How to lose a 10x chip lead heads up in 8 hands.

[GatorJH]

I was sooooo stunned after this that I have to post these hands and get some feedback. Did I really play this that badly? I have put in my thoughts as I went along so you can know what I was thinking.

Hand 1 - He is so short stacked that he is probably pushing ATC. My hand is a slight underdog against a random hand. I almost folded this and probably could have waited for a better spot as I didn't have much fold equity against him with just a raise. Not sure if he would have folded to a push but that would have been better than a raise here I think.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t600 (2 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver)

BB (t1573)
Hero (t11927)

Preflop: Hero is Button with J, 7.
Hero raises to t1200, BB raises to t1523, Hero calls t323.

Flop: (t3046) K, 5, 8 (2 players)

Turn: (t3046) T (2 players)

River: (t3046) 2 (2 players)

Final Pot: t3046

Results in white below:
BB has Ks 3c (one pair, kings).
Hero has Jd 7h (high card, king).
Outcome: BB wins t3046.

Hand 2 - I can't see being ahead here and don't want to double him up again. Easy fold?

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t600 (2 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver)

Button (t3146)
Hero (t10354)

Preflop: Hero is BB with J, 8.
Button raises to t3146, 1 fold.

Final Pot: t3196

Results in white below:
No showdown. Button wins t3196.

Hand 3 - This hand tells me that he isn't playing ultra aggressive all the time and just pushing ATC.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t600 (2 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver)

BB (t3796)
Hero (t9704)

Preflop: Hero is Button with 2, 3.
Hero calls t300, BB checks.

Flop: (t950) J, A, 4 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero checks.

Turn: (t950) T (2 players)
BB checks, Hero checks.

River: (t950) 6 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets t1200, BB folds.

Final Pot: t2150

Results in white below:
Hero has 2s 3c (high card, ace).
Outcome: Hero wins t2150.

Hand 4 - Standard fold

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t600 (2 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver)

Button (t3146)
Hero (t10354)

Preflop: Hero is BB with 4, 8.
Button raises to t3146, 1 fold.

Final Pot: t3196

Results in white below:
No showdown. Button wins t3196.

Hand 5 - You can't just raise with good cards so I thought this hand was good enough to try and steal his blind with, but I don't like calling the push with a kicker as low as a 4. I don't think his range here is that loose so I think I am most likely behind here. Too tight?

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t600 (2 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver)

BB (t3796)
Hero (t9704)

Preflop: Hero is Button with K, 4.
Hero raises to t1250, BB raises to t3796, Hero folds.

Final Pot: t5046

Results in white below:
No showdown. BB wins t5046.

Hands 6 and 7 - Standard?

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t800 (2 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver)

Button (t5046)
Hero (t8454)

Preflop: Hero is BB with K, 9.
Button raises to t4996, Hero calls t4196.

Flop: (t9242) A, J, Q (2 players)

Turn: (t9242) 5 (2 players)

River: (t9242) 5 (2 players)

Final Pot: t9242

Results in white below:
Button has 7h 7d (two pair, sevens and fives).
Hero has Kh 9d (one pair, fives).
Outcome: Button wins t9242.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t800 (2 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver)

BB (t10092)
Hero (t3408)

Preflop: Hero is Button with 5, 5.
Hero raises to t3358, BB calls t2558.

Flop: (t5966) K, J, 8 (2 players)

Turn: (t5966) K (2 players)

River: (t5966) 3 (2 players)

Final Pot: t5966

Results in white below:
BB has 9d 9h (two pair, kings and nines).
Hero has 5c 5d (two pair, kings and fives).
Outcome: BB wins t5966.

[DaNutsInYoEye]

Fold hand 3 pre-flop. You don't have to play every hand HU. 23o is absolute shit and not even worth completing with IMO. Occasionally folding PF also makes your raises more credible.

[JeffreyGB]

Hand 3:
I play it similar much of the time. If he'll let you limp, you have odds to play.

Hand 5:
He's getting quite aggro...I call here getting 2-1.

Hand 6:
I probably call, merely because he's pushing every time he's first in and you have an above average hand.

[GatorJH]

Hand 3:
I play it similar much of the time. If he'll let you limp, you have odds to play.

That is what I was thinking, but I can see DaNuts' point as well.

Hand 5:

He's getting quite aggro...I call here getting 2-1.

Yea, I think you are right here. I came sooooooo close to calling here and probably should have. Based on his possible range being close to the following I am probably a 2-3 underdog.

66+,A2s+,K6s+,Q8s+,J8s+,T8s+,A7o+,K9o+,QTo+,JTo

Hand 6:

I probably call, merely because he's pushing every time he's first in and you have an above average hand.

I did call here.

[taipan168]

Hand 5 - with blinds as big as they are, I just open shove this.

[FlyingSaucy]

The only plays I may have made differently is that I would have called the push in hand 5, and folded to the push in 6.

Shheeeesh. That's the thing about short handed high blind heads up push fests - all it takes is a couple of reckless pushes on top of a couple of coinflip victories, and suddenly entire stacks get swapped. Think about the times you've had incredible HU comebacks and it will cancel out.

[GatorJH]

The only plays I may have made differently is that I would have called the push in hand 5, and folded to the push in 6.

Shheeeesh. That's the thing about short handed high blind heads up push fests - all it takes is a couple of reckless pushes on top of a couple of coinflip victories, and suddenly entire stacks get swapped. Think about the times you've had incredible HU comebacks and it will cancel out.

That's true. I guess this is one of those "the poker gods hate me" days because two tourneys later I went into the heads up battle with a 10,760 to 2,740 chip lead and lost it also when my AT lost to his AQ, my pocket 9's got sucked out on by his A5 and my K 10 lost to his A 2.

Damn you variance!!!!!!!!

[swiggidy]

You need to change the title and add "in 8 hands".

I have one post where I lost starting with a 14x chip lead. It sucks

[GatorJH]

You need to change the title and add "in 8 hands".

I have one post where I lost starting with a 14x chip lead. It sucks

Yea, that looks MUCH more impressive - LOL