How to play against a hyper aggressive guy in heads up poker?

If i have AK, then i have fold it without any pair in flop.

when i have low pair then i am thinking that is that guy have something or not. So, becoming a calling station is not working for me.

So, Kindly help me.

If you have any doubt related to question, then you can ask me here.

Thanks

Anytime I play heads up with an aggressive player, I play slow with a lot of patience. Give the aggressive player chances to make bets. In other words, give the player enough rope and the player will hang himself or herself. If I have a good hand or flop a good hand, I slow play and let the aggressive player make the bet. I just keep calling until it gets to the river, then I can turn the tables - set a trap. If you can do this once or twice (double up or make a big dent in the aggressive players stack), the aggressive player usually slows down a bit. So, just keep calm and trap on.

hi!
against hyrer lag player you shouldnt bluff
if he mini raises preflop you should play most of the hands and slow play him
if he raise big pre flop you should play only good hands like J10 or better
dont make bets after flop and let him bet for you
good luck

Originally Posted by Frank Burnette

Anytime I play heads up with an aggressive player, I play slow with a lot of patience. Give the aggressive player chances to make bets. In other words, give the player enough rope and the player will hang himself or herself. If I have a good hand or flop a good hand, I slow play and let the aggressive player make the bet. I just keep calling until it gets to the river, then I can turn the tables - set a trap. If you can do this once or twice (double up or make a big dent in the aggressive players stack), the aggressive player usually slows down a bit. So, just keep calm and trap on.

but if i am blinded out... just calling his preflop bet or calling middle or low pair is a value bet against this guys.

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Originally Posted by eidikos

hi!
against hyrer lag player you shouldnt bluff
if he mini raises preflop you should play most of the hands and slow play him
if he raise big pre flop you should play only good hands like J10 or better
dont make bets after flop and let him bet for you
good luck

what about suited connectors and if JT or better does not hit the flop, then what??

but if i am blinded out... just calling his preflop bet or calling middle or low pair is a value bet against this guys.

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Ace high or one pair is going to win most of the pots. Depending on your read, you may have to call him all the way to the river with just the ace high. It will shock you how often your ace wins.

Originally Posted by bondgaurav21

but if i am blinded out... just calling his preflop bet or calling middle or low pair is a value bet against this guys.

join me in facebook... so i can talk to you directly in chat https://www.facebook.com/gjbondgaurav2001

I hear you. I try to get a good read on the other player, but nothing is full proof in poker. Aggressive players will often bet big with just a high card. So, sometimes middle or low pair will win the pot. To quote the late great Bruce Lee -

"Don't think, feel! It is like a finger pointing a way to the moon. Don't concentrate on the finger or you will miss all that heavenly glory."

That probably doesn't help, but I just like to use that quote.

I think in the long run you need to wear him down... Let him bluff at the wrong pot, and do not get involved in hads unless you have some strong equity or a very solid hand.. You do not want to call off with ak, but sometimes it will be ahead against a loose player...

It depends a lot on how deep you are.

You can easily get pot commited pre-flop with AK.
If he bets any flop, then I would re-raise him with any good card.

ak just push all in

These guy are quite hard to play agains't because they put you to tough decisions. Depending on his frequencies (opening, cbetting, multi-barreling, etc) you might have to start calling him lighter than normal. Ideally you want to catch a hand and let him bluff off his stack which you can afford to do if you are decently deep stacked, but being short stacked you don't really have that luxury.

it depends what Kind of games you are playing , is it hypers Speed , Turbos or normal Speed. but the only Thing hyper aggro Players hate the super hyper aggro Gamblers. cos if u Play allin game vs them with any gd Hands , it makes them tilt cos they cant steal anymore from you. they ll know then that u can put them allin in any Situation. so thats one of the best Counter stratergy

First of all you need to understand this is wrong:

If i have AK, then i have fold it without any pair in flop.

A high is powerfull headsup, most of the time it is the best hand. Call his opens wider. If he's cbetting a lot, queen high might be good enough on some boards. Make sure you open your range a lot wider when you play heads up. Heads up is totally different then a full ring. If he opens a lot, you can try 3betting.

It is indeed hard to play against those players, but once you play back at them they often slow down. If your range is very tight it is profitable to open any 2 hands against you.

but if i am blinded out... just calling his preflop bet or calling middle or low pair is a value bet against this guys.

When this happens you need to shove wider, if he keeps opening and you're low on blinds. Don't let your opponent mess with you.

Originally Posted by bondgaurav21

How to play against a hyper aggressive guy in heads up poker?

If i have AK, then i have fold it without any pair in flop.

when i have low pair then i am thinking that is that guy have something or not. So, becoming a calling station is not working for me.

You have to be hyper aggressive too. Try to avoid showdown, so being a calling station is not going to work, you want him to doubt his holding and fold as quickly as possible.

