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greenokom

greenokom

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You play live heads-up tournament and your opponent declare that he goes all in every hand without seeing the cards, you have about the same amount of chips (~10000 chips). The blinds are 400/800. What is your strategy?
 
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cardchump

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I used to fold and leave the table feeling frustrated. Eventually, after playing many players heads up who try the "all-in" scare tactic, I knew I had to get over the fear. Now I fold a few hands until I have a hand that has a good chance of winning, and I call. I have discovered that it doesn't take long to gain some control at the table. Players who use the "all-in" too often have simply become conditioned to people folding or going on tilt, and so they typically are taking a chance raising with less than ideal hands.

I don't call a first "all-in" bet with anything but AA or KK, so if I have lesser cards, I fold. Once the opponent repeats the "all-in" betting scheme, I know that I have a good chance if I decide to call with any hand QT or higher or any pocket pair TT or higher. I may lose a few bucks folding until I have one of those hands, but the pots I win more than make up for lost chips. The offending player then does one of three things: 1) changes his/her playing style, realizing he doesn't want to risk another great loss, 2) leaves the table knowing that I am not vulnerable and looks for his next victim, or 3) tries the "all-in" strategy again, thinking it will work eventually. If he does the third and tries an "all-in" again, I leave the table because there are better games to be played.


With this strategy, you may occasionally lose, but odds are in your favor; therefore, in the long run, your chip count should be much higher, as well as your confidence.
 
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OzExorcist

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Effective stacks are short so we definitely can be waiting around for a big hand. And if he's declared that he's going to shove every hand (and you believe him) then there's no point being cautious for the first few to see what his plan is because you already know it.

Basically you should be shoving fairly wide from the small blind, calling almost as wide from the big blind when he shoves, and widen both ranges as one or the other of you gets shorter stacked. Any pair, any ace, most paint-x hands and a decent chunk of your suited or connected hands is probably an alright guideline. Just be prepared for the variance :)
 
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I am so new to the game, that I am just learning...a real newbie. I have to say that I just noticed I answered your question as though you were playing a cash game.

Now I have to correct myself and also say that OzExorcist just gave you a really good answer. With 10000 chips, 400/800 blinds, and being in a tournament, you would not be able to fold too many times, waiting for a big hand. You would need to widen your range of hands, and like he said shoving from the button. I have played several heads up tournaments (with smaller chip stacks and blinds, however) where this same situation happened, and getting aggressive with pairs, any ace, any king, or queens with a decent kicker has paid off.

I recall being intimidated until I started seeing the lousy hands that some people go all-in with. There is no possibility for them to repeat going all-in and each time have top cards. Once you catch them, their loose playing can be your reward.
 
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Ha ha... twice today I found myself at the end of 2 SNGs, with blinds of 400/800 ante 100. On the second game my opponent calls all-in, and I, remembering what this post was all about called. I lost 1/2 my chip stack with an A6(s) and now we were even, so I decided to tighten up a bit. He bet a few more all-ins, but every time I folded, his stack grew considerably, so going for it was the only sane choice, and I called with an A8. Luckily for me I hit and won.

On the other game I just wanted to end it finally so I called all-in with a 57 and texted goodbye as I watched a QJA flop, but the turn brought a 7 and the river a 5! His cards showed and he was holding KK. LOL I wouldn't do that on purpose or count on it again, but that was funny. It was just a .25 9 player game.
 
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alluvit

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in that situation i would go ahead and beat him to it. live tourney...
i say put on the scary face and hollywood bluff him into submission. my mommy always told me the best way to deal with a bully is to stand up to him and i've noticed the same thing is true on the poker table. shove from the small blind with rags if you have to just make sure you have a convincing stare to let him know that he's more than welcome to try you.

AK vs 72 is really a coinflip heads up.

he's probably telling you he'll shove every hand for one of two reasons:

he wants to psych you out or...

it's the only heads up strategy he's got.

don't bother waiting for a big hand. beat him into submission. scare him. if he's shoving everything he gets dealt he's either stupid, lazy, crazy or scared. whichever he is the best way to counter it is to beat him to it and let him know that you're not afraid of him. you might bust out. you might win. you might turn it into a real game and then with some advice from CC'ers here you will have an edge.
 
OzExorcist

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I recall being intimidated until I started seeing the lousy hands that some people go all-in with.

Just a small point - a "lousy hand" at a full table isn't necessarily a lousy hand heads up, and it might hurt your game to think that way.

A lot of new players are really surprised when they find out, for example, that Doyle Brunson won the Main Event twice with T2. "That's such a terrible hand, how did that even happen?!?" they say. What they're often forgetting is that the hands were played heads up, not at a full table, and that heads up there are a lot less genuinely "lousy" hands*.

If you think of K7 as a "lousy" hand, for example, it might stop you from pushing it in a spot where you really should be pushing it. So try to separate your thinking about hand values in heads up from your thinking about hand values at a full table.

This chart might be useful for people, BTW: http://www.holdemresources.net/hr/sngs/hune.html

The numbers are the amount of big blinds that need to be in the effective stacks (ie: the lower of either your or your opponent's stack sizes) for you to unexploitably either push or call with the given hands.


* granted, even heads up, T2 is a pretty long way down the hand rankings. But you get my drift...
 
dmorris68

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^^^ What Oz said. There are some who advocate open-shoving ATC otb in HU play. Not that I agree, as it would highly exploitable, but the point is that a random hand has a lot more potential HU than with a full table.

AK vs 72 is really a coinflip heads up.

Now this would be incorrect.

AKs is a 65% favorite over 72s HU. AKo is still a 62% favorite over 72s, and 67% over 72o. Far from a coinflip, I'd take 2:1 over a flip any day. ;)
 
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Agree - as the number of players decrease at the table, the more valuable your cards become.
 
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And not only do your lesser cards become more valuable as the number of players decrease, but lower rankings become more valuable too.

In Heads Up, a pair or even high card often wins.

Try this: play a pretend game between two people and track the winning hand. It is 50%. The higher cards have more power, but the chances of winning increases with a wider range.
 
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I will call 99, or above most for many raises. That's been working for me. For all-in, I more comfortable tighter hands. But I have seen people making an all-in bet with 24 or 59, knowing that the intimidation will make many fold.

I hope my skills improve, but this is what I am trying now.
 
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cardchump

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I will fold 72 and take the AK!

It does make a difference. And in the case you both pair, the higher has power, and as you have probably experienced, it happens often. You may be able to play with a wider range of hole cards during HU, but it doesn't mean extend that range to all cards.
 
TheOne2Watch

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I myself would wait until I have a semi margainal strong hand and call the fool and just hope the idiot didnt get lucky and hit a stronger hand. Those type of players to me are hard to play against for the simple fact you can't read them.
 
lektrikguy

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I will call 99, or above most for many raises. That's been working for me. For all-in, I more comfortable tighter hands. But I have seen people making an all-in bet with 24 or 59, knowing that the intimidation will make many fold.

I hope my skills improve, but this is what I am trying now.

When you're HU any pair can be good and are worth playing. You only hit a pair 1 in 17 times so you may have the winning hand with 44.
 
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