Heads-up LO8 Preflop Play

[cwar]

Couple questions,
I am coming from a LHE/NLHE background so I want to know if it is ever correct to open limp the button heaps-up (standard blinds), what considerations would make you limp instead of raise and are you always calling a raise from OOP (say it was a very tight range) getting 3:1?

Second, when you do you 3-bet OOP? It seems very different from LHE because the hand values run very close in value preflop so throwing in a lot of 3-bets seems wrong, furthermore if you do it with stuff like A2xx then it is not very deceptive, thanks for your help.

[cwar]

Bump

[WMB]

how often you raise or call on the button has alot to do with your opponent and his tendencies. heads up, i'm always seeing a flop with position. heads up o/8 is a game that plays from the flop. that is, you must understand how the flop relates to your hand and sometimes more importantly your opponents based on his actions.

if i feel i have an edge on my opponent, i'm raising around 80% of the time on the button. against more observant players, i'll vary my raising hands somewhat.

I won't 3-bet OOP very often, but again, it depends on the opponent. opponent too weak tight, 3-bet more often. opponent is aggressive and goes to sd alot, i may want to see the flop cheaply, etc. hope this helps.

[cwar]

[ QUOTE ]
how often you raise or call on the button has alot to do with your opponent and his tendencies. heads up, i'm always seeing a flop with position. heads up o/8 is a game that plays from the flop. that is, you must understand how the flop relates to your hand and sometimes more importantly your opponents based on his actions.

if i feel i have an edge on my opponent, i'm raising around 80% of the time on the button. against more observant players, i'll vary my raising hands somewhat.

I won't 3-bet OOP very often, but again, it depends on the opponent. opponent too weak tight, 3-bet more often. opponent is aggressive and goes to sd alot, i may want to see the flop cheaply, etc. hope this helps.

[/ QUOTE ]
Very helpful thank you, when you say you have an edge is this talking about someone who is playing on the tight side I am guessing someone who is spewing bets by calling down super light you would rather limp in some more marginal hands instead of raising 80% OTB correct?

Also I have been playing some very good players (paying for my education) in HU 10/20 and I have a few questions, is this correct? Id estimate against them Im raising around 60-65% OTB (its live so no stats). How should I be treating high only hands say like a KQssT2 OTB, what about strong high only hands like KKsQsJ? Ive seen advice to only fold trips is it too weak if I open fold something like KT83 rainbow and similar hands OTB?

[WMB]

right, often players are too tight hu, and vs. them you def. want to raise all mediocre to excellent hands in position . against those that call to showdown lightly, you want to raise maybe the top 25-30% of your hands in pos. to take advantage of the slight equity edge your hand probably has. against tougher opponents you may have to vary your raises to keep them from reading you. high only hands are ok to raise with OTB. Yes, fold trips, but I would see a flop with almost anything else if I'm legitamely confident I am outplaying my opponent.

that said, playing well preflop in shorthanded or HU O/8 wont help you much if you can't play well afterwords. you need to really be able to "play poker" from the flop on.

[cwar]

[ QUOTE ]
right, often players are too tight hu, and vs. them you def. want to raise all mediocre to excellent hands in position . against those that call to showdown lightly, you want to raise maybe the top 25-30% of your hands in pos. to take advantage of the slight equity edge your hand probably has. against tougher opponents you may have to vary your raises to keep them from reading you. high only hands are ok to raise with OTB. Yes, fold trips, but I would see a flop with almost anything else if I'm legitamely confident I am outplaying my opponent.

that said, playing well preflop in shorthanded or HU O/8 wont help you much if you can't play well afterwords. you need to really be able to "play poker" from the flop on.

[/ QUOTE ]
Yea actually even with my limited experience I find even if I do make a mistake postflop its readily fixable and apparent which is different from preflop, which is much more ambigious. Ive actually been holding my own against decent players and it must be attributed to at least decent post flop play.

You say you only raise 25-30% OTB against a good player, isnt your position worth raising more often because hands run so close in value? By doing this are you trying to keep the pots small with more marginal holdings and not tie yourself too them? Again, thanks for your help.

[Buzz]

[ QUOTE ]
often players are too tight hu, and vs. them you def. want to raise all mediocre to excellent hands in position . against those that call to showdown lightly, you want to raise maybe the top 25-30% of your hands in pos. to take advantage of the slight equity edge your hand probably has. against tougher opponents you may have to vary your raises to keep them from reading you...
...
...playing well preflop in shorthanded or HU O/8 wont help you much if you can't play well afterwords. you need to really be able to "play poker" from the flop on.

[/ QUOTE ]WMB - Thanks. Excellent advice for one on one play. (I don't necessarily disagree with the portion of your post I didn't include above).

Buzz

[WMB]

No, I said I'd raise the top 25-30% hands against loose, showdown oriented players because of a probable +EV situation. But again, how the flop hits your hand and his likely hands and how often you make the right play based on that is more important.

yes, i think keeping the pot smaller against certain opponents is correct. e.g.- avg.-good 1 way hands against tough or loose players. you'd rather see the flop as your fold equity later on may not be there.

[Micturition Man]

Gah... I started to write a long post thinking you were talking about heads up with full table style blinds.

For true heads up I recommend just doing the same thing you should be doing for LHE: raise or fold, folding only bad high hands with no low and some hands with really bad lows. Probably around 80/20.

As for 3-betting OOP, I have my own thoughts on that which nobody seems to share, but I will simply say that if your opponent is c-betting the flop as much as I believe he should be, there is really no need to 3-bet at all.

[cwar]

[ QUOTE ]

For true heads up I recommend just doing the same thing you should be doing for LHE: raise or fold, folding only bad high hands with no low and some hands with really bad lows. Probably around 80/20.

[/ QUOTE ]
What are the benefits of using a raise or fold approach in your opinion?