Heads up with a buddy

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I'll be playing a buddy of mine tonight heads up nl. I called him out making fun of his play on a private messageboard so he challenged me to a heads up match tonight. He's only played a few times and he isn't that good but he sure does think he's good. He'll be bluffing some for sure. He always says I only play when I'm getting the cards so he'll be bluffing. Any tips on how to play a heads up match differently against someone like that as opposed to a full ring? style of play, hand selection, agressiveness, etc. I've read Cloutier's and McEvoy's books on nl and he, of course, has never touched a poker book. If I somehow happen to lose, the guys won't ever let me live this one down. I know I'm much better than him but I want the biggest edge I can get. How do I maximize my chances?

[Dead]

Don't bluff him too much with too much of your stack.

Don't play with him if he wants to do some crazy raise the blinds every 5 minutes BS. Try to keep the blinds low relative to your stack size so you have the best chance of outplaying him.

If you think you have him beat at a certain point with your hand then dont hesitate to put all the chips in the middle. Try not to gamble with him on coinflips.

And even if he beats you it doesn't mean he's better.

[flapgreen]

Thanks dead. Anyone else? I've had somebody else say raise with everything preflop and come out agressive and then back off a little to keep him guessing.

[Pov]

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Don't bluff him too much with too much of your stack.

...

And even if he beats you it doesn't mean he's better.

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I totally agree. If you are playing with less than 50 times the blinds to start out with this is a total crapshoot and your skill won't have a chance to take hold over short term luck. The variance in heads up hold 'em is quite high. If it wasn't then the same ten people would be at every final table. Even uber-pros bust out of more tournaments than they cash out in.

Don't get fancy preflop without a very strong hand. Let the flop (the highest variance part of the hand) hit and outplay him from there. Be aggressive with your made hands and if you're going to bluff, do it with a decent draw (the semi-bluff).

[pzhon]

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I'll be playing a buddy of mine tonight heads up nl. I called him out making fun of his play on a private messageboard so he challenged me to a heads up match tonight. He's only played a few times and he isn't that good but he sure does think he's good. He'll be bluffing some for sure. He always says I only play when I'm getting the cards so he'll be bluffing. Any tips on how to play a heads up match differently against someone like that as opposed to a full ring? style of play, hand selection, agressiveness, etc. I've read Cloutier's and McEvoy's books on nl and he, of course, has never touched a poker book. If I somehow happen to lose, the guys won't ever let me live this one down. I know I'm much better than him but I want the biggest edge I can get. How do I maximize my chances?

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You need to throw out much of what you know about hand evaluation in full games. Heads-up, king-high is a made hand, and J-high wins pretty frequently. If you don't change your hand evaluations, you will be pushed off pot after pot, and will not get in many value bets. Your style should seem extremely loose and aggressive in comparison with a full game. At least complete the blind with anything better than T5o, and raise frequently from the small blind. Any piece of the flop is good.

Your buddy assumes you won't be bluffing much. So, bluff, sometimes with your whole stack if there is a lot to gain. Don't be afraid to semi-bluff.

I think beginners often don't recognize that a check-raise represents strength. Use it when you have a strong hand and your opponent has a mediocre hand, and your opponent may call down in confusion.

If the blinds are large, you should be pushing frequently, and if your opponent does this you need to be prepared to make a stand with some weak hands.

[matix]

if you ever flop a straight or boat or somethin and he's first to bet and looks like he would bluff this hand or has a high pair and thinks he will win, check him to the end so he pushes his stack and just like that you've lost a friend and taken his money. i dunno i just watched rounders yesterday and movies = real life so do it [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

maybe throw in some sneaky "fake" tells to get him thinking he's ahead in the hand every once in a while?