Sharks want to play heads-up?

Pass

Why not. You might be a natural.
It’s almost entirely exploitative poker.

Don’t fall for the ‘double the stakes’ mindset and let them get you out of your comfort zone playing too high.

I would find a site where you can practice, GTO wizard and others to get a feel. Every hand is a flip, I think you would like that.

Doug Polk

Lol, do you want to win from fish at 1/3 or be a sucker? These days, you need to know GTO to play HU. Did you see Rounders, where the protagonist is taking his whole bankroll made playing mostly limit against fish and playing HU against a shark? Why is he so eager to play you HU? Early poker boom, I was beating a low-mid stakes online limit game, partly by playing solid, and got crushed when it got 3-handed versus 2 good players.

Don’t understand why you would want to play good players in a game format you’ve never played before. Heads up is really different from full ring.

If you want to learn, you should play online somewhere. Most sites have heads up tables available, but it’s probably better to just open-sit at a full ring table and play heads up against a random before the table fills up. That way you’re not playing against a heads up specialist.

This video/podcast is a good place to start too: https://youtu.be/8LK0m01rxcI?si=OLq_Ij1B...

Just think about this for a second. Sharks wanting to play you HU is not a sign of how much they respect your game; it is a sign of how much they expect to profit.

Exactly. If the dude is actually playing 500nl online and profitably he will absolutely destroy you HU. Why you would even make this thread is beyond me, money in poker comes from fish, not from dick measuring contests vs regs.

So just to clarify from the bolded, some good / professional / for-profit players are attempting to setup a HU game with you, a version you have no experience with, and you're wondering if this is a good idea?

GgohomeBanana,you'redrunk,imoG

Go home Banana, you're drunk.

Maybe I just see the ‘nice’ in people. These sharks are not out to break you banana, they like you. They are making plenty of money and don’t need yours.

They know you play a laggy style and think you would like ‘heads up’. Not saying they won’t be playing hard against you, but don’t think it’s as cut-throat as the rest of the posters.

Obviously, it will start out as a learning experience and of course, I could be wrong and the others right. I just don’t see it as a big deal, no different than dabbling with PLO.

I would rather attempt to play every single hand I was dealt in a ring game than try to out-play a bunch of crushers heads-up.

What should scare the hell out of you, yet is probably something you haven't even considered, is how little respect they must have for your game if they're willing to play as low as 1/3 against you rather than play 25/50.

Just to express that numerically - let's just say that a decent 25/50 reg can expect to make a measly 3BB's per hour, for $150. In order for him to prefer playing 1/3 with you heads up, he has to think his skill edge is worth more than 50BB's per hour.

When I've run super-hot, I've destroyed 1/3 ring games for 50-60BB's per hour. But those were ring games, when I ran hot, and caught cards, and was playing my absolute best.

Heads-up, half the hands they play, they'll be OOP. When I'm crushing a ring game, I might VPIP as high as 33% (3 hands / orbit, 9-handed), and probably 2/3 of the hands I play, I'll be in position. They'll literally have to play every hand they're dealt, and half of them will be OOP.

For them to think they can beat you for $150 / hr in a raked 1/3 game when they'll be OOP half the time, they have to think you're not just bad, you're super-punty, and / or you have some extremely pronounced leaks which are easy and super-profitable to exploit.

If more than one reg is asking you to play HU, it means they're talking about you, and how you play. It means you're doing things that are remarkable enough for them to remember the details well enough to recount the story to others.

Have you played much heads up, or even short-handed? I have. I probably have 20-30 hours playing heads-up or 3-handed. It's mentally exhausting, because you have to think about how to play every hand you're dealt.

It's not like a ring game, where you can auto-fold K7o from every position. The ranges get expanded dramatically, and make hand-reading post-flop a much bigger challenge.

Try doing equity calcs in your head post flop when your opponent is VPIP'ing 80% and 3B'ing 50%.

Lol, they just want to do you a favor, playing HU. Sure. From his posts, OP has strengths to his game, but plays unsound. They probably think they could crush him HU. Most of us would get crushed HU by some 2/5 reg who is a decent HU player and trying to get people to play him HU.

