Heads up Conundrum

[jskinn04]

I was playing this girl who rarely bet- presumably when she had a hand- at the beginning of the session. She was also a calling station so I didn't bet at her very much (which might have been a mistake. Let me know if you think it was). Since I hadn't been betting at her much in the few hands before this one, she had started to become more aggressive with her bets. I am just straight copying the hand history into this window b/c I cannot get the converter to work. I've never posted before. (Some advice about how to use the converter would be greatly appreciated).

NL Texas Hold'em 10 Buy-in + 1 Entry Fee Trny:15139814 Level:6 Blinds(100/200) - Thursday, July 28, 15:49:46 EDT 2005
Table Play money 4008853
Seat 6 is the button
Total number of players : 2
Seat 6: jskinn04 ( $3410 )
Seat 4: juanita_mm ( $4590 )
Trny:15139814 Level:6
Blinds(100/200)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to jskinn04 [ 9d Kd ]
jskinn04 raises [300].
juanita_mm calls [200].
** Dealing Flop ** [ Qs, 7s, 9c ]
juanita_mm checks.
jskinn04 bets [450].
juanita_mm calls [450].
** Dealing Turn ** [ 3c ]
juanita_mm checks.
jskinn04 bets [650].
juanita_mm raises [1300].
jskinn04 folds.
juanita_mm does not show cards.
juanita_mm wins 3650 chips

[Rockatansky]

1) If your opponent is a huge calling station, the only question is whether you think you hold a better hand than that opponent. If the answer is yes, then bet. If no, then don't. Certainly don't start bluffing or semi-bluffing a calling station or feel like you should just "bet more".

2) It's possible that your opponent noticed your playing style and adjusted hers accordingly, but it's at least equally likely that she just happened to start catching better cards or connecting with flops. If a heads-up opponent is absolutely steamrolling you, then of course you have to take a stand at some point. However, wait until you have a better hand than second pair unless you have an incredible read on her betting pattern or something. Here, you obviously had no such read, so you should have just let this hand go when she popped you on the turn.

3) Please don't flood the forum with multiple posts in rapid succession. Post a hand, wait for some analysis, join in the discussion, and then post another.

4) That being said, it's sort of nice to see someone post a play money hand. I doubt that everyone on this forum will share that sentiment, but I think that we all should be doing our part to help grow the game, and this certainly qualifies.

[jskinn04]

A real delima that I've been running into heads up is that after a while my opponent will almost always bet a large portion of the pot after I have checked the flop in first position. I know many of these bets are bluffs but I don't want to call with a weak hand and then check call the rest of the way. Do you people out there recommend taking a stand with nothing every now and then or just letting the opponent take down those pots?

[varmas11]

depends man
heads-up is all about aggression
position is huge

trusting your reads and being confident is the biggest thing

[TheWorstPlayer]

check the turn. use position. good fold.

[stu-unger]

1st off i think it is really cool to see someone no playing for real money that wants to improve their play

as for heads up, it is really a game of reads, the better u know your villain the easier it will be to take advantage of them.

as for the hand in question, as the TWP said:
check the turn. use position. good fold.

[jskinn04]

So it's seems that it's unamimous that I should check the turn if I bet out with second pair on the flop and my opponent calls? Sounds like good advice to me. Do you like my bet if I'm holding Q-x?

[TheWorstPlayer]

I like it better with Qx but I still prefer a check. I think you get a lot of value HU from calling river bluffs in position. And you don't have to worry as much about draws HU.

[jskinn04]

[ QUOTE ]
I like it better with Qx but I still prefer a check. I think you get a lot of value HU from calling river bluffs in position. And you don't have to worry as much about draws HU.

[/ QUOTE ]

Say I check behind on 4th street. Would you call if she makes a pot-sized bet on the river? What about if she moved all-in? Does this decision just depend on the frequency with which I have noticed her to make similar plays?

[TheWorstPlayer]

If I check behind on the turn, I'm calling most bets on the river HU with top pair. Yes, if I knew her to be particularly passive/meek then maybe I would fold. But so long as it's not a massive overbet, I'm probably calling.