.

[matt_d]

On the last hand, raising all in is too risky IMO. You want to be raising all in when you either have a good hand, or when you know your opponent is weak. In this case you simply don't know if he hit or not - you're just gambling (in the bad sense!).

You have good position on this hand. You don't want to fold as he could be betting trash, there is only one high card, and you have overcards. I would just call and see how he acts on the turn. If he bets again then I would fold (unless you make your hand of course). If he checks, you get a nice free card.

Also I think it was a mistake to call his preflop raise. You should reraise with that strong hand. Then on the flop, because he has to act first, if he bets at you then that's a good indication he has something. And if he checks, then you have a free card or an invitation to steal the pot. By calling preflop, you invite him to try to steal the pot, and because of this you have no idea what he has. By calling, you end up being the one doing the guessing; by reraising, you put him on the back foot, and get a much better read of his hand, plus a good chance of a free card or even winning preflop.

The flush vs full house hand is very interesting. Firstly, I think we can dismiss the chance that he has a flush. It only makes sense to call the flop with 2 hearts if he has AhKh or AhQh, or a random heart with the 2h or 6h (i.e. pair with back door flush draw). You have the 6h, and the turn comes the 2h. So AhKh or AhQh are the only chances for him having a flush, and IMO he would most likely reraise preflop with that, and quite likely bet the flop as well. So we can say he almost certainly does not have a back door flush draw.

Next possibility is him having a J or a 6. If this is the case, then it is wrong to bet the river when it's checked to you. You simply will not get a call from a J or a 6 with a paired board and a flush on the river. Also your 6 makes him having a 6 less likely, and he would probably have bet the flop with a 6. With a J he would have bet or check raised the flop, and/or bet the turn. So I think it unlikely he has just a J or just a 6, and even if he did, a river bet to him is incorrect.

Another possibility is a low pair (55 or below, or maybe 77), but again I think this would have been bet out, not checked and called.

That leaves the following possibilities - he has trips, J6, or a full house. If he had trips or J6, what would he do on the turn? Would he check and call? I think it is more likely he would check and raise, or just bet out. That would be the way to get his chips in with probably the best hand, and avoid giving a free card to a flush draw. Even if a check and call is likely with trips or J6, he definitely wouldn't check raise with this on the river.

So basically on the river, your bet only makes sense if he has trips or J6. However, once he raised, what did you put him on? He can't have a flush. There is NO WAY he would raise with two pair here - he would be terrified of trips. So he either has trips himself, or a full house. Unless he has A2 or maybe K2, why would he check raise? He would just call in case you had trips with the higher kicker. If he had A2 or K2, then he would also probably have given action on the turn as well. So I have to say I would give serious consideration to folding the river. However, I think the best play would have been to check the river.

A good rule of thumb for PL/NL is that when someone checks and calls both flop and turn, and then checks the river, you should watch out for a slowplay. It could be AA trying to trap your KK or QQ, or in this case a monster hand. If they were just on a draw or moderate hand, then the chances of calling on a scary river are remote - you'll either get beaten by a big hand, or watch a bad hand fold. Either way you won't get paid.