If they aren't out to take your money but playing you because they like you they would actually make it fair and give you odds(like they return 50% of your losses but you get to keep everything if you win). Even at that rate they are likely a favorite to win at least to begin with and if FreeCard was right they don't need your money and are doing this because they think you might like heads up and they like you they would want to make it fair. If everyone else is right and they want your money they aren't looking for fair they are looking to swindle. Fortunately if they aren't willing to make it fair you get to see who is right.

You can not possibly be this naive.

Freecard must really not like Banana!

If they're asking you to play up it only means 1 of two things - either they're true degens and love competition or they think you suck and can print off of you - I would think more the latter as money rules everyone's decisions in life. For you there's really no reason to want to do this - you're taking on a lot of short term variance that might not be able to be recovered if it goes there way and you might be losing per hand against them. HU plays much different then even 3-4 handed - it's more skillful which could be very good or very bad for you.

Was legit going to post this might be the most naive post in the history of this forum.

(not hatin' FreeCard, just sayin')

Git'ssupersweetthough,alwayslookonthebrightsideoflife,imoG

There is a huge difference between this and "dabbling with PLO". In a standard PLO game there is a reasonable chance if OP spends a week studying game concepts and has the discipline to actually play properly there are worse players at the table. HU against sharks OP is the worst player at the table.

idk man ive told you this in the past but i think they and you are subsequently over rating their skill level. obviously you are drawing stone dead to beat anyone that is a hs reg headsup at a game format you haven't played before over any kind of sample. i just find it difficult to believe actual 25/50 regs or hs mtt guys are so bored that they are not only willing but actively challenging people to play 45 hand an hour 1/3 nl.

am sure they are decent for whatever game you play but i would imagine that you could catch up to their skill level relatively quickly if you were willing to put the work in (you don't seem to be).

i get this doesn't answer your question necessarily but it also does. spend 2-4 weeks looking at hu ranges pre / post / deep and play low stakes online and i would imagine you'd be a small favorite vs these guys.

I think the betting odds would have you around a +150 dog.

Hey Banana - my honest assessment is that you would be a significant dog against a 500 NL online reg in a HU match based on your posts. However, if you intend to play a single heads-up match you will have a fighting chance, as the variance in that format is significant.

Genuine advice for you if you intend to pursue these HU matches - GTOWizard has useful HU drilling in order to practice. Additionally Kevin Rabichow has some excellent HU material you can find online, HU not my format but has been extremely beneficial to my game and would greatly recommend.

Simple GTO Trainer is good for practicing GTO, not that you really want to play it in live cash. You should be able to practice playing HU online at really low stakes. It would be insane to play HU against someone at the casino who wants to play you HU.

Your style is probably better suited to tournament play. In live 1/3, they don't want to fold, so low equity semibluffs are usually disasterous. In tournaments though, the early play deep is usually kind of wild and you should play solid then. Stack preservation is important later on, but you can exploit others desire not to bust out, ICM concerns, etc. An aggressive approach generally works better in tournaments than low stakes live.

Maybe this is irrelevant.

But years ago(like 15+) I've watched those HU videos, the hu pros explaining their thought process was way way different than your standard 9 handed or 6 handed game.

They have high 3bet/4bets, all to test the waters of opponent. Each and every hand gives them massive info about the opponents line of thought. Afterwards they immediately adjust. Once they figure out the opponent, it becomes 1 sided game. Sure there's luck involved but the skills difference is so great that you would be clueless on how you lost. You might even think you lost due to luck/cooler etc. But I promise you it's not the case for HU matches.

If I were to rewatch those outdated videos, even though game has evolved and with GTO and stuff but their thought process are still priceless these days.

So imho, if you're just a live reg, playing HU is suicidal unless you know wtf you're doing. As of recent years HU poker has been dead. My guess would be many regs bumhunt and the games died down when there are no longer newer fishes to keep up with the demand.

Results FFS