Heads Up - 2 pair, dangerous board.

[EvilPie]

Playing the dtd £75 tournament on Sunday night.

We're HU and have similar stacks of around 250k. Blinds are 5k/10k + 1000.

We've played about 30 hands. Oppo is very weak and has been passing to any raise pre. Hasn't made a stand at all, folded several SBs, you know the sort of thing. I've raised about 75% of SBs and called 25%. I've raised a few of his limps and he's passed so he's now given up limping. I managed to trap him earlier with an ace because he couldn't put me on it when it made top pair after checking to his SB limp.

I pick up  in the BB and decide to get trappy again and check. I don't want to waste an Ace because I know he's going to pass if I raise. Is this the right thing to do here? Should I just make my standard raise anyway?

Flop comes 

Two pair. Sweet but the diamonds aren't ideal.

He checks and it's over to me. I'm not sure whether to continue the trappy plan because of all the blues.

What's our best move here? Check hoping he has a rush of blood on the turn or just bet in to him. I'm concerned now about building the pot because he has already called me on the flop / turn earlier with a flush draw that hit. I think that he calls with a decent blue in his hand but passes to a shove.

If I shove I'm wasting a good hand. If I make a 30k bet he calls and I inflate the pot. If I check I give him a free card.

What's the plan?

[TheChipPrince]

Play it agressively, if he feels he's being bullied he's unlikely to fold a decent flush draw, 3/4 of the pot here, 3/4 of the pot on any non-diamond turn, assess river...

if a diamond comes, don't be stubborn and be afriad to fold if he looks positive if his play...

[kinboshi]

Playing the DTD £75 tournament on Sunday night.

We're HU and have similar stacks of around 250k. Blinds are 5k/10k + 1000.

Blatant brag post imo.

As for the hand, you're battering him with small-pots and little risk, so keep on doing that.  Why give him a chance to get back into it through one large pot?  Keep up the aggression and wear him down through attrition.

[gatso]

I'm concerned now about building the pot because he has already called me on the flop / turn earlier with a flush draw that hit

this is clearly just nonsense. it's like saying you're concerned about calling heads because you did that before and it came down tails

[EvilPie]

I'm concerned now about building the pot because he has already called me on the flop / turn earlier with a flush draw that hit

this is clearly just nonsense. it's like saying you're concerned about calling heads because you did that before and it came down tails

I didn't mean it like that because that would clearly be nonsense.

What I was saying was that this guy will be calling with a diamond but unlikely with anything else. If I bet and he calls I'm fooked if a diamond comes. I know it probably won't but if it does I'm going to lose.

I'm thinking about maximising my value whilst protecting my hand at the same time. I assume I'm winning now and if he wants to get it all in here I'm with him all the way.

If I bet and he calls in all likelihood it will come a non diamond. If I bet again and he calls again it will probably not be a diamond again. This is the most I can get out of him.

If a diamond comes I know I lose if he's had to put any more money in to the pot.

If no diamond comes he is putting no more money in the pot.

So where do I find the balance. How do I get the most out of this whilst preserving my stack in the unlikely event that a diamond comes?

If I thought he would call a shove here with a draw I would get it in instantly. I know however that he's not going to do this. He will call if he's already got it and would maybe call with the K or Q. I don't put him on these though because statistically it's unlikely.

My chances of stacking him off are very small so do I want to be pot building?

[gatso]

if your assumption that he calls with a blue and only a blue are correct then we have to bet out and make it enough to make his call a mistake.

about 16k looks good then fire about 36k at a non diamond turn

My chances of stacking him off are very small so do I want to be pot building?

why wouldn't you want to pot build? I'm not getting this

you probs have the best hand and will still probs have the best hand by the river

[daviebhoy]

I've raised a few of his limps and he's passed so he's now given up limping.............

I pick up  in the BB and decide to get trappy again and check.

Im confused. If he has given up limping in SB but now limps what does that mean ?

If he is really playing this weakly why you don't just keep raising pre and slowly chip away at him risk free ?

As played you have a big hand heads up and should just be playing it standardly now. If a diamond comes you can get away. If you are winning lots of uncontested small pots I would keep it that way and shove on him pre once his stack gets small enough to do that.

[Cf]

If we distill the problem to assume that he's got a diamond in his hand, and will call with it then the hand is very simple. He's just over 4:1 to hit his flush on both streets so bet enough to price this out. Anything between 1/2pot to 3/4 pot seems fine to me. You need to fire both streets though otherwise he of course has pot odds on the flop if you're going to let him see the river for free. If the diamond does come then no matter, you had your money in as a favourite, you're going to fold and not pay him off, further cementing the fact that he was incorrect to call you.

