You see, when you have a big chip lead in heads-up
action, the first secret is YOU MUST ATTACK.
To get a perspective on this, think about how you
play when you're the SHORT STACK...
You're prepared to go all-in as soon as possible,
right?
Well, you must use this to your ADVANTAGE when
you're the big stack, and PUT YOUR OPPONENT ALL-IN
right away... rather than the other way around.
When you have a big chip lead, YOU must be the one
to create "coin-toss" situations... and fast.
A coin-toss situation is when both players have
virtually equal odds... and the winning hand is
determined by whatever the flop, turn, and river
cards are.
In heads-up poker, any starting hand with a FACE
CARD is playable. Or any pocket pair. It's that
simple.
If you've got a big chip lead on your opponent and
he CHECKS or LIMPS-IN (calls the blinds), then you
should IMMEDIATELY put him all-in.
He wouldn't be checking or limping-in if he had
ANYTHING DECENT at all...
If he folds, you've stolen the blinds from him,
which is crucial. If he calls, you've created a
"coin-toss" situation.
Odds are you'll win at least one out of every two
coin toss situations. Or at the very least, you'll
win one out of three.
Push or Fold:
Ax Kx
Qx Jx
T8 T7s
98s
22+
(103/169 = 60.95%)
Here's a basic summary of the "rules" you should
follow when playing heads-up poker with a huge
chip lead. When I say "huge", I'm talking about
10 to 1 or more...
And that's the exact moment when you MUST PULL THE
TRIGGER AND WIN THE GAME.
If you don't, the chip stacks can quickly even out
again and you may lose your chance forever.
Anyway... here are the RULES you should follow with a huge chip lead (10 to 1 or more):
1. Any starting hand with a face card or any pocket
pair is good.
2. You should either FOLD or go ALL-IN every time.
Nothing else.
3. Force COIN-TOSS situations... In other words,
leverage the 50/50 ODDS as much as possible. Do
this two or three times and you will almost always
win the match.
4. If you're playing against a tight player, it
will be even easier. Keep going all-in on just
about every hand and let the blinds eat him to
death.
Read and re-read those four principles and you'll
be prepared the next time you make it to a
heads-up match.
Push or Fold:
Ax Kx
Qx Jx
T8 T7s
98s
22+
(103/169 = 60.95%)
50/50 ODDS means:
Ax Kx
Q5 Qxs
J7 J5s
T8 T7s
98s
22+
(91/169 = 53.85%)
> 50% odds are:
Ax Kx
Q6 Q3s
J8 J6s
T9 T7s
98s
33+
(86/169 = 51% of hands)
http://www.cardschat.com/f11/how-beat-short-stack-heads-up-61283/
http://www.thepokerforum.com/joebenik8.htm
http://books.google.ca/books?id=ix4HeDVvgIYC&pg=PA73&lpg=PA73&dq=finish+a+short+stacked+opponent+in+heads+up&source=bl&ots=DMnInk7bxP&sig=WSx8q9SQBDv0GZsSn6FvbVNvtBs&hl=en&sa=X&ei=VnR-U-KRCOqH8AHhjoDABw&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=finish%20a%20short%20stacked%20opponent%20in%20heads%20up&f=false
