Final Table; Heads Up NL

[SammyB]

No limit. Winner take all. 2 Players left out of 300. Stacks virtually even at 215,000T. Blinds are 1,000-2,000 antes are $200. I was trying to mix up my opening bets by ranging anywhere from 3 x bb to 5 x bb, but in retrospect this doesn't seem right. This was my fisrt time in this situation and would appreciate some guidance in pot building and opening bids as percentage of stack rather than a multiple of big blind.
Thanks.

[Senor Choppy]

Winner take all format with 300 players? Yikes [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

If the blinds are still small relative to stack sizes I would experiment, starting out raising the minimum and seeing if your opponent is braindead and will fold too frequently (on Party specifically you can find yourself against terrible opponents even at the final table). You might also be able to limp frequently if he's too passive and can take advantage of that as well.

If your opponent plays well enough to call most of your small raises or will pop you anytime you show weakness, I would favor a standard raise amount when entering a pot, although if you flipped a coin to decide between 2x-5x for your raises, maybe the potential for him misreading the strength of your hand makes it the way to go. It really just depends on how observant you think your opponent is IMO.

[ClemsonAce]

I think that was well said Senor Choppy. I personally start off w/ a few raises to see how my opponent reacts and I almost always try to limp when I do not have a raising hand. Also, be sure and stay on the offensive and keep his/her blinds coming your way. I also think that this is a good time to mix up your play very frequently. Don't bet so straight forward, go for a lot of traps/check raises.

I know that you did not want to get information about #xBB, but I personally have a lot of success w/ raising 3xBB and 4xBB and having my opponent fold. If i want my opponent to stay in, i'll call or go for a minimal raise.

What it all boils down to is; you need to get an assement of your opponents heads up play w/in 4 or 5 hands, in my opinion, and begin attacking the flaws that you have identified.

I suggest playing in some small buy in($10 - $20) heads up matches to get practice. For reference, Pokerstars holds a heads up tourney on saturday afternoons.

Adam

[Greg (FossilMan)]

Until you have more experience, and know WHY you should, in a given situation, vary your raise, I strongly recommend that you pick a standard raise and always use it. 3xBB is a good number to pick.

Later, Greg Raymer (FossilMan)

[Hotrod0823]

Just a guess but was this the Final table of the Stars FPP tourny for the WSOP package?

I saw only a few hands of the heads up play but it was interesting to watch.

I don't know if this is way off topic but when does it become prudent to adopt an all in or fold approach? Is it a function of how large your stack is compared to your opponents or how confident you are that you are the better/worse player? Or is that just a plain bad idea?

Thanks,

Hotrod

[SammyB]

Thanks for the guidance, Greg.

[Frodog]

Ok this is a hell of a heads up battle!
These blinds are really small given you stacks. 1%.

All you really need to think about is how much money is in the pot preflop and how much do i need to raise to protect my hand?

well there is 3k in the pot and you are well away from all in or fold strategy. Raising 4000 will not give him odds to call if you belive you hand is better or he belive s his is worse.

I would raise around 4k to protect and of course i agree with all other posts to monitor the tight/loose agressive/passive qualities of the player. Many players can go deep then choke when it gets heads up. Just think about the math, heads up i dont like to give my opponent even 2-1 to call me. If i belive my hand is better i make him pay then play from there.

Also if he is raising you alot use this to trap him when u get dealt something good.

COnsider allin or fold when u get down to 6x-10x the BB.

Also my bottom line heads up with DECENT or worse players.
NEVER GIVE A FREE FLOP HEADS UP.

If your opponent is giving you free flops then you are well on your way to #1.

Feel free to berate this strategy but I have won several multis with it.