Jon Huckle polishes off our series on Sit ‘n’ Gos with a look at perfect heads-up play.
So, you’ve done most of the hard work and reached the last two in your STT. You’re guaranteed a profit (and in a standard $20 STT, with a payout of 50%/30%/20%, that’s $60 in the bank) and generally feeling good. Happy in the knowledge that no matter what, your online balance will increase by a few bucks, what should you do next?
The first thing to do is give yourself a huge slap for being so complacent and being happy with that 2nd place. You’re in a position to make some proper money on your investment now and not just a few bucks so you should be prepared to go to war. The heads-up part of the game can be the most taxing, frustrating, yet rewarding part of any STT game. Firstly the win guarantees you double your potential profit ($100 instead of $60 going by our standard $20 STT) by beating just ONE person, not having to slog through another seven players.
TIP 1: PAY ATTENTION
Normally when you reach the heads-up stage online you will be involved in other games at the same time so the hands will be coming thick and fast. First off, don’t join any new games until you have finished this game and try to pay this the most attention. Some heads-ups can be over after a few hands but some can go on for what seems an age, particularly if you are both well matched.
Anyone that’s played in the World Heads-Up Championship knows that four hours is not an unusual amount of time to spend battling mano e mano but realistically online, in a worst-case scenario, you could be looking at 20 minutes in an STT. However, dependant on the stacks and blinds the game could continue over many hands, so avoid the urge to shove it in and get it over with as frustration can cost you; remember you fought hard to get to this point and often you’ll need to fight harder to get over the finishing line.
TIP 2: HAND SELECTION
A lot of players ask me what hands they should be raising and calling with heads-up. This really depends on how you perceive your opponent and how he perceives you. Obviously hand values are dramatically increased heads-up - any ace, two picture cards or pair are huge hands.
TIP 3: YOUR OPPONENTS
Having watched the table over the last hour you should have a pretty good idea of what your opponent has to offer. You may even have been saying in your head, ‘I want him heads-up.’ Most players will not dramatically change their game for the heads-up part so the information gathered will determine how you approach the final furlong. Remember, not every player plays the same so don’t just go steaming in with a predetermined plan to play aggressively because if you’re playing a person that is likely to call any raise you will never know where you are.
Depending on what image you have portrayed throughout can also be a way of gaining an advantage. If you have a very tight image your raises should get through and re-raises particularly will scare the living daylights out of your opponent. The reverse also applies; if you have a loose image you can play the trapper’s game and limp with monster hands and let the aggressive players hang themselves.
TIP 4: STACK SIZES
When entering heads-up the relative chip stacks can make a huge difference. Having a big chip lead or being way behind play a factor in how you should approach the start of the session. Against a tight opponent this can be irrelevant and you should be looking to raise on the button frequently and keep the pressure on. Keep your raises consistent; 2.5 times the BB is normally enough to make a tight player pass but remember that any two cards is not an excuse to raise. You are allowed to pass sometimes and any decent player will realise if you have got an aggressive stance and will play back at you. Also, they are normally unlikely to push back at you unless they have a genuine hand so if they do be prepared to pass even hands like Q-J or K-10 which may seem good heads-up but against a tight opponent you are likely to be dominated. You don’t want to undo all the hard work you have done getting that far by making a marginal call. You should gradually wear your opponent down to a point where they have to gamble. When this happens tighten up and raise only with a decent hand, trying to get them to commit.
Against a loose aggressive player the chip stacks make a big difference. They are more likely to either try and double up if way behind or try and knock you out with a marginal hand so tighten up your game and look for a good spot to take them on. Getting back to level pegging against a loose player will normally make them take a step back as the fear of losing will hit them. Here the ‘last hand seen’ scenario comes into play if they only see big hands they will be more cautious.
Against the aggressor try to avoid flat-calling his raises as they do wake up with hands every now and again so find out where you are by re-raising. If re-raising means committing most of your stack then either fold and wait for a better hand or put all your chips in and make their decision to call much harder; there’s no point having to fold on the flop and leave yourself crippled.
I will often flat call with a huge pair against aggressive players and then let them raise and bet into me. Most aggressive players who raise pre-flop will bet out on the flop, especially if they think you are tight. Unfortunately, sometimes you will find yourself against an opponent that will just shove with any stack in any blinds and this often happens if the player knows he can’t outplay you. |All you can do here is pick the best spot you can.
FINAL WORD
Fortunately the best heads-up players usually stick to the heads-up games so you are unlikely to run into a heads-up expert in STTs. However, if you want to hone your game go sit at some heads-up STTs and practice, practice, practice. If you really want to increase your ROI this is an area that you need to excel in, and maybe you could be the next world heads-up champ in the making. |
