heads up NL holdem - what to raise with

[Forbillz]

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But I don't usually auto-raise a limper, because I'm out of position the rest of the hand.

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the fact that your out of postion is precisely why you auto raise.


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Yes and no. Like I said, this is still read-dependent. What % of the time will the button fold to my auto-raise? How much of my stack do I have to commit?

Again, I wasn't trying to say MY way is the RIGHT way, I'm just saying my playing preference is to out-play my opponent post-flop. I've had pretty good success playing this way. It lets me trap very effectively and buy a lot of pots after the flop.

[primetimenole]

I play quite a few Heads Up SnG's and my main preflop strategy is to not give my opponent a read - or better yet to give them a false read on what cards I have.

Most people will just raise with their good cards and limp with their bad ones. That is a very important read to have on an opponent because if someone raises me and the flop comes out 863 rainbow then I pound it because I figure they've missed it.

I try to mix it up all the time. I raise with 27o as much as I would with AJ. Actually, sometimes more if I know my opponent folds alot to pre-flop raises. I figure the best way to win a hand with 27o is to aviod playing the hand.

On the other hand, I'll limp with 27o as much as AJ. I don't auto-raise from any position. Of course, auto-raising is a good way to not give your opponent a read but I feel I can be more effective limping and raising because it gives my opponents false reads.

As for general strategy, I try to figure my opponent out as quickly as possible within the first few levels. If he is betting small amounts, I'll often call down to the river just to see what he is betting with. I also try to find out how often my opponent folds to a preflop raise. If they fold in this situation often, of course I will raise more often to exploit it. If they dont fold as often, then I'll rethink my strategy of raising alot with garbage. Also, I think a couple signs of a weak opponent is one who folds in the SB or one who severely overbets a pot - say, betting 150 into a 40 chip pot.

Another thing I do is try to negate the effect of position by betting out alot on the flop from the BB. I know that if the BB checks the flop to me I will bet it about 95% of the time unless I'm trying to slowplay a hand, therefore I like to bet out from the BB to prevent this from happening.

Anyways, those are just a few of my thoughts. I appreciate all the previous input, there's not much info out there about playing heads up matches so I try to read whatever I can get. I also think that the fact that there is not much info available on Heads Up matches makes them profitable.

Take care,

PTN