3 betting, 4 betting and shoving is your weapons of choice. Spot weakness and pounce on that, pot size or bigger c-bets should put enough pressure on him to reconsider his situation. Remember that you only hit a flop as little as 1/3 so chances are good that most of the time no one hit anything on the flop.

Good luck!

Originally Posted by sunirico

You have to be hyper aggressive too. Try to avoid showdown, so being a calling station is not going to work, you want him to doubt his holding and fold as quickly as possible.

3 betting, 4 betting and shoving is your weapons of choice. Spot weakness and pounce on that, pot size or bigger c-bets should put enough pressure on him to reconsider his situation. Remember that you only hit a flop as little as 1/3 so chances are good that most of the time no one hit anything on the flop.

Good luck!

But, in longball game , no skill has been used and it will deteriorate my performance and always choose short cut if i get a player who is better than me in postflop game.

Strategy depends how deep you are and the structure of the game etc.

against hyper aggro players you have to be more hyper aggro, fight fire with fire basically. Otherwise they will run you over long term in HU games.

If that doesn't work then pick spots where you are putting him to the all in decision. Don't make timid plays, and obviously bluffcatch and trap a bit more.

they are forcing the game to be very volatile, so they put their opponents in a difficult positon if they are tight,

here i think you should push some good hands like Ax or pairs and only play with top pairs like JJ+ and try to trap them

Considering I'm typically the agro player, what I do is re-raise him. Why, most likely he/she will fold. That said, it might sound like a terrible move but think about it, 9/10 times they don't have it so if you show them more power then you're getting, it's a great way to win pots. That said, when you do it, make sure you have at least 1 typical over card.

Originally Posted by sunirico

You have to be hyper aggressive too.

I'm going through Jason Somerville's run it up series and he suggests that if you play heads up against a passive player you need to be aggressive and when you play an aggressive player you need to be a nit.

Hey guys!

I'm a HU SNG Coach here at CardsChat.com and I'd love to help you guys improve your Heads Up play.

There are a lot of FREE resources on my website - you can find them by http://www.husngcoach.com

I've also started a HU Improvement Thread in the CardsChat "Tournament Poker" forum...you can find it here.

And for those of you who want to take it a step further, I'm hosting a LIVE training seminar on the topic of HU Hypers...you can https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4856628986923117570

Feel free to email me with any questions, don't be shy to ask me for my Skype info if you want to chat: support@husngcoach.com

Originally Posted by sunirico

I'm going through Jason Somerville's run it up series and he suggests that if you play heads up against a passive player you need to be aggressive and when you play an aggressive player you need to be a nit.

depends on the game or structure.

makes sense if you have lots of time/stack or blinds. doesn't make any sense in hyper turbos for example.

I let them push me around a bit ofc if I don't have good cards, but first decent hand and i reshove and usually if you show them they're not getting away with it so easily, they'll slow down. It happens that sometimes I ran into AK, KK and lost, but if they raise all the time or shove all the time then chances are that they're just aggro with any two.

Originally Posted by helpspb

I let them push me around a bit ofc if I don't have good cards, but first decent hand and i reshove and usually if you show them they're not getting away with it so easily, they'll slow down. It happens that sometimes I ran into AK, KK and lost, but if they raise all the time or shove all the time then chances are that they're just aggro with any two.

if you let them push you about, then you are not likely to get called when you do re shove...you're basically looking to raise and flat a wide range..which then lets you 3bet more..can weight your 3bets for mostly value but stick a couple in with junk for balance.

looking to go for thin value against these guys...waiting on big hands will not get the job done, coz big hands don't come our way often enough and when they do, they will fold...abit face up..

if someone is aggro, then be a controlled aggro yourself.

one thing you can do is to manage your bet sizing, so you can do things like limp your strong and weak hands and then play for value

Only way out with your good cards to catch it on the bluff.

you need to patiently wait for a good hand and shove !

Lots of great advice in this thread... I'll underscore the following points:

Let the Aggro player bet for you. Check calls, and check raises where appropriate.

AK will be best hand often enough to call to the turn, at least, if not the river.

I would tighten up if the Aggro player is to your left. If you're in position, I would call with med pairs+, K10s+, A9s+, and I'd look to call him down if you catch any piece of the flop.

Originally Posted by fydor_8

Hey guys!

I'm a HU SNG Coach here at CardsChat.com and I'd love to help you guys improve your Heads Up play.
<...snip promotional content...>

What is your advice on this topic?

i would be looking to shove preflop all in on him when he raises u with anything ak aq aj a10 aa kk qq jj and then your not getting forced to fold if u miss after the flop since most times u will still be ahead heads up committing yourself preflop is way better then being bluffed off on the flop when most times your still ahead

i dont like playing against ultra aggressive players hu, but best way is to trap those guys with a hand and let them bet in their bustout and manage betsizing of course for ex. betting 88 instead of 80

Originally Posted by sunirico

I'm going through Jason Somerville's run it up series and he suggests that if you play heads up against a passive player you need to be aggressive and when you play an aggressive player you need to be a nit.

