How do you play H-U?

[matt674]

How do you play H-U?

Victoria Park is the one you want.

From the A19 take the A689 signposted Hartlepool. Follow the A689 towards the Town Centre.

It'll help to be in the Carling League One, although you might get to play H-U in League Two, as they look like they might go down this year.

For a scot i was quite impressed with your knowledge of lower league English football - til i got to the bit that said "Carling League One"....

As Sark is from the outer reaches of the earth - or Kilmarnock as its more commonly known - i fear the reference to Hartlepool United would be lost

[Sark79]

How do you play H-U?

Victoria Park is the one you want.

From the A19 take the A689 signposted Hartlepool. Follow the A689 towards the Town Centre.

It'll help to be in the Carling League One, although you might get to play H-U in League Two, as they look like they might go down this year.

For a scot i was quite impressed with your knowledge of lower league English football - til i got to the bit that said "Carling League One"....

As Sark is from the outer reaches of the earth - or Kilmarnock as its more commonly known - i fear the reference to Hartlepool United would be lost

lol, matt.

I thought the Carling league was a rugby team league.  So I had no chance with the reference to Hartlepool. 

[GlasgowBandit]

I would echo much of what has been said here. 

Agression is key, but it has to be controlled.  If you go all in every hand you may take down a few point but the time you walk into a hand it maybe night night.

Know your opponent, you should be observing everything going on at the table.

Get your money in first.  I tend to think that if BB checks HU its a sign of weakness its not often you will see monsters being slow played HU.

Vary your play.  Most importantly for me is be aware of your image.

[AdamM]

like you Sark, I consider myself a tight player. 'Rock' is too strong but very tight. HU is completely different. I worry very little about the cards Im dealt.

I find the first half a dozen hands set the tone for a HU battle (assuming niether me or the other player is a huge chip leader). I will try and make a small pre flop raise every hand to start with to see what the reaction is. if I get re-raised most of the time I re-adjust to a trapping game (which I don't like HU because you rarely get hands big enough, and they're hard to get paid off when they come). if he passes or calls I stay aggressive and try and pick up as many small pots as I can. If he's particularly passive it's easy to spot when he gets a hand or hits a flop. if he's making it cheap enough i'll try and stay with him and bust his big hand, if he prices me out I get away cheap and go back to pick9ing up small pots.

for me, it's usually a case of steady gradual pressure without getting myself too commited to pots. Obviously if I'm being very aggressive I make myself a target for traps.

if you fancy some $1 practice sark, PM me and I'd be happy to be a sparring partner. as Red says, there's no substitute for practice.

another trick I like is to set up some patterns, for example I might try minimum raising from the SB and passing to a big re-raise. I do it LOTS of times so that if I get a monster in the SB I've set him up to re-raise me with junk. I'm giving him false information, making him think he's found a weekness, when in fact for only a few chips I'm setting a trap for later.

[thetank]

 til i got to the bit that said "Carling League One"....

What are you crazy kids calling it these days?

[matt674]

 til i got to the bit that said "Carling League One"....

What are you crazy kids calling it these days?

Well the product is a liquid which is consumed and it does begin with "C" so i'll give you a 9 out of 10 - but its Coca-Cola

[Timaloy]

I tend to slow play more often heads up then in a multi way game, most people consistantly raise on the button heads up because all they hear aggression is the key, but aggression can me manipulated by a trapping style player plus in the BB online you are out of position, AK heads up out of position against aggressive players isnt the best situation to be in.

Playing the player is you best play imo, Weak players that dont adjust to the heads up game - raise in position because there checks post flop generally mean weakness.

Recklessly aggressive players - Prefer to trap them, check raise and slow play. Only problem with that is when the cards dry up you are in trouble and I tend to look for 50/50 situations.

The player with diffrent gears and more creativity are the ones you have to watch, if you feel they have your number or have an edge of you just go for the 50/50s and try play pre-flop poker, should limit there edge a bit.

All really depends on chip stacks, blinds, image and lots of other things but those styles work out ok for me.

[AndrewT]

 til i got to the bit that said "Carling League One"....

What are you crazy kids calling it these days?

I remember when it was just 'Division 3'...

