$5 - Is my HU really this bad?

[mikeneron]

Had a 2:1 chip lead going into heads up and blew it. When I had the chip lead I bet at more flops...when I was down in chips I think I play too timid...I think I need to play HU like I have a big lead. Feel free to criticize away

http://www.flopturnriver.com/Online-...ment-4189.html

[kevster]

The pivotal hands for you were.....

Hand 12 - I prefer a standard raise but you're obv calling if he shoves so the result is the same, so meh.

Hand 15 - I don't think you played it terribly.
A3o is a fine hand to raise with pf HU and trying to take it away from
him on the flop doesn't seem too bad either. The fact he backed into a 5 is just one of those things.

Hand 23 You did nothing wrong here.

It's possible that you're being results orientated - I don't think you did an awful lot wrong. To truly answer your question though you need a decent sample size and compare your first and second place finishes.

In summary, compared to how I play HU, I think you shove a little too much where a standard raise would be fine (7,10,11 are strong hands - why chase action away?). I also noted that you fold a lot in the SB. If opp. is letting me limp here then I'm almost always doing so where I'm not raising. However, this isn't everyone's cup of tea and you might find some on this board who disagree so go with what you're comfortable with.

[mikeneron]

When I get to HU, I am usually at a chip disadvantage so that may explain the difference between 1st and 2nd place finishes...sure wish I could turn a bunch of those 2nds into 1sts though. In this one, I felt like a lot of big hands got wasted by only getting the blinds. Perhaps I should mix it up a bit and sometimes push, sometimes standard raise, and even sometimes just limp depending on the opponent.

894 SNGs
1st x 97
2nd x 160
3rd x 138
4th x 156
5th x 138
6th x 102
7th x 61
8th x 25
9th x 17

[Illfavor]

I thought you were limping a whole bunch...Was he just not folding to raises, or is this how you normally play?

H12- This should not be a standard raise, as you have to call his shove over anyways. Perfect shove, and who cares about the result?

I'm shoving any ace at 200/400.

H15- Shove pflop. If he calls, he calls. In this case, he won't be...

I'm shoving so many more hands than you here. T7s, T3s, 65s, T8o, J6o, etc...

H23- He was apparently waiting for a good hand, and finally found it (T9s!?!?!?). You got it in good, so good job.

I just don't understand your passivity. Those blinds are massive. Folding in the SB with good shoving hands really cost you I think, and may be a problem overall.

And when the blinds are 300/600, I'm shoving ATC in the SB.

About your good hands being "wasted." He is just as likely to call when you shove a good hand as when you shove a bad hand. Std raising is only going to give him greater incentive to call with marginal hands (i.e., 53o), but will usually swell each pot to chip-lead deciding size. Just shove it. You are missing out on thousands of chips by playing passively. `At 300/600, the time to be TAG is over. You don't really need to mix it up when HU against players who, on average, are incompetent (see 53o). Move that massive stack when you have it, or push into the big stack and make HIM decide for half his chips.

[mikeneron]

Hands where I limped only equal 3 from what I can see. That doesn't seem like a lot to me. I think I may be folding too much though preflop from the SB/button. I would have position in these hands and should be taking advantage of that more often I think. Maybe you guys can take a look at the summary below and which of these hands I should maybe change up. I'm not trying to be results oriented in this one as I got unlucky a couple of times...but I am being results oriented in the future cause I want to give myself the best chance of winning each time I get to heads up. It makes a pretty big difference if you can convert some of the 2nd places into 1st.

100/200: 11 hands...2 folded...2 limped
200/400: 37 hands...11 folded...1 limped
300/600: 11 hands...3 folded...0 limped

Limped Hands
Blinds 100/200
Hero dealt 7 8
Hero dealt T 9

Blinds 200/400
Hero dealt J 9

Folded Hands
Blinds 100/200
9 2 SB (M = 26.99; F)
3 9 SB (M = 26.99; F)

Blinds 200/400
4 6 SB (M = 15.61; F)
7 2 SB (M = 16.92; F)
4 9 SB (M = 15.92; F)
6 4 SB (M = 15.92; F)
6 7 SB (M = 15.92; F)
3 8 SB (M = 8.25; F)
3 T SB (M = 7.25; F)
7 T SB (M = 8.79; F)
3 7 SB (M = 7.79; F)
6 5 SB (M = 6.79; F)
5 J SB (M = 5.79; F)

Blinds 300/600
8 T SB (M = 4.42; F)
J 6 SB (M = 4.42; F)
3 7 SB (M = 4.72; F)

[Illfavor]

I never limp HU. If it's worth a flop, it's worth a raise. So..that's what I mean by too much limping.

Again, just way too many folds in the SB.

[kevster]

I never limp HU. If it's worth a flop, it's worth a raise. So..that's what I mean by too much limping.

Again, just way too many folds in the SB.

This interests me. I have pretty good results HU but play it almost completely differently.

[Illfavor]

I never limp HU. If it's worth a flop, it's worth a raise. So..that's what I mean by too much limping.

Again, just way too many folds in the SB.

This interests me. I have pretty good results HU but play it almost completely differently.

Do you play the same way around blinds 50/100? With blinds as high as they almost always are HU, I usually can't justify limping with hands like JT or 86. I'd rather just raise (or shove), which wins the pot uncontested quite often. If you don't want to swell the pot with marginal hands, then I'd just tighten up a bit, but I don't think limping is a better solution. Nearly every time you limp you should be folding to a raise, so why not show strength yourself if you're willing to play?

[oskar]

I have very good HU results, and I never ever limp. The rest of my SnG game isn't overwhelming... but wth

I already notice your raises are pretty big. HU I would really try to feel out to what a villain is willing to fold to. If he folds to minbets - make minbets.
The cheaper you can steal his blind the better.

In the KK hand you were either playing against an idiot, or you were just lucky he caught a hand. Don't bet more with your monsters than you usually do!

T9 - raise PF

J9 - raise AI preflop. You can't let him see flops at this point. AI or fold does not only go for you when you are a smallstack, but also when you're playing against a smallstack.

[kevster]

I never limp HU. If it's worth a flop, it's worth a raise. So..that's what I mean by too much limping.

Again, just way too many folds in the SB.

This interests me. I have pretty good results HU but play it almost completely differently.

Do you play the same way around blinds 50/100? With blinds as high as they almost always are HU, I usually can't justify limping with hands like JT or 86. I'd rather just raise (or shove), which wins the pot uncontested quite often. If you don't want to swell the pot with marginal hands, then I'd just tighten up a bit, but I don't think limping is a better solution. Nearly every time you limp you should be folding to a raise, so why not show strength yourself if you're willing to play?

Ok, maybe we're agreeing more than I thought we were. It obviously depends on the blind levels and specifically, the blinds vs. my stack. I still use M at this stage.