Heads up in large MTT

[Haji]

Ok, I was heads up in a 1+.10 with 972 starting. I had cheap lead, but I think I got a little too loose. Heres the history from when I lost the lead till when I busted.

So what do I need work on?

*********** # 391 **************
PokerStars Game #3213749989: Tournament #15700965, Hold'em No Limit - Level XXI (15000/30000) - 2005/12/01 - 20:02:00 (ET)
Table '15700965 41' Seat #3 is the button
Seat 3: Hajii (966791 in chips)
Seat 4: Fumanchu70 (491209 in chips)
Hajii: posts the ante 1500
Fumanchu70: posts the ante 1500
Hajii: posts small blind 15000
Fumanchu70: posts big blind 30000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Hajii [9d As]
Hajii: raises 60000 to 90000
Fumanchu70: raises 399709 to 489709 and is all-in
Hajii: calls 399709
*** FLOP *** [5h 4d 8c]
Hajii said, "gh"
*** TURN *** [5h 4d 8c] [Kd]
*** RIVER *** [5h 4d 8c Kd] [9c]
Fumanchu70 said, "ty"
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Fumanchu70: shows [5d 5s] (three of a kind, Fives)
Hajii: shows [9d As] (a pair of Nines)
Fumanchu70 collected 982418 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 982418 | Rake 0
Board [5h 4d 8c Kd 9c]
Seat 3: Hajii (button) (small blind) showed [9d As] and lost with a pair of Nines
Seat 4: Fumanchu70 (big blind) showed [5d 5s] and won (982418) with three of a kind, Fives

*********** # 392 **************
PokerStars Game #3213758421: Tournament #15700965, Hold'em No Limit - Level XXI (15000/30000) - 2005/12/01 - 20:02:47 (ET)
Table '15700965 41' Seat #4 is the button
Seat 3: Hajii (475582 in chips)
Seat 4: Fumanchu70 (982418 in chips)
Hajii: posts the ante 1500
Fumanchu70: posts the ante 1500
Fumanchu70: posts small blind 15000
Hajii: posts big blind 30000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Hajii [7d Kd]
Fumanchu70: folds
Hajii collected 33000 from pot
Hajii: doesn't show hand
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 33000 | Rake 0
Seat 3: Hajii (big blind) collected (33000)
Seat 4: Fumanchu70 (button) (small blind) folded before Flop

*********** # 393 **************
PokerStars Game #3213760251: Tournament #15700965, Hold'em No Limit - Level XXI (15000/30000) - 2005/12/01 - 20:02:57 (ET)
Table '15700965 41' Seat #3 is the button
Seat 3: Hajii (492082 in chips)
Seat 4: Fumanchu70 (965918 in chips)
Hajii: posts the ante 1500
Fumanchu70: posts the ante 1500
Hajii: posts small blind 15000
Fumanchu70: posts big blind 30000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Hajii [2s 6h]
Hajii: folds
Fumanchu70 collected 33000 from pot
Fumanchu70: doesn't show hand
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 33000 | Rake 0
Seat 3: Hajii (button) (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 4: Fumanchu70 (big blind) collected (33000)

*********** # 394 **************
PokerStars Game #3213762036: Tournament #15700965, Hold'em No Limit - Level XXI (15000/30000) - 2005/12/01 - 20:03:07 (ET)
Table '15700965 41' Seat #4 is the button
Seat 3: Hajii (475582 in chips)
Seat 4: Fumanchu70 (982418 in chips)
Hajii: posts the ante 1500
Fumanchu70: posts the ante 1500
Fumanchu70: posts small blind 15000
Hajii: posts big blind 30000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Hajii [2c Ts]
Fumanchu70: raises 30000 to 60000
Hajii: calls 30000
*** FLOP *** [5c Jh 2d]
Hajii: bets 120000
Fumanchu70: folds
Hajii collected 123000 from pot
Hajii: doesn't show hand
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 123000 | Rake 0
Board [5c Jh 2d]
Seat 3: Hajii (big blind) collected (123000)
Seat 4: Fumanchu70 (button) (small blind) folded on the Flop

*********** # 395 **************
PokerStars Game #3213766956: Tournament #15700965, Hold'em No Limit - Level XXI (15000/30000) - 2005/12/01 - 20:03:36 (ET)
Table '15700965 41' Seat #3 is the button
Seat 3: Hajii (537082 in chips)
Seat 4: Fumanchu70 (920918 in chips)
Hajii: posts the ante 1500
Fumanchu70: posts the ante 1500
Hajii: posts small blind 15000
Fumanchu70: posts big blind 30000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Hajii [5h Ks]
Hajii: raises 60000 to 90000
Fumanchu70: calls 60000
*** FLOP *** [3c Tc 5s]
Fumanchu70: checks
Hajii: bets 210000
Fumanchu70: folds
Hajii collected 183000 from pot
Hajii: doesn't show hand
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 183000 | Rake 0
Board [3c Tc 5s]
Seat 3: Hajii (button) (small blind) collected (183000)
Seat 4: Fumanchu70 (big blind) folded on the Flop

