Headsup: To gamble or not ?

dingle

Hi Folks,

I'd like some advice on a situation I was in a couple of days ago. This game is on PokerStars, it's a 180 player $20 SnG (which is a tourney I'd highly recommend - great structures etc ). I ended up headsup, I had a c.75,000 and the other guy had c.195,000. Blinds, I think are 1000/2000. Winner gets $1080 second gets c.$750

I get A9 hearts and raise 4000, other guy calls. Flop comes Kh 6h 3s. I raise 8000 other guy re-raises 12000.

This other guy seems to be a very good player, headsup had been going on for about 15 hands with no serious movement on stack sizes.

So do I fold, call or push ?

RMcG

Push, when you play with A9 hearts whats in your mind, what are you looking to flop???? Heads up I would be looking for the Ace because your 9 will probably be good as a kicker or loooking for the nut flush draw....this is an excellent flop for you......its what you wanted to flop so commit everything.

Plus heads up is all about aggression and gamble, you might get him off the hand with the allin reraise too and if he calls you still have an amazing chance of winning the hand......

Amaru

I think a push is bad here. He almost definitely has a King, and i don't think most people are folding top pair headsup, regardless of their kicker. As far as what he's looking for on the flop, would top pair not be much better for him? Right now, all he has a flush draw, and probably 1 live overcard. I say call.

RMcG

Call is bad in my opinion, if he is an anyway decent player he will know you are flushing. If the heart doesnt come here on the turn you will be facing a bigger follow up bet which you will probably have to call too. If the heart does come on the turn you wont get paid.

Allin in the best bet here, he has a K yes probably. But if he folds he is still in a strong position to win. I say ideally get him off the hand now with a push, but if he calls you still have any heart and any ace to more than likely win, his raise is also small enough to suggest he might have middle pair or a smaller flush draw.

cardshark202

I agree, its a push or fold situation. I would definately lean towards pushing, especially if he is a good player. The reason for this is that if you allow a good player to dictate the betting, he will outplay you on most boards.

PPP-Pit Boss

Push.. You raised pre-flop therefore he would have expected a pot sized bet post flop whether you had anything or not.He had the chips to be agressive (almost 3x your stack) you have an overcard and the nut flush draw and could easily be facing a bluff. Opportunities like that heads up dont come often. I would push!

Amaru

He's not dictating the betting because he's a good player, he's dictating it because he has position, and a sizeable chip lead.

Pushing here forces a coinflip, or a 60/40 if your opponent has a heart. Like I said, I don't think he's folding top pair headsup, not at a 22. You have a lot of big blinds left, so if you feel like you can outplay your opponent, taking this situation is less than optimal. If you don't, then its fine. Maybe calling here is actually the wrong play, given the size of his reraise compared to your stack. His bet on the turn will more than likely be close to pot sized too, meaning you could very well go broke chasing this draw. It is a push or fold, dictated by the above.

hotspur

With those relative chip stacks I doubt there's a good player in the world who wouldn't raise all in.

Waylander

Gotta be pushing here. Even if he has the king it leaves you 11 outs, and I do not think he definitely has it. I think your initial post flop bet should have been a little more aggressive also, at least the amount in the pot, which was 12k if I am reading the post correctly.

dingle

I did push here, my reasoning was that with the situation as it was I needed to take a bit of a gamble. I wasn't at all confident about outplaying this guy as I had seen him play a lot throughout the tourney and he knew his stuff (subsequently I looked him up and he was about no. 30 in the PokerStars leader board)

I hit my flush and won the pot ( and subsequently went on to win ) But when the other guy saw my flush he became a bit abusive about chasing flush draws and bad play in general. Actually he went a bit tilty after that which helped me to win.

Because I respected the guy as a player, and am fairly inexperienced myself, I was wondering whether I had made a bad play (with the right outcome) or whether he was just a bad loser.

Anyway thanks for the replies.

Amaru

dingle wrote:

Because I respected the guy as a player, and am fairly inexperienced myself, I was wondering whether I had made a bad play (with the right outcome) or whether he was just a bad loser.

What conclusion did you come to? Also, coming over the top a lot is a valid tactic when there is a noticeable gap in talent, as it forces players to release the skill element and leave their faith in the hands of the cards.

Also, what was he holding?

cardshark202

If you felt he was a better player, then there is no question the push is the right option here as its unlikely you'll find a better spot.

dingle

Amaru wrote:

What conclusion did you come to? Also, coming over the top a lot is a valid tactic when there is a noticeable gap in talent, as it forces players to release the skill element and leave their faith in the hands of the cards.

Also, what was he holding?

I think I made the right play, and not just because it worked out for me. With the stacks the way they were I didn't feel that I could grind the guy down as he was too good a player. I needed to push in a spot where a) he'd call and b) if I hit my out I was sure to win. Otherwise I felt he'd use his chip stack to push me around.

He did have the King, which might explain his tantrum. I guess it's hard to take a suckout like that after four and a half hours play. Also I should add that he was fairly polite at the end of the game, I guess he'd calmed down:rolleyes:

Dave

I don´t see how it´s a suckout per se. You knew what you were doing (chasing) he probably knew what you were doing. So it´s a gamble on both of yer parts, and he had the final choice in taking it or not.

OilBeefHooked2

this is a great play and made even better by you making your hand and the subsequent tantrum by your opponent.

Well played

TheDoc

a good heads up player knows how to get aggressive, but knows when to fold. There is no shame in raising big time, and then folding, its just being smart. Its not a big thing like, some people feel, ooo ive gone in loads i have to keep going.

RoundTower

cardshark202 wrote:

I agree, its a push or fold situation. I would definately lean towards pushing, especially if he is a good player. The reason for this is that if you allow a good player to dictate the betting, he will outplay you on most boards.

It's not a push or fold situation for me, it's push or call, and pushing is good as everyone else explained. He should fold a king here, I think a lot of players will.

cardshark202

RoundTower wrote:

It's not a push or fold situation for me, it's push or call, and pushing is good as everyone else explained. He should fold a king here, I think a lot of players will.

Why should he fold what is likely the best hand? Also, I don't see how calling can be good here. Are you then prepared to fold the turn if you don't hit? I think calling here only gets you into trouble.

bohsman

There is so little difference in prize money that it doesnt really matter but I think pushing is the only option here