That is the strategy I use as well. It is always best to play the complete opposite of your opponent. However it is hard to make hands in holdem. So tighten up but don't be afraid to call an aggro player with middle pair top kicker.

Originally Posted by WiZZiM

depends on the game or structure.

makes sense if you have lots of time/stack or blinds. doesn't make any sense in hyper turbos for example.

If i recall it was mentioned in a hyper turbo context but perhaps I misquoted. I don't think he said you must play nitty, choosing only premium cards, but instead if your opponent is aggressive you should be passive, low balling with small stabs at the pot.

Would you agree with this strategy?

Without a doubt. Extend the range in such cases starting cards.

Originally Posted by 11012015

Without a doubt. Extend the range in such cases starting cards.

I think this is a rule for any short handed game where Q high card may already be the best.

Originally Posted by bondgaurav21

How to play against a hyper aggressive guy in heads up poker?

If i have AK, then i have fold it without any pair in flop.

when i have low pair then i am thinking that is that guy have something or not. So, becoming a calling station is not working for me.

So, Kindly help me.

If you have any doubt related to question, then you can ask me here.

Thanks

If you have ak or even a medium or big pair against a maniac just shove all in preflop, because its possible that he calls with hands like a10,a9 or even 87 suit and in most cases you will be ahead. 3 bet a lot and wait for good hands. try not playing speculative hands like low suit connectors like 87 because you wont hit the flop that often and that would not be profitable on the long run. tight aggresive is the best choice agianst these types of players. make high value bets and try playing only with good hands at least queen high maybe j10 or a pair.

..

It all becomes a bit of a coin flip in reality. Next time you play heads up, take notes on every (yes, every hand) and analyse them later to see how you did in each respective hand against your opponent. This will give you stats on your own game and help you to modify for the future, but it will also show you the evidence of the advice given here above, in that, any pair stand s reasonably good chance of holding out, as does any A, however, there is always the chance that the opposition will suck out some freak hand, say starting hand of 74 and pull either a flush, straight or full house to beat you. It's all about understanding probability, that's why you need to analyse your own play as well as your opponents, and not just rely on what you have been dealt. Hope this helps.

Yes, the best strategy against him will be patience and waiting.

Originally Posted by rock0001

If you have ak or even a medium or big pair against a maniac just shove all in preflop, because its possible that he calls with hands like a10,a9 or even 87 suit and in most cases you will be ahead. 3 bet a lot and wait for good hands. try not playing speculative hands like low suit connectors like 87 because you wont hit the flop that often and that would not be profitable on the long run. tight aggresive is the best choice agianst these types of players. make high value bets and try playing only with good hands at least queen high maybe j10 or a pair.

What if he doesn't call your nit azz shoves? We said he's aggressive not stupid.
3 bet him and he shoves are you prepared to call? The more you risk the more you stand to lose per hand.

Bottom line, if you don't at least break even on your big blinds you've lost. The frequency at which you are likely to get these monsters is not enough to survive and this type of play is exactly what he wants you to do with this strategy.

Instead call his raises and see a flop, make a pair and let him lead out. Spot weakness and exploit. You will not beat this guy with pre-flop play 9 out of 10 times, so you will require good post flop skills.

Originally Posted by sunirico

What if he doesn't call your nit azz shoves? We said he's aggressive not stupid.
3 bet him and he shoves are you prepared to call? The more you risk the more you stand to lose per hand.

Bottom line, if you don't at least break even on your big blinds you've lost. The frequency at which you are likely to get these monsters is not enough to survive and this type of play is exactly what he wants you to do with this strategy.

Instead call his raises and see a flop, make a pair and let him lead out. Spot weakness and exploit. You will not beat this guy with pre-flop play 9 out of 10 times, so you will require good post flop skills.

look many of the aggro players are really bad at least in my experience. yes they might be stupid enough to call with 87 suited or even less and the 3 bet raises are mostly to be pot commited in the hand and then shove after the flop.for example blinds are 25/50 and both have exactly 1500 chips, he is on the button and you are big blind. he raises 150, you have AQ what should you do in that spot.? shove all in or make a 500 3bet and wait for the flop. of course you can call and see what happens but with those type of players i would like to shove instead of calling and waiting because you wont hit flops that often and that will cost you lots of chips. Also what makes you think he is going to connect his hands?, when you have a monster make him pay as much as you can. I dont think calling 3 or 4bb with 78 is a good idea because
you wont be able to bluff and when you dont hit the flop and believe me it wont happen nearly as much as you think you will be losing money.
The best strategy against these players is play good solid hands, high value bet and check raise if you hit a good hand, because they will think you have a weak hand and you can stacked him.

