Pokerstars micro HU session

[DavidC]

Match played between myself and a new member to 2+2.
Pokerstars 0.02/0.04... no set buy in or time limit.

0.01/0.02 blinds, with the button being the small blind.

I'm going to post as much of this session as possible, while the interest lasts. I'll be changing the subject line to present different sections of the session. Please try to reply to the correct post if you're doing so.

[DavidC]

First hands:

1) He folds

2) I complete, he raises, I call with 74s. Board is AA4, I raise the flop, we check to the river, I'm shown 88.

3) He folds.

4) I raise JTo, he folds.

5) He raises, I fold T4o.

6) I raise in the SB with K9o, he calls. Flop is 862: he check-calls. Turn is a nine, he check-folds.

--------------

At this point, I feel pretty good. He seems to be playing honestly, and I'm playing fairly honestly also. Basically, not a lot is happening here.

Here's a question:

Is it correct in HU play to open complete on the button ever, or do I always have to raise or fold?

What are your impressions of the session so far?

[rory]

You can't open complete on the button on pokerstars. Pokerstars has the BB as the button.

[DavidC]

[ QUOTE ]
You can't open complete on the button on pokerstars. Pokerstars has the BB as the button.

[/ QUOTE ]

Are you sure?

Have you played their 1-on-1 tables?

Edit: Because I'm replaying the hands in pokertracker, and I AM the SB on the button. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[bugstud]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
You can't open complete on the button on pokerstars. Pokerstars has the BB as the button.

[/ QUOTE ]

Are you sure?

Have you played their 1-on-1 tables?

[/ QUOTE ]

1 on 1 has this fixed. It's only correct if it incorporates your whole style and as such makes sense

[rory]

ah-- nevermind then. lol.

[DavidC]

7) He folds.

8) I complete with Q9o, he checks. Flop is QdJs4h. He bets I raise, he calls. Turn is a rainbow ace and he folds to my bet.

9) He completes on the button and I check with J8o. The board is 953 monotone and I have a four-flush to the 8. I check-call. Turn is a 9. I check-call. River is an 8. I bet he calls with 52s.

10) I raise with JTo, he calls. Jd2d5h. He checkraises, I call. Ah is the turn. He bets, I raise, he three-bets. I call. River is a Jack. He bets, I raise, he calls. He shows A5o, not matched ot hte flop.

-----------

My thoughts:

Hand 9, I should have bet the flop, then called down vs a raise, and probably check-called the river too.

Hand 10, I should have three-bet the flop. He's probably not checkraising me with a set, as he'd be more inclined to bet-three-bet, or CRT with it.

---

My impressions on the session so far:

I'm not really happy with myself right now, as I'd just screwwed up two hands in a row. I feel like I've dishonoured myself. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Reads gained: He'll call a preflop raise with ace-little as opposed to three-betting with it.

---

Any comments on the session, my lines, or my thoughts on those lines?

[DavidC]

11) He folds.

12) I complete 72s, he raises, I call. Flop is JJQr (I have BDF), he bets, I call. Turn is a 2r, he bets I call. River is a T, he bets, I raise, he three-bets, I fold.

13) He raises, I fold 83o.

14) I fold j2o.

15) He folds.

16) I raise 87s (ordinarily I may complete this hand, but I wanted to assert myself). He three-bets, I call. Board is Q44r, he bets, I call. Turn is an ace, giving me a BDF, he bets, I call. River is a 2, giving me the flush. He bets, I raise, he folds.

17) He raises, I fold Q6o.

18) I fold 82o.

19) He folds.

20) I raise K9o, he calls. Flop: AsJd5d (I have 9d), he checks, I bet, he calls. Turn is Tr, he checks, I check. River is a 5r. He bets, I call. He shows A3o.

---

I don't know... maybe I'm tired. Maybe I'm distracted (I'm setting up pokerstars for the first time while I'm doing this), maybe I'm just a fish whose only edge is preflop in full ring games...

Anyways, I'm still feeling pretty bad about the session. Hand 12, I should have called the river or raised the turn. Hand 16 I should have folded on the flop. Hand 20 I should have bet probably bet the turn and taken a free-show-down.

Reads: Again, he's reinforcing here that he calls my raises with ace-little.

I'm noticing a few things about HU play:

A) It's really fast, so any emotional tilt that happens has a larger effect on your outcome than it would at a full ring game, in terms of the number of hands for which it affects you. However, since your potential losses due to tilt are smaller at a full ring game than HU (per hand basis), it may not be as bad.

B) Because there's only two of you, you'd figure that after a while it would become more formulaic than regular short-handed or ring play. It'd be less formulaic than draw, because of greater information available on the board and in opponent actions, but sitll more so than multiway pots and games.

[DavidC]

21) He raises and I call with K4o. Board is AhKc3c (BDF to the 4): I check-call. Turn is a 2c, giving me a pair, a baby four-flush, and a gs... I check and he checks. The river is a 7c, giving me a baby flush. I check, he bets, I call. He shows AQ with the A of clubs.

22) I raise with A3o, he re-raises. I call. Board is 955. He bets, I fold. He shows 44.

23) He raises. I re-raise with 99o. He calls. Flop Kh3c2c (no bdf). I bet he calls. Turn is a 2d. I bet he calls. River is a 5h. I bet he raises I call. He wins with K6o.

24) I raise with A5o, he calls. Board: KT4r. He checks, I bet, he raises, I call. Turn is a 9, suited to a flop card. He bets. I fold.

25) He folds.

26) I complete Q4o. He raises, I three-bet. He calls. Flop is Ts5c2s, he checks, I bet, he raiess, I call. Turn is a 9d, he bets, I raise, he calls. River is a 4h. He checks, I check. He shows KJo, I win with my pr 4s.

-----

So apparently I'm tilting badly. He's getting a little rambunctious (sp?) in hand 26.

Hand 22: I figured he had a PP, since he had been calling my hands with little aces... maybe a higher ace. If I'd known that he had 44 precisely, this would have been a call on the flop, maybe a raise, but I couldn't know that, unfortunately.

Hand 21, I should have bet the turn, called a raise if possible, and check-called the river if he called, bet-calling if he raised, I think.

Hand 23, might be worth check-calling this river to see if he'll bluff at it. I can't see him folding anything that I beat, and he might check through with a ten if I check, if he read me on something like JJ, particularly with the flush draw out there on the flop.

Hand 26 he had the best hand and I got lucky... It felt really rotten. I was basically trying to punish him for raising after I completed. It REALLY irks me when this happens.

I honestly don't think I've played a single hand well so far.

--Dave.

[DavidC]

Questions:
-Is it correct in HU play to open complete on the button ever, or do I always have to raise or fold?

I'm noticing a few things about HU play:

A) It's really fast, so any emotional tilt that happens has a larger effect on your outcome than it would at a full ring game, in terms of the number of hands for which it affects you. However, since your potential losses due to tilt are smaller at a HU game than full ring, it may not be as bad.

B) Because there's only two of you, you'd figure that after a while it would become more formulaic than regular short-handed or ring play. It'd be less formulaic than draw poker, because of greater information available on the board and in opponent actions, but still more so than multiway pots and games.