A Strategy to combat Heads Up Button Raisers

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This Fish Chums

This Fish Chums

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There are a lot of very over aggressive players when you play heads up poker. These people will raise on the button every time they have the button regardless of what their cards are. Playing against this type of player can be very daunting if you are not used to it because you rarely have to deal with a single player like this at a normal table.
If you’ve played heads up against one of these types of players, you have probably witnessed your stack slowly dwindle over time while they fold every time you catch a good hand. This is because they rely on you playing a typically tight game, so every time you do throw in a raise they know to get out of the hand. Playing against this type of over-aggression can be very difficult, but here are some strategies that I have found to help combat these players.
Play 10 or so buttons folding when you normally would to find out if they truly are raising every button or if they’ve just been getting lucky. You don't want to get caught thinking they are raising every button just because they happen to catch 3 good hands on their first 3 buttons.
Tip #1: Once you determine they are raising every button with any two cards, you cannot fold every time they raise on the button. They will end up nickel and diming you to death while you wait to catch a decent hand. What you need to do first is figure out what their “typical” bet is when they have nothing. Just think back through and ask yourself, “What bet are they throwing out every time they raise, or most of the time they raise on the button?” Once you determine this you can change your play-style to combat this over aggressiveness. Folding when normal over 10 buttons will also help build that tight image they rely so heavily on.
Typically these players bet 2-3BB on every button. For the sake of this discussion we will assume they bet 3BB every button almost no matter what. So, whenever they make their typical raise, you need to start calling with almost any two cards. Connectors (even if they aren’t suited), any two suited cards, etc. Basically you want to play as many hands as possible with this player. It may seem like all you’re doing is throwing good chips after bad, but let’s move on to tip #2 first.
Tip #2: Whenever you have the button, with the same almost any two cards, also raise their typical amount (e.g. 3BBs). Normally when you do this you will find that they will fold themselves because they think that is the right thing to do against their own style of play. Tip #3: Now, this may seem even more daunting than Tip #1, but what you have to do is change your mentality.
Tip #3: Instead of thinking of these as raises, imagine these are just the basic cost of playing a hand heads up. Think of it as both of you are required to play this way to win hands and see flops. If you can honestly get into that mindset then it won’t bother you as much when you lose and you will find yourself winning a lot more hands then you may think.
Tip #4: Now is when it gets even tougher. When you have a normally playable heads-up hand you need to be re-raising them when they bet their typical amount on the button. You can’t just sit back and play defense like tips 1-3 suggest, you also need to take it to them. So if they’ve been raising 3BB every button, you need to min raise them to 5BB every time you get a normally playable hand. This will teach them that they can’t simply bully you around and that you are willing to fight back hard.
Tip #5: When you have a monster hand re-raise them 3x their bet (e.g. if they bet 3BB’s reraise them to 9BBs with any monster hand). Again, when you have a great hand against these types of players you need to show them that you are willing to put them in very dangerous situations.
Tip 6: Don’t be afraid to throw the hand away post flop. A lot of times people think that because there are a lot of chips in the pot that they must call when a bet is made. However, don’t get caught up in that. These players aren’t necessarily over-aggressive post flop, so if they are betting there then there is a good chance they have a hand.
CONCLUSION: Playing against over aggressive players heads up is hard. About the only way to combat them is to be aggressive yourself, but only enough to match their level of aggressiveness, not to outduel them. I’d recommend dropping down to much lower stakes until you get the hang of this strategy as it can be very difficult to use properly, but hopefully it will give you a tool to overcome this hurdle in your poker career.
 
8bod8

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+1, good post
I just saw episode 4 of the MIT course (youtube) which shows the math behind it.
now I need to:
1) practice
2) turn it into profit instead of quick exit:D
 
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AlexTheOwl

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Why are you increasing your 3-bet sizing when you have a monster hand pre-flop?
 
This Fish Chums

This Fish Chums

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Why are you increasing your 3-bet sizing when you have a monster hand pre-flop?

The intent is to knock the over aggressive player out of their comfort zone. If you can shake their confidence then they may back off some on their over aggression.
 
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AlexTheOwl

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The intent is to knock the over aggressive player out of their comfort zone. If you can shake their confidence then they may back off some on their over aggression.


Why do you want them to back off when you have a monster hand?
If they are calling all of your pre-flop 3-bets, then I understand betting a larger amount when you have a monster. You'd like to create as big a pot as possible.
But if you are very likely to have the best hand pre-flop, you should welcome their aggression?
 
This Fish Chums

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Why do you want them to back off when you have a monster hand?
If they are calling all of your pre-flop 3-bets, then I understand betting a larger amount when you have a monster. You'd like to create as big a pot as possible.
But if you are very likely to have the best hand pre-flop, you should welcome their aggression?

Oh, sorry, let me clarify. You want to force them to back off in later hands. By showing a higher form of aggression then they are used to it makes them think twice about their whole philosophy. At least from what I've seen.
 
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AlexTheOwl

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Oh, sorry, let me clarify. You want to force them to back off in later hands. By showing a higher form of aggression then they are used to it makes them think twice about their whole philosophy. At least from what I've seen.


I understand wanting to curb your opponent's aggression generally. I don't understand why you think using a larger bet size for 3-betting when you have a premium hand is profitable.

3-betting a larger amount than usual when you have a premium hand pre-flop is tantamount to announcing to your opponent that you have a good hand.

If you have a premium hand pre-flop, you want your opponent to call. Premium hands are rare and profitable. Making your opponent fold, so that he'll possibly raise your blind less often in the future, is not going to be more profitable than playing a hand that is very likely to be better than your opponent's hand.

You would like to build as big a pot as possible with these hands. So 3-betting with premium hands, especially if you have been 3-betting somewhat frequently, is fine. But you still want your opponent to call.

If I were your opponent, and you have been occasionally 3-betting to 5BB, and you suddenly 3-bet to 9BB, I'd fold, for two reasons:

1. Beginning players tend to make bigger than usual bets with above-average hands, without thinking about how their opponents will perceive those bets.
2. It's going to cost me more to play this hand.

If you are 3-betting a bigger than normal amount with some premium hands and some bluffs, that's different.
If the session is long enough for your opponent to notice how frequently you use this larger bet size, or if you play this opponent often:
You'll be 3-betting the larger amount often enough that your opponent may say "he can't have this many premium hands. So your opponent may call, or 4-bet - which is something you should be happy to see when you have a premium hand. And you will get your opponent to fold sometimes when you have a weak hand. Both of those outcomes are good.
Exactly how many bluffs to include depends on how likely your opponent is to fold to these larger 3-bets.
Of course sometimes your opponent will call or 4-bet when you don't have a premium hand. If he calls, you'll still have a chance to win. Sometimes he'll 4-bet, and you'll need to fold. And sometimes you'll be behind and lose. But overall you'll find that's a better strategy than only using the larger 3-bet size when you have a premium hand.

Otherwise, you'd be better off always using your standard 3-bet size, even when you have a premium hand. Unless you are lucky enough to be playing an opponent who isn't paying attention to bet sizing and who calls 3-bets too often.
 
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Oh, sorry, let me clarify. You want to force them to back off in later hands. By showing a higher form of aggression then they are used to it makes them think twice about their whole philosophy. At least from what I've seen.
Hi Jonathan, just a quick line to say hi. I enjoy your posts, they are both informative and thought provoking. Keep it up!!!
 
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