$220 HU SNG: Case study vs Tough, aggro opponent

[derosnec]

you play very well

with that said . . .

the KQ pf ai call i don't like. i can't remember if i have ever been shown a hand worse than KQo when i've been reraised ai when the blinds are still small.

the K9s is iffy. once the blinds get to 50, i'm slowing down and limping with hands that want to see a flop but aren't favored in pf ai situation because, from my experience, reraises are too likely at the third level.

the royal: inducing river bluff/second best hand stuff vs. building pot a little more on turn and perhaps giving villain chance to c/r u. there are scare cards that can hurt your action on the river. from experience in these things, people rarely bluff the river on a flushy board, especially if you showed strength on the flop. so i guess u can hope he hits a second best hand, but i see no reason not to charge him a little toll on the turn.

[Gildwulf]

The KQ is definitely bad against most opponents, not debating that here but I think Kx is a huge part of his range and given his range it's a very marginal call.

THe k9 I kinda screwed myself on by raising too much preflop. I still think this is a strong enough hand to take a stand against him though given the pot odds in this particular scenario and his likely push range (ax, kx, two cards above a ten, pairs)

On the royal hand I either get paid off or I don't, I might as well try and build the pot so he has to make a tough call on the river with a hand like TPMK or a weak two pair.

[APXG]

[ QUOTE ]
Very nice post Gild, appreciate the time you took to post it!

I think the play looks nice, but hand 38 I'm not too hot about. You will pretty much never get called by any hand you have beat and you will never get any value out of a high A, while getting stacked by all hands that call you.

So how about a check-raise all-in on that flop? It's a very good flop for you, and him being so aggressive I'd guess he figures you missed the flop most of the time and will bet out. That way you will actually get added value from hands that you do beat, while seeing the same results as now from the hands that beat you.

I've actually gotta run now, but I'll return if I think of something else.

Thanks again G!

[/ QUOTE ]

With the prior history of the match, checking flop in hand 38 is a free card very very often. It just looks too checkraisable for a good opponent to bet, especially with his overcard-heavy range. I like betting 350 slightly more than shoving, as a good/aggro opponent isn't calling there like ever. Raising all in with 5-9 outs is a possibility though. If not, well just shove the turn.

[italianstang]

Really great post.

Hand 40 I found a little odd. It seems like there is a good chance that he will call here and you will be in a coinflippy situation for a large pot. Good read that he was going to fold.

I don't think however that I would characterize this opponent as "tough". Definitely tough compared to lots of the HU SNG players but you were able to control the match from the start without much resistance from him.

[HockeyChecker]

It seems to me that opponent is not tough, but rather very aggressive and has tendency to make some loose calls on the flop. I don't really like your call with 5's in Hand #5 and I think a mistake with a lot of players is just paying 40 chips off in the beginning thinking they're drawing to a live flush, where even if they are, they are unlikely to get paid off. I think the KQ call versus this opponent is pretty standard with his range being any PP, a lot of Ace-X's and maybe also some bluffs. I also have a problem with K9ss hand. With this player being so low you are right that you did have odds to call his raise once he moved in for 800, but I think a 150 raise is much better as it gives you more space to get off the hand. Other than that I thought you picked your spots real well and in general, gg.

[snagglepuss]

i never seem to ever just limp my button. and seldom fold it. probably 85%+ raise from button.