HU completing the small blind

Last night I was playing in a 5 +1 tourny on PP. I had about a 2 to 1 chip lead and the blinds were still like 200/400. Everytime I would just complete the small blind he would push. Which if I had been on the small stack I would have pushed too. However; it became repeative. Which could be a good thing or a bad thing. I still beleive my game is not 100% in HU. My question is , should I limp the SB with a big hand and call. In the beginning stages when my stack was like 4 to 1 with this guy, I looked him up . He showed 7 8 os, J Q, and A 3. When you have a stack 2 to 1 how great of a hand do you need to call? Should I continue to limp the SB hoping he will go all in and call him with A8,A9,A10,AJ,AQ,AK, KQ, K9 K10, any PP 88+ ? I mean I won the tourny and everything, but honestly I dont think there was a lot of thought into my calling. Any thoughts or suggestions on a 2 to 1 chip lead with the blinds being 200/400 with 10 minutes left? That was the other thing... I have ten minutes left with the blinds being this low still.. There is time to see flops cheaply and hope to flop a monster. Iam not really diggin on my HU play when Iam the chip leader and its this close. Thanks ahead of time.

Raise more, fold more, limp less.

What u also want to do is this.
If ur limping everything and hes always pushing over.
What do u do with u pick up something like AJ? Are u raising limping or folding? If you can set a precedent of plays before you that will help you get his chips in the middle for you, you must exploit it. Once you set this precedent, you cant be afraid to use it. Go download pokerstove and figure out how hands match up in all in confrontations.

If you outstack him by a lot and both of you still have a decent amount of chips, test him. SEe how he reacts to a minraise, a 3xBB raise, a limp. If you find out how he reacts, use it.

Keep this in mind. THe easiest way to win HU is to be agressive. You can be stupid aggressive and still get away with a fair number of wins. Grnated this will work less and less as you move up.

good links to post on headsup play in the FAQ

Originally Posted by vqc

Raise more, fold more, limp less.

What u also want to do is this.
If ur limping everything and hes always pushing over.
What do u do with u pick up something like AJ? Are u raising limping or folding? If you can set a precedent of plays before you that will help you get his chips in the middle for you, you must exploit it. Once you set this precedent, you cant be afraid to use it. Go download pokerstove and figure out how hands match up in all in confrontations.

If you outstack him by a lot and both of you still have a decent amount of chips, test him. SEe how he reacts to a minraise, a 3xBB raise, a limp. If you find out how he reacts, use it.

Keep this in mind. THe easiest way to win HU is to be agressive. You can be stupid aggressive and still get away with a fair number of wins. Grnated this will work less and less as you move up.

Anything 5 times the blinds here is 2000. He would fold to alot of raises. So when I got agressive, he would fold. However; our stack sizes are roughly staying at 2 : 1 the entire time. I like being the aggressor HU. I dont like to call with A rag. So I guess what you are saying is, dont mix up the hands.. Mix up the type of aggression? Mix up the way I raise? Harrington thinks the 80 20 rule works. 80% raise 20% call. I beleive those are percentages are right. However; this cant be the fact for HU play. To answer your question, If Iam in the B B I am raising with A J . If Iam in the SB I am raising with A J hoping he will come over the top. However; If Iam limping the SB because of his style of playing, in which I think I have figured out... Limping is not bad. Mini raising could be mixing it up.. However, I gotta make a decision if he pushes. I like letting him make decisions when I think Iam ahead. I beleive I have took 1st more times than others in HU play when I start on the short stack. Poker is weird when you look at all the diffrent situations and how you think you have it down and your just faced with a whole new era. Thanks VQC.

Originally Posted by fasin8ing

Anything 5 times the blinds here is 2000. He would fold to alot of raises. So when I got agressive, he would fold. However; our stack sizes are roughly staying at 2 : 1 the entire time. I like being the aggressor HU. I dont like to call with A rag. So I guess what you are saying is, dont mix up the hands.. Mix up the type of aggression? Mix up the way I raise? Harrington thinks the 80 20 rule works. 80% raise 20% call. I beleive those are percentages are right. However; this cant be the fact for HU play. To answer your question, If Iam in the B B I am raising with A J . If Iam in the SB I am raising with A J hoping he will come over the top. However; If Iam limping the SB because of his style of playing, in which I think I have figured out... Limping is not bad. Mini raising could be mixing it up.. However, I gotta make a decision if he pushes. I like letting him make decisions when I think Iam ahead. I beleive I have took 1st more times than others in HU play when I start on the short stack. Poker is weird when you look at all the diffrent situations and how you think you have it down and your just faced with a whole new era. Thanks VQC.

