give up and accept second?

[El Maximo]

The best advice I can give you Sofer is to play against players that tell you their hole cards when they push. My ROI% shot up once I figured out this little gem.

[PE101]

Hmmm...

How do you get them to do that? The only way I'm showing my hole cards is if you call...

[ColdestCall]

Based on those numbers, and without knowing anything else, it sounds like you are not playing nearly aggressively enough when you get ITM. I think there is a decent chance your ROI would increase if you just started pushing every single hand once you got ITM.

[eastbay]

C'mon, man, don't be stupid. If playing HU for the difference between 1st and 2nd isn't worth your time or effort, playing online poker isn't worth your time and effort, period.

This is either a really lame troll or you're being very, very stupid.

eastbay

[OldLearner]

Read TPFAP. It has some excellent advice on SH/HU play. Especially about raising/defending.

You should be doing as much raising/stealing as your opponent permits. I was HU against someone with a 10:3 chip lead the other day and pushed/raised 5 or 6 times in row until we had equal stacks because my opponent refused to defend.

[MrX]

In the $ I try to figure out a few things fast (observations from multitabling NL30's and NL50's).

1. Do my opponents fold too much. Specifically are they going to fold around often when I am in the BB. Usually their bubble play is indicitive of their post bubble play.

With these players that fold too much I used to be the super aggro type and raise every hand, which is not a negative play...but then I learned something which has increased my ROI and finish distribution....

Raise more selectivey, because you will also be "stealing" the blinds when they are folded to you. My raises get more respect also then.

2. Are your opponents super "gappers"..ie raise any two but only call with premium hands?

These opponents are tough, you must figure out what your calling standards are if evenly stacked, something along the lines of pairs 88-AA, AK-AT, KQ. (but sometines I will lower these if he is the type who is literally push any 2 from the SB) Remeber this is the opponent that you will be raising preflop from the SB against virtually every time because he will also be folding until he gets a premium hand.

You have probably experienced this HU battle where the SB goes all in and the BB folds for about 20 hands in a row until 2 big hands tangle.

This of course is an oversimplification of post bubble play and HU finishes. EXPERIENCE is a must.

Limp every now and then to see what your opponents play is, some will go all in EVERY time you kimp from the SB. Use this to your advantage later as the blinds increases and you pick up JJ or better.

If opponent limps from the SB and he is prone to doing this, push him in with any 2, assuming he is not pot committed your folding equity is very high here.

If your opponent raises every time and then limps form the SB, think for a moment if he is setting a trap, and be more careful aout pushing.

When you have a nice chip lead exert maximum pressure on the MIDDLE stack especially when there is a tiny stack left. The middle stack will not want to bust when there is a stack of <500 left at the table. You should be raising any two there. This position is very profitable, pummel that middle stack so when it does become HU you have a nice cushion.

Random thoughts there to finish it off.

GL, MrX

[Colquhoun]

I'm surprized that no one has mentioned this to you before...but it sounds like you need to move up a level. It sounds like you are bored with the play and the money doesn't mean enough. If you are consistently getting in the money at the level you are, go up a money level or two and see how you do. I bet you will regain that desire to fight for the finish.
As far as play goes, I find that people play either way too agressively (unless the blinds are SUPER high) or way too passively. If your opponent(s) are overly aggressive, tighten up a wee bit (but not too long for the blinds will get you) and wait for some painted cards and push back HARD. If your opponent(s) are passive, push hard against them and take lots of blinds, but be cautious when faced with resistance.

[sofere]

I think my problem is I don't mix it up very much. I would consider myself in the "super gapper" range as you called it. Especially when 3 handed and I'm big stack. But I always seem to have problems when I get played back at often. This happens a lot more often in Heads up because almost any raise is considered a blind steal unless your playing very passively.

I think if I toned down my aggression slightly, i might be able to get more respect for my raises.

Also I find I have trouble when people play me passively from the SB, especially even stacked. When they complete, I will raise pot very often, but have trouble if i don't catch anything on the flop. Since blinds are generally high at this point if they check the flop, a bluff bet could hurt me severely if called. If I push, only a hand that beats me calls. I have no clue as to what my pushing standards should be.

[sofere]

Jacks321 PMed me a link to an interesting series of articles regarding Heads up play...
Match Play

[morgan180]

check out the heads up & short-handed forum for more on all of this stuff, there is some good advice over there.

If you're bored play more than one at a time, that way you're not trying to end anything, its just part of your online playing time. Then playing for first isn't a "waste of time" (i don't think that's ever the case, anyway JMO) because you're in the middle of another one.

Multi-tabling makes SNGs much more enjoyable, I think.