*********** # 396 **************
PokerStars Game #3213770232: Tournament #15700965, Hold'em No Limit - Level XXI (15000/30000) - 2005/12/01 - 20:03:54 (ET)
Table '15700965 41' Seat #4 is the button
Seat 3: Hajii (628582 in chips)
Seat 4: Fumanchu70 (829418 in chips)
Hajii: posts the ante 1500
Fumanchu70: posts the ante 1500
Fumanchu70: posts small blind 15000
Hajii: posts big blind 30000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Hajii [3c Qs]
Fumanchu70: folds
Hajii collected 33000 from pot
Hajii: doesn't show hand
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 33000 | Rake 0
Seat 3: Hajii (big blind) collected (33000)
Seat 4: Fumanchu70 (button) (small blind) folded before Flop

*********** # 397 **************
PokerStars Game #3213771975: Tournament #15700965, Hold'em No Limit - Level XXI (15000/30000) - 2005/12/01 - 20:04:04 (ET)
Table '15700965 41' Seat #3 is the button
Seat 3: Hajii (645082 in chips)
Seat 4: Fumanchu70 (812918 in chips)
Hajii: posts the ante 1500
Fumanchu70: posts the ante 1500
Hajii: posts small blind 15000
Fumanchu70: posts big blind 30000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Hajii [Td 5s]
Hajii: calls 15000
Fumanchu70: checks
*** FLOP *** [Ac 4h 9s]
Fumanchu70: bets 60000
Hajii: folds
Fumanchu70 collected 63000 from pot
Fumanchu70: doesn't show hand
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 63000 | Rake 0
Board [Ac 4h 9s]
Seat 3: Hajii (button) (small blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 4: Fumanchu70 (big blind) collected (63000)

*********** # 398 **************
PokerStars Game #3213774912: Tournament #15700965, Hold'em No Limit - Level XXI (15000/30000) - 2005/12/01 - 20:04:21 (ET)
Table '15700965 41' Seat #4 is the button
Seat 3: Hajii (613582 in chips)
Seat 4: Fumanchu70 (844418 in chips)
Hajii: posts the ante 1500
Fumanchu70: posts the ante 1500
Fumanchu70: posts small blind 15000
Hajii: posts big blind 30000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Hajii [Td Qh]
Fumanchu70: calls 15000
Hajii: raises 90000 to 120000
Fumanchu70: raises 722918 to 842918 and is all-in
Hajii: calls 492082 and is all-in
*** FLOP *** [6d 4s 3s]
road2hazard [observer] said, "think long. think wrong."
*** TURN *** [6d 4s 3s] [Ac]
*** RIVER *** [6d 4s 3s Ac] [5h]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Hajii: shows [Td Qh] (high card Ace)
Fumanchu70: shows [9h 9s] (a pair of Nines)
road2hazard [observer] said, "gg tho"
Fumanchu70 collected 1227164 from pot
Avoeman1 [observer] said, "gg"
Fumanchu70 [observer] said, "GG"
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 1227164 | Rake 0
Board [6d 4s 3s Ac 5h]
Seat 3: Hajii (big blind) showed [Td Qh] and lost with high card Ace
Seat 4: Fumanchu70 (button) (small blind) showed [9h 9s] and won (1227164) with a pair of Nines

[AHiltz]

First thing is you should have some sort of reads on the guy at this point.

#391 Do you think he pushes with anything that A9 beats at this point? If not, fold and keep your chip lead.

#398 See a flop. Since you raised, fold to the reraise. Limp, push pf is a high PP.

[mcatdog]

Yeah, some reads would be nice. My guess is I would have come over the top of him on #397, unless he's a passive player who never raised you when you limped into his big blind. If he had an ace, he probably would have raised preflop. Almost all of the time, this bet is just a probe bet and he'll fold to a re-raise.

I disagree with the poster above me, I would almost certainly call his push on #391. Unless he is the most passive player ever (which he's not because he pushed over the top of you with 55), I'm not going to fold A9 with an effective stack size of less than 20 big blinds.

I agree on #398, this should be a very easy fold. The limp-reraise is almost always a monster unless you've seen him do it without one. 99 is one of the absolute worst hands I'd expect him to turn over and you were lucky not to be dominated.

I think you played all right, heads-up play with short stacks is just a crap-shoot unless one of the two players really sucks. You got it in twice with coin-flips and lost both times, nothing you can do about that.

[AHiltz]

You got it in twice with coin-flips and lost both times, nothing you can do about that.

You'd like to be in with an advanatage. Preferabably by being the one to put him/her all-in and make them make the decision.

[mcatdog]

You'd like to be in with an advanatage. Preferabably by being the one to put him/her all-in and make them make the decision.

I guess so, but if you consistently fold hands just because they might be coin flips, your opponent is the one with the advantage. I think a lot of people who are decent winning players, overrate the Gap Concept. New players call too much and then when we read HOH2 and learn ICM, the pendulum swings too far in the other direction to the point where we would rather push all-in with trash than call with a pretty good hand.

That's a part of my game that I've been working on, is making these marginal calls when I think I'm a little bit ahead of a pusher's range.

Take a look at this, it's pretty interesting:
http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/sh...fpart=all&vc=1

[chardrian]

I didn't see anything drastically wrong at all. The last hand is debatable. Your opp had been very weak except for PPs - I like how you put him to the test when he just completed, but his reraise should smell pretty good to you as he hasn't done it much.

[Sed]

I let the T2 go to a raise and either raise the T3 or fold it. I would not call the push on the last hand. A limp re-raise is usually TT+, you got lucky that you were a flip.

- sed

[drmcboy]

yeah the only hand I have a problem with is the QT on the end. I like the raise but only if you're folding to a re raise.