[EvilPie]

if your assumption that he calls with a blue and only a blue are correct then we have to bet out and make it enough to make his call a mistake.

about 16k looks good then fire about 36k at a non diamond turn

My chances of stacking him off are very small so do I want to be pot building?

why wouldn't you want to pot build? I'm not getting this

you probs have the best hand and will still probs have the best hand by the river

Yeah I have to agree with this. It was just difficult for me because I was chipping away nicely at him after the previous flush he hit had put me at a 3 to 1 disadvantage.

I'd just got back level and now I was kind of reluctant to set myself back in what seemed a reaonably easy encounter to say how short we both were at 25bbs.

I was still also thinking of trapping with the 2 pair. If I slow play it I can get another little chunk out of him if I make a steal looking bet on the end.

The hands gets interesting by the river anyway. There's another decision there. I'll wait to see if anyone else posts on the flop first though before continuing.

[EvilPie]

I've raised a few of his limps and he's passed so he's now given up limping.............

I pick up  in the BB and decide to get trappy again and check.

Im confused. If he has given up limping in SB but now limps what does that mean ?

If he is really playing this weakly why you don't just keep raising pre and slowly chip away at him risk free ?

As played you have a big hand heads up and should just be playing it standardly now. If a diamond comes you can get away. If you are winning lots of uncontested small pots I would keep it that way and shove on him pre once his stack gets small enough to do that.

Well he'd not given up completely but he stopped doing it every hand. At first it was every hand. I then checked the first time but raised the next three or four which stopped him a bit. I was pleased to get the limp here obviously because I assume I'm ahead. He was weak but I'm not saying that I think my ace is behind because he's limped. I don't however expect him to call a raise unless he's ahead so I'm happy to try to trap him.

I was happy playing the risk free game but then this hand came up.

What's standard play here? Do I keep it small by checking?

[daviebhoy]

What's standard play here? Do I keep it small by checking?

I can't think of any reason whatsoever to give a free card on a dangerous board when you have flopped 2 pair. Just bet and be happy if he folds and lets you keep chipping away at him.

[EvilPie]

Ok so I bet 25k and he calls.

Turn comes 

He leads out for 20k.

His previous bets have been very big when he is confident. Earlier (pre HU) he had been raising 5-6 bbs pre and then betting big and had shown some big hands.

I don't think he likes his hand that much but wants to "find out where he is".

Do I just pass to this weak bet? If he's got a good flush and I happen to hit the house I'm getting the lot so pot odds for calling aren't too bad considering it's for the whole lot.

I also don't want to lose my impetus as the aggressor. Is it maybe worth 20k to not give him the confidence to start playing back at me. Obviously there's the added bonus if I hit.

Flat or pass? Or anybody even think raise?

[Cf]

Why did you bet 25k into a 22k pot? You said you wanted to try and keep this pot small... there's now 72k in the middle.

It's now 20k to call into a 92k pot so you're getting about 4.5:1. You're about 9:1 to hit your house, so clearly not pot odds. If however you think you'll get the rest of his stack if it hits then a call is fine, if not a tad marginal, imo.

The problem with raising is any sort of meaninful raise is going to have to be in the 70k+ mark, and the pot you didn't want to build is suddenly very expensive. Do you think the raise will work against this villian? Only you can really answer that.

[EvilPie]

Why did you bet 25k into a 22k pot? You said you wanted to try and keep this pot small... there's now 72k in the middle.

It's now 20k to call into a 92k pot so you're getting about 4.5:1. You're about 9:1 to hit your house, so clearly not pot odds. If however you think you'll get the rest of his stack if it hits then a call is fine, if not a tad marginal, imo.

The problem with raising is any sort of meaninful raise is going to have to be in the 70k+ mark, and the pot you didn't want to build is suddenly very expensive. Do you think the raise will work against this villian? Only you can really answer that.

I didn't say I wanted to keep it small. I said I thought about keeping it small but asked what people thought.

Yes 25k was maybe a bit high but I was probably a bit over protective of my hand after the previous time when I'd let him in cheap to hit.

If I hit I'm confident that I'm stacking him. At this stage anyway but it may change on the river.

[EvilPie]

The problem with raising is any sort of meaninful raise is going to have to be in the 70k+ mark, and the pot you didn't want to build is suddenly very expensive. Do you think the raise will work against this villian? Only you can really answer that.

At this stage I didn't think for one second that a raise would get him to pass. I didn't raise just wondered if anybody out there might be crazy enough to try it.

If I raise and he shoves I have to pass. For me it was either pass or call.