100-200 heads up hand

[J_V]

This hand is a great heads up limit holdem player and a pretty good heads omaha player.

I'm on the button. (Small blind) What percentage of hands are you raising?

Which of these five will you raise?

Jc 2c 6s 8h
Qc Qh Ts 2s
6h 6s 9h 9s
Kh Qh Jd 3h
Ac 6c 9c Jc

I have my thoughts, I'm just curious how most players are thinking.

Our opponent is an 8/10 on the aggressiveness scale for this level.

[Wintermute]

[ QUOTE ]
This hand is a great heads up limit holdem player and a pretty good heads omaha player.

I'm on the button. (Small blind) What percentage of hands are you raising?



[/ QUOTE ]

20% ballpark.

[ QUOTE ]

Which of these five will you raise?

Jc 2c 6s 8h
Qc Qh Ts 2s
6h 6s 9h 9s
Kh Qh Jd 3h
Ac 6c 9c Jc


[/ QUOTE ]
None on a routine basis, maybe 1 and 4 once in a while for advertising, shania, etc.

[J_V]

You are going to play a heads up blind game and only raise 20% of your buttons? Let's think about that one. From a Theory of Poker standpoint, do you see anything horribly wrong with this plan?

[Wintermute]

[ QUOTE ]
You are going to play a heads up blind game and only raise 20% of your buttons? Let's think about that one. From a Theory of Poker standpoint, do you see anything horribly wrong with this plan?

[/ QUOTE ]

No.

Of course, I haven't read theory of poker. So there's that.

[J_V]

Well it seems to reason that you should raise at least your top 50% of your hands as they are likely to be the best hand and you have position.

I like to raise in the 75% range because hands run very neutral in omaha and postion is so important. Most good players in both HE and O8 HU raise lots of buttons.

[Ironman]

JV,

When I play heads up in the small blind, if I'm coming into a hand...I'm raising. I don't know if it's 90%...but it's a lot.

Hands 2, 3, 4, and probably 5 are being raised.

But...I don't play this high.

Dave

Don't you get more value out of your position by not raising? I mean, lets say position lets you control the size of the pot by plus or minus one big bet (primarily because you can choose to check behind on the turn or river). The larger the pot, the less effect that 1 BB has on your EV as a percentage. Going back to the TOP, your opponent is probably making smaller mistakes in a big pot then in a small one. Of course, if he folds too much than you definitely want to enlarge the pot.

[DougShrapnel]

Depending on a varity of factors.
prder of hands I like to play HU

Ac 6c 9c Jc normaly raise

Qc Qh Ts 2s normaly raise

Kh Qh Jd 3h flip a coin raise

Jc 2c 6s 8h raise only when a steal is likely to succeed

6h 6s 9h 9s raise only when a steal is likely to succeed

[J_V]

My thoughts:

Against most opponents - who aren't considered sharks - I'm raising all five. Against aggressive 3 betters I'm mucking the 9966 and maybe the KQJ3.

In order I would rank them.


Ac 6c 9c Jc
Jc 2c 6s 8h
Qc Qh Ts 2s
Kh Qh Jd 3h
6h 6s 9h 9s

The last one is very questionable. I would limp against guy that doesn't raise the BB too much after a limp.
6h 6s 9h 9s.

I think everyone is underestimating Jc 2c 6s 8h. I'm pumping it 100%.


Running it one twodimes.net shows that this hand does better hot and cold against the QQT2 hand and the KQJ3 hand and is much easier to play.

[J_V]

[ QUOTE ]
Don't you get more value out of your position by not raising?

[/ QUOTE ]

No. You get more value by putting more money in the pot with the best hand. If you do this all the big pots will be played with your opponent in position.

[ QUOTE ]
The larger the pot, the less effect that 1 BB has on your EV as a percentage.

[/ QUOTE ]

Using the logic, in HU holdem you should limp on the button w/ all the hands you intend to play. KJ KQ AK AQ. 66. Etc. Definitely not right.

[ QUOTE ]
Going back to the TOP, your opponent is probably making smaller mistakes in a big pot then in a small one. Of course, if he folds too much than you definitely want to enlarge the pot.

[/ QUOTE ]

In a 1 BB pot difference the mistakes aren't all the different. Even if that is one advantage, it doesn't outweigh the fact that he's playing most pots in position for money. You have to be a lot better than him to overcome this.

Your type of thinking is going to hamper you bigtime in HU matches, even shorthanded. You usually want to keep the pot small w/ medium good hands OOP. That's what said in TOP, for the reasons you describe.