some HU hands vs leaderboard player

he/she is top 5 on sharkscope. at the time, they were multitabling 20+ tables.

Originally Posted by hand 1

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t200 (2 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver)

saw flop|saw showdown

Hero (t5786)
Button (t7714)

Preflop: Hero is BB with A, J.
Button raises to t700, Hero raises to t1800, Button calls t1100.

Flop: (t3600) 2, 7, 9 (2 players)
Hero bets t3961 (All-In), Button calls t3961.

Turn: (t11522) 6 (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: (t11522) 5 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Final Pot: t11522

Originally Posted by hand 2

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t200 (2 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver)

saw flop|saw showdown

BB (t9670)
Hero (t3830)

Preflop: Hero is Button with T, K.
Hero raises to t600, BB calls t400.

Flop: (t1025) 7, 6, K (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets t800, BB raises to t9045, Hero calls t2405 (All-In).

Turn: (t13275) 3 (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: (t13275) Q (2 players, 1 all-in)

Final Pot: t13275

Hand 1 - just shove over his raise. AJ is a monster hand heads up and if he's good he should be raising a very very wide range. As played, I don't like the flop shove - I'm scared about his preflop call, this is very likely a big PP (since AK/AQ would just shove over your re-raise). I'd much rather just get it AI preflop, if he has JJ+ then I pay him if I don't suck out. As played I think I c/f the flop, you have 20x BB behind which is nowhere near desperate.

Hand 2 - nh. I am almost never laying down TPGK HU.

Originally Posted by taipan168

Hand 2 - nh. I am almost never laying down TPGK HU.

Spoken like a Scholar.

these were the 2 hands of 2 tourneys that knocked me out. damn getting 2nd sucks ass....so much ROI lost!!!!

KJ hand i ran into AA. it was pretty standard bad luck.

hand 1....

at which point/hands/stacks are you guys going to raise and "play poker" rather than push/fold?

hand 1, clearly play 2 street poker, not push fold mode yet. Very interesting HU hand though.

He raised, you reraise, he called in position, that gives you good info right there on the flop. How can you effectively play out of position in a pot that is approximately equal to your remaining stack on the flop? Your opponent knows your post flop options and thats why he only called preflop - you have two options open push with the inferior hand, or check/fold your good starting hand. Either way you are owned. After a reraise with those chip stacks/pot size, almost every hand will push or fold preflop rather than call, except for hands that are very likely to still be ahead post flop.

So you got to the 2nd street and he's already told you preflop something about his hand - he's most likely got a pocket pair, possibly a really strong pocket pair, or AJ+. It's not impossible that he's playing it completely bonkers with some mid range rags too. On the flop, you know when he calls that you're going to be oop and at best can restrict his odds to 2:1 if you open push. What range of hands do you beat on that flop given his preflop range for raise/calling? How would you play AA here? Would you open push with that monster pot, or check to the action man?

He gave you the luxury of seeing the flop with the risk of you hitting, but now with no A or J on board, you're in a world of hurt vs any pocket pair. 2nd street of this 2 street game to me pretty clearly says check/fold.

Originally Posted by |~|ypermegachi

at which point/hands/stacks are you guys going to raise and "play poker" rather than push/fold?

For me the size of bb dictates whether to play poker or push/fold. Also, if opponent makes a raise and a reraise from me pretty much commits me, I just push. Just like your hand 1. I agree with others that you can't get away from hand 2 when HU.

if i pushed his raise hand 1, he probably woulda folded...he held 96 (yeah...the 6 on the turn was to rub it in...apparently stars didn't like me that hand)...

but still, he raised 2.5 the BB, and i have 27BB behind me. isn't pushing here overkill?

Originally Posted by |~|ypermegachi

if i pushed his raise hand 1, he probably woulda folded...he held 96 (yeah...the 6 on the turn was to rub it in...apparently stars didn't like me that hand)...

but still, he raised 2.5 the BB, and i have 27BB behind me. isn't pushing here overkill?

As Sprayed said, whether you push over is not just determined by your preflop stack size, it's also whether you'll be committed on the flop. By re-raising to 1800, you leave yourself with basically a pot-sized bet on the flop if opp calls.

Whenever I raise, I always ask myself - am I calling if opp pushes over and what am I doing on the flop if opp calls? In this spot, because you aren't deep enough to make a c-bet and get away from the hand with your re-raise to 1800, pushing preflop would be a better line IMO.