How to win HU in MTTs

Janana

Does anyone know what im doing wrong?

Ive just finished runner up yet yet yet yet again, and I just don't seem to understand how it can be variance, Im not great at HU but I know enough and am often very confident at being better than my opponent, and pretty much always get it in good and get bad beated.

For example I 3 bet shove AQ and he calls off equal stack with 910d, 9 binks nothing out of the ordinary there but am I wrong to be getting it all in so often pre? in HU is it better to play more through the streets?

These are often bounty hunters and so the difference is huge in terms of added bounty cash, if its just plain bad beats and I should be happy to get it in good pre or on flop then fine but im starting to think maybe im doing something wrong as this is like the FIFTH runner up in a row, sometimes starting HU as CL.

Thanking you muchly in advance for any kind offerings of wisdom

CraigSG1

Firstly, heads up is a very different version of poker and has to be treated as such. Even if you have been 3 handed for a while what tendancies you saw from a player can* drastically change. Dependant on your stack (if not less than 15BB) then I recomend playing it slowly at first to try and get new reads on your opponent.

*Some people dont change there style but generally they do

I would try to play through the streets, playing small pots if possible (some opponents will just shove allin 75% of times so adjust and try and call off with decent A, most PP and connected high cards) and try and get a feel how aggressively or passively they are playing and adjust your style to suit. 

I would greatly suggest playing HU SNG and read up because as you said the difference between 1st and 2nd is the biggest jump in an MTTs.

hhyftrftdr

If you're getting called by 10 high for the tourney then I wouldn't worry about much.

LARSON7

Definatly play HU Games, they have them for as little as 50p/£1. The turbo ones are quite decent and generally are over pretty quick.

This would really help you with your HU GAmes.

unknown_username

HI J

HU shoves are more likely when the effective stack is csi 8 and below. Craigs post above puts some good points i feel. Curious but what was the effective csi for an AI and call in the AQ vT9s situation. A lot of it when one stack is short compared to the blinds is a purely mathematical situation. Have a read of Kill Everyone which though mathematical has some excellent sections imo. 

BorinLoner

Losing 5 heads-up games in a row isn't that unusual. If you were a serial HU SNG player, you'd expect this to happen every so often.

However, if you have a problem it may be that you're not opening up your range enough when short-handed: Waiting for big hands is not a good idea. It may be that you're not being aggressive enough from the button. It may be that you're not 3-betting wide enough, to prevent your opponent stealing too wide. It may be that you're playing too passively post-flop.

Without specific hands, it's tough to know. You might want to post up a series of hands you've played heads-up. Not just big pots but a series of perhaps six or seven consecutive hands so people can spot any little mistakes. That might help.

Obviously at the sharp end of tournaments there's not a huge amount of play anyway. With stacks relatively short, heads-up can just play itself so it may be that you're not doing anything wrong.

Janana

Thanks everyone for your kind replies

profman, if i remember rightly, blinds were 1250/2500 and we had similar size stacks around 90k, he raised button 4x and i shoved as this was the 1st time they had done this and i was more than happy to get it in with AQ vs what i thought wud be a worse ace or a race, turns out 910d was "their fave hand" so ............

Borinloner - Yes i think im doing the fundamentals correct, i raise wide enough from sb, i dont call from bb with bad hands, not afraid to call down with bottom pair etc. But thanks as theres definately many areas in which to improve.

@).

On a sidenote i think maybe the cash spots for BHs could be revised so its a bit kinder to runner up, i think the usual cash jump is just as big as any other MTT but then you have the final bounty taken and your head prize kept which is sometimes HUGEEEEE. Tho im sure if they did do this id go on a tear winning lol

unknown_username

Hi J

Yes I feel you werecorrect to shove with AQ. He shouldn't with T9s I suggest but that fav hand may have a bearing eh?

I'm not a lover of hu but do consider playing the HU shuffle comps which are fun and give you a good number of hands to go over in retrospect and giving you practice on making notes on players. All the best and gl

Janana

Thank you profman yes I will definitely give them a go when I next can

still wish there was a DEAL option we can both click to just end it there, how often are 2 ppl playing HU for ages who don't want too lol

CraigSG1

Hi J

With all due respect, I think your attitude to HU is so wrong. I dont mean this in an insulting way just that you really need to improve this. Why? Yes, the extra money is nice finishing first but the biggest thing is this: WINNING! 

Seriously, playing an MTT, surviving and slogging for hours through a field, making a final table and then finishing with all the chips. Come on, isnt that why we play? To win? The feeling you get when winning is great and you should never take that buzz lightly!

Improve! HU isnt just about opening your range and calling down with bottom pair. Its about finding out how your opponent plays and adjusting accordingly. Yes, sometimes you cant as your shallow but most of the time you will have some play. Get better!

Always play to win!

Janana

Its hard to practice something you hate though isnt it lol, im so pessamistic i think il practice loads, do well, then next mtt HU lose lol

But i know what you mean, thats why i started this thread, it was starting to get to me with so many runner ups i want to get the W the easy way and not have to practice HU, but i know thats whats needed to help, wont help with the bad beats tho and maybe pre/flop/turn/river makes not much difference, ive always thought of HU as more gamblay even tho i know its not, hard to establish ranges on player you know so little so often. Like i say i will practice them

And i may even keep this as my MTT HU diary of sorts, and let you know how i get on next HU i make (prob months lol) feel free to add also

jugglegeek

Must be nice to be making the top two so consistantly. But seriously, you can practice HU short-stacked by playing some hyper-turbo HU SnGs. They have them for 55p so just set aside like £5 and play these untill it's all gone.

If efective stacks are < 10BBs then it's simply push or fold time and you should be shoving from the button loads. You have to assume that the villian could have anything so you want to be shoving the top 50% of hands (put that into poker stove and it's pretty wide - Ax,Kxs,Qxs,K5o+,Q7o+,J7o+,J4s etc). From the big blind it becomes about calling ranges.

If you are deeper then you can start playing on the flop a little. But don't sit around waiting for top-pair or better. Often ace-high will be the best hand. Any pair is good heads-up and if you flopped a pair but the villian got a better pair then that's just a cooler.

Another thing of note is if you find yourself in a HU match up against a much better player than yourself, you can reduce their edge by just playing shove or fold poker pre-flop

ACEGOONER

As others have said hu sngs are definitely a good way to practice. If you are playing speed mtts try turbos or hypers and learn about shoving/calling ranges. If it is a slower deeper mtt, then try the speed or normal hu sngs. 

There are charts out there showing what the optimal play is when you get below 10bbs. Pretty crude but a good guide. 

LARSON7

If you would like some HU s n go games send me a message.

I'll talk you through hands, why i'm doing what i'm doing etc.

They have them for as little as 50p.