[AndrewT]

If you're playing heads-up at the end of an STT, then the blinds are usually big enough that there's not a lot you can do wrong, provided you don't fold too much. The first time the pair of you get half-decent hands, it's all going in the middle and you have to hope your hand holds up. Never, ever, fold from the small blind - raise 3/4 of the time and flat call the other times, but mix up the hands you do this with. The easiest way to do it is pick one of the suits, and if your left hand card is of that suit, call - if not, raise. If you get re-raised, you can then 'look at your hand' and decide whether it's good enough to call. Don't look to call too much from the BB - you'll be out of position if you miss the flop. If a hand is good enough to play from the BB, it's good enough to raise/re-raise with.

Beware players who re-raise you very rarely - when they do it's likely to be a monster, so don't start thinking A6 might be good enough. Of course, if the blinds are very big, pot-odds might dictate a call even if you know you're behind - get to know the percentages of certain hand types (one overcard v pair, dominated cards etc) so you can quickly ascertain whether the odds are there.

End of STT HU battles usually come down to who can steal the most blinds - the most common crime people commit is being too passive. As someone else said, going all-in almost every hand may not be far off the best strategy.

In a one-on-one match, which begins with small blinds, the key is getting inside your opponent's head. What hands does he play, what does he raise with? Is he a trapper? Is he a bluffer? Early on, I find it's best to 'kick the tyres' of my opponent. Bet into him, re-raise him - does he fold or play back? Ease off on a few hands - will he take the initiative if you give it up (by raising pre-flop then checking flop/turn). The more passive your opponent, the easier it is to play him as, not only will you steal pots with nothing, but his raises will be rare enough that they'll signal his big hands (though watch out for potential trapping if you've been a bully - he may be waiting for the opportunity to call you with a monster).

[Sark79]

Again thanks for the comments. They will be studied closely.

I will difinately take you up on the $1 H-U practice games, Adam.  After my brain takes on board all that has been discussed in these posts. I will PM you...   

[ruthless1]

 1.  For me i like to play aggressive.
 2.  Show abluff now and again.
 3.  watch out for there style.
 4.  Use your postion.
 5.  Mix it up well.

[Sark79]

I have watched some HU on pokerstars recently.  However, I don't really think it is something that a person can learn by watching other people.

I don't know if other people have noticed this, but some of the players on the high limit tables on pokerstars play really strange hands. It may just be my fish like poker brain, but I can't see the worth in a lot of the hands that are played.

This is steering away from HU, but can people please give me their views on this.  The other day on the $100/200 Limit table, a player raised with J,9 H  from 4th position. He continued to raise untill the end of the hand and his pair of Jacks ( after the board cards were out ) won the hand. The thing was, three other people were involved in the hand. Someone else made a pair of 8's. At my Low limit games, I don't think anyone would raise with that kind of hand. They definately wouldn't continue the hand untill the end with a board of  J,T,8,K,4. To me there are obvious dangers, straights and one overcard. Someone could have a pocket pair or have made trips. Am I just too tight, or is this the difference between the Sark Limits and the High Limits. The players at the higher limits are able to read more into things, that I can't. If someone calls three of my raises, I would be afraid they had a straight or held a King.

In general, I would say the players at the lower limits play a more 'book' type of game. I know that people like Mike Matasow complain that nobody folds hands at Limit Hold-Em online. Is he correct. I am sure there is a reason behind the styles of play at the higher limts , but I cannot understand it yet in my poker studies. I may need to put ' Play poker like the Pro's' to one side and learn to loosen up abit. If I watch some of a $10/20 game, I can follow most of what goes on. I am sure, I would be crushed if I played against the players at this level at the moment. I am not ready yet ( besides I don't have a roll for that kind of game.. ). But when I try to follow the higher limit games, they just confuse me. It is more like a Play Money Limit game. There is no holding back. It is just all out, raise, raise, raise. 

Am I alone in this. Has anyone else seen this?

Sorry, this is in the wrong bit. It should be the Internet section..

[byronkincaid]

Isn't Hellmuth's book meant to be one of the worst books ever?

[Sark79]

Maybe it is. But I read it recently and I saw the way it was writen. I thought to myself, that is almost exactly how I play.

Jeeez.... ' worse books ever ' ........ Sark fish........   bollox, that explains why I am a fish....lol

[I, Zimbra]

I am reading PPLTP at the moment; can't say I'm too impressed... but it's not unreadable.