Also the nit azz shoves is bullshit, Im not saying to shove all in only with AK or better, any pair, KQ ,Kj AQ,AJ, A10,k10 or any Ax suited are hands in which you should shove all in. maybe i havent express myself well. you have to shove all in with good hands because you cant put these players in any range so you have to put pressure on them preflop.

Depends on the speed. If it's a slow hu just wait for it, you might try semi bluffing as well. All in all, I enjoy being aggresive in hu myself

Originally Posted by rock0001

Also the nit azz shoves is bullshit, Im not saying to shove all in only with AK or better, any pair, KQ ,Kj AQ,AJ, A10,k10 or any Ax suited are hands in which you should shove all in. maybe i havent express myself well. you have to shove all in with good hands because you cant put these players in any range so you have to put pressure on them preflop.

Perhaps I wasn't clear... you propose a strategy of only playing premium hands which do not come along very often, and you suggest we should shove these hands. I.o.w. you will fold all other hands to a raise leaving your opponent to collect the blinds. When you shove all I have to do is fold leaving you with the minimum chips to collect.

Surely you can see this is going to leave you short very quickly hence the rule to open wider in HU play.

Originally Posted by adamchikas

Depends on the speed. If it's a slow hu just wait for it, you might try semi bluffing as well. All in all, I enjoy being aggresive in hu myself

Hehehehe I have to agree with you

When I look down and see rags which I would normally fold I think to myself perhaps my opponent feels the same about their cards. Lets raise and find out. If they call you repped a strong hand so a cbet on a top heavy flop is hard to ignore but do fire a larger second barrel if they need more convincing on the turn.

plat like a maniac for few hands, and he will get hooked up and wait for strong pair and take him out

Originally Posted by fydor_8

Hey guys!

I'm a HU SNG Coach here at CardsChat.com and I'd love to help you guys improve your Heads Up play. Question: Does CardsChat know this?

There are a lot of FREE resources on my website - you can find them by http://www.husngcoach.com

I've also started a HU Improvement Thread in the CardsChat "Tournament Poker" forum...you can find it here.

And for those of you who want to take it a step further, I'm hosting a LIVE training seminar on the topic of HU Hypers...you can https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4856628986923117570

Feel free to email me with any questions, don't be shy to ask me for my Skype info if you want to chat: support@husngcoach.com

Really? You are an official part of CardsChat? With only 42 posts? And re directing CardsChat members to another web site?

I guess I missed the memo......welcome aboard?

Fold non premiums

The whole shoving longterm against this guy sounds right but im against cuz how often r we playin against this guy

BEING 199 TIMES AGGRESSIVE THAN HIM/HER.

Hey guys!

Sorry it took me so long to reply to this thread, I've been traveling for a while and haven't had much computer time. Hope this helps:

Heads Up play is all about context - there is no specific answer to this question unless we know the exact format/structure we're playing. Obviously there will be a big difference if we're playing 100BB regular speed vs a 75BB turbo vs a 25BB hyper turbo. If you're playing a hyper turbo and you have AK in the BB with 23BB effective stacks, then it's totally acceptable to 3bet shove preflop vesus an aggressive player...however, if you're 92BB deep, then 3bet shoving isn't appropriate vs this same player. Remember, it's always about context.

Also, you have to understand that there will be a lot of variance when playing someone with such a reckless style and it could be very frustrating at times. Those willing to stick it out and play a large sample against them will be the ones who see the results. However, if tilt becomes an issue and you're uncomfortable in this style of a game, just quit them and find someone else whom you're more comfortable playing against. That's totally acceptable too.

In terms of a specific strategy, I think you've gotten a lot of good answers in this thread already. It's obviously hard to get into the specific details in a post like this, but my quick advice would be to slow play value hands, bluff less, and call with thin value much more. So check/calling is going to be your friend here. The basic concept I can leave you with is that you need to understand his ranges in different situations, obviously the wider hes betting, the more you'll need to open up your calling range and call lighter yourself. Moreover, keep in mind that when you're shallow, playing hands that can make top pair have more value thank big drawy hands because all you need is top pair to stack someone who's very aggressive - compared to playing big draws and then having to call multiple streets hoping to make your hand and not having much implied odds because of the short stack sizes. Obviously this goes for hands that flop well in general (like JT, QJ, KJ, T9s, etc) because even a strong middle pair is going to be effective vs an aggro player.

I think something that could help you is to limp your SB much more than you currently are (assuming your using the standard high % min raise approach). This will help you keep pots small and navigate better post flop.

Anyway, I hope this helps