One thing that ur leaving out is the size of the blinds. If u have 1000 chips and he has 500, you will play different if the blinds are 10/20 than u would if they were 250/500.

Wat im advocating isnt a set way to play. For what im tyring to say, dont focus on minraising this time or raising 3xBB the next time and mixing it up. The point is that if you already kno wat hes going to do, then you can manipulate him into doing what you want him to do. You told me that ur villian was pushing over all of ur limps and folding to all of ur aggression. If you knew for a fact that ur opponent was going to play HU in this fashion for sure, what hands do you think u would be raising with and what hands would u be limping with? If I knew my oppponent was playing this way for sure., I would raise trash and limp monsters.

Read the HU threads in the FAQ.
At PP you can get away with playing HU purely using push fold.

Originally Posted by fasin8ing

Harrington thinks the 80 20 rule works. 80% raise 20% call. I beleive those are percentages are right. However; this cant be the fact for HU play. To answer your question, If Iam in the B B I am raising with A J . If Iam in the SB I am raising with A J hoping he will come over the top. However; If Iam limping the SB because of his style of playing, in which I think I have figured out... Limping is not bad. Mini raising could be mixing it up..

You're getting there. As vqc says HU play isn't about betting/raising certain amounts and certain percentages, it's about identifying how your opponent is playing and exploiting that if you can. The default is aggression, sure, but be ready to change as you get information on your opponent's tendencies.

The other great point vqc makes is about stack sizes & size of blinds. On Crypto sites for example, it is rare for HU to be anything but an all-in fest. On Stars, there can be a lot of play with, say, 6k each and blinds 100/200. Those are the times you can try out different things to see how the opponent reacts.

Limp a few times. If he always comes over the top you know you can set a trap later (like you should have been doing if you got AJ v your guy). If he mostly checks, you can keep limping, happy that he's letting you see flops getting 3-1 pot odds.

In small pots, try 1/2 pot probe bets on the flop with any 2 cards. Does he let you have those? Then repeat. After a few times, try it with a flop you've hit big, in the hope that he's ready to take a stand having realized that you must be stealing him.

knowing how your opponent will most likely react to moves by you is a critical component of HU poker.

You mention that he pushes when you limp, but you don't mention what he does when you raise pre-flop. Does he fold, call or push those hands a majority of the time?

If I am playing someone who religiously pushes when I limp from the SB I will reduce my starting hands to cards that have a 58% or greater chance of winning (you can find these on page 365 of HoHo Vol II) and would then call his push. There is no sense in completing a SB heads up if you just know that he is going to push and you aren't willing to push back.

Also, if I get a big hand I will reverse my strategy to 80% calls and 20% raises, hoping he will push and I can trap him.

Gator.

You mention that he pushes when you limp, but you don't mention what he does when you raise pre-flop. Does he fold, call or push those hands a majority of the time?

If I am playing someone who religiously pushes when I limp from the SB I will reduce my starting hands to cards that have a 58% or greater chance of winning (you can find these on page 365 of HoHo Vol II) and would then call his push. There is no sense in completing a SB heads up if you just know that he is going to push and you aren't willing to push back.

You go at least 58% when your M =10 or more and a opponent has a M of 4 whhen you push into them? I think I have the offensive down. Its the defensive at the vaious levels I am having a hard time. I confused by what Iam trying to achieve here. Am I hoping for a coin flip, hoping to eliminate my opponent.. Or am I hoping to steal his BB so He will be forced to play in the next 2-3 hands and I will have a hand thats at least 58% to win so I can call. This is where Iam dumbfounded. I dont understand the objective here when you have a chip lead of say 4 to 1.

Also, if I get a big hand I will reverse my strategy to 80% calls and 20% raises, hoping he will push and I can trap him.