[burea1124]

The blinds were really high and i had about 20x BB and the other guy had about 40xx BB. He was a LAG and bet everytime post-flop.

I tried to give up small pots so that I can trap him when I do hit. But unfortunately, I didn't hit anything on flop for about 10 hands and had to keep folding. In the end, I was down to my 10x BB and went all in with A3 off suit, he called me with something like Q8 and hit a Queen on the flop.

Should I have done something differently or was I just unlucky that I didn't hit anything? Maybe I should have gone all-in preflop everytime with hands like KT or J9 so I wouldn't get bluffed.

What do you think?

I think the major problem with tight players like me is getting frustrated when this happens, making a stand with substandard hand and getting busted when the LAG Actually does have a hand. But with the blinds going up like that, I might change my strategy to going all-in preflop next time.

[Arjonius]

When you get heads up, the value of starting hands is very different from when you're still playing at full tables. The average starting hand is said to be about Q8, so anything better than that rates to be ahead more often than not. You can afford to play a waiting game if you have a deep stack relative to the blinds, but if not, then you just have to play the cards you're dealt.

Howard Lederer, for example, advocates raising most of time when you're going to have position after the flop. That means he'll raise at least some of the time with less than the average hand of Q8.

Obviously, the opponent in this case must have been raising at least some hands with rags. And why not? If you were only going to play back at him 10 or even 20% of the time, it's silly not to. And look at how the situation played out. You did get in with slightly the better hand, but even if you had won, you were just going to be back to where you started, at a 2:1 chip disadvantage.

[godlikev]

i have that problem to...i always loose in hup cuz i am not aggresive enugh..the answer is...play agresive..raise when u have a medium pair is a good card...raise everthing..and he will be forced to fold...

[tbs89]

in my opinion heads up is the point in the game where your starting hand requirements fly completely out the window... its all about your opponent. You can win 8 out of 10 heads up games not even catching a pair, but by confusing your opponent. I do not like to show down many hands. This only allows the opponent to know if they were reading you correctly. So my tips are...

1. play about 90% of your hands
2. 80% of the time come in for a raise if theres not already one
3. be aggressive, but sometimes more selectively aggressive than just full blow aggression.
4. enjoy! heads up!: )

[cemfredmd]

The A 3 was a good hand to go all in on, but you likely had a few hands that rated in the playable area that would have worked for you. In heads up, I would play pretty much anything with Qx, Kx, Ax, plus selected hands with J. Anything below that would have to be suited connecters to call a raise on before the flop. After the flop it depends if you need one or two cards for the straight or flush, and evaluate from there. You likely should be playing more then 50% of the hands, closer to 75% at least seeing the flop.

[Irongirl]

Ive learned to drop all starting hand requirements and just let her rip. I will play any cards remotely connected. Remember 72os isnt really that big of a dog to any other two random cards. I once heard Phil Gorden say its raise or fold headsup. I altered that to sometimes limping and even reraising with nothing... It also depends what my opponent is doing. Ideally Im not playing the cards at all. Im playing the player and trying to get them out of their comfort zone by changing gears. Ive become more aggressive yet more patient at the same time.

You have to remember more often then not, no one has connected on the flop. The person who bets at the pot is often gonna take it down. Thats why position is always important headsup.

[Arjonius]

Originally Posted by Irongirl

You have to remember more often then not, no one has connected on the flop. The person who bets at the pot is often gonna take it down. Thats why position is always important headsup.

In support of this, I know that Howard Lederer (probably along with a lot of other to players) advocates raising almost every time with position. De facto, this means leading the betting with almost any two cards. Limping and folding are in the mix occasionally mainly to add a bit of variety.