Heads Up NL Poker Forums

For all of the pro's out there that play 10/20 and above, i would like to understand once u get
to the these levels, the level of predictability for decent players.

If the key component to a great HU player is to continually manipulate his image from TAG to LAG to
Loose passive to Tight passive...to consistently be aggressive and changing so there are no real patterns... how is it possible to make solid reads on these players?...b/c if all reads are based upon past performance and styles are always changing...what is your edge?

For example...Krantz made a good read on Whitelime where he outplayed him knowing that Whitelime
was a loose 3-better. I was suprised that Whitelime didnt anticipate this knowing Krantz understanding of his game...but nevertheless ...how exploitable are the holes in an everchanging
environment?
thx

not a highstakes player but my understanding is that these guys really understand game flow and can anticipate when an opponent will fold and when they are ready to get stubborn.

Not an expert, but I don't think that this sort of thing is necessarily outplaying someone in the traditional sense. Like, it's probably not one of those "I saw your soul" moments.

Say vs a loose 3bettor, you just decide to shove like X% of your top hands and Y% of your bottom hands.

Once you have that system, you nearly always do it (i.e. you may deviate to another co-optimal strategy 50/50 or something, if such strategy exists).

Kinda loses its romance after that.

not a highstakes player but my understanding is that these guys really understand game flow and can anticipate when an opponent will fold and when they are ready to get stubborn.

Yeah, I'm not a high stakes player either but I think their decisions are based a lot on game flow and how a player has been playing during a session while also taking into consideration their previous plays. Could be wrong tho.

Game flow plays a huge part in it. You have to be well aware of what your opponent has been doing (and with what hands, if you can pull it off) You also need to take into account how he likely sees you and your style at any given time. Some moves only work well under certain optimal conditions, some work most of the time but are sometimes bad. It also helps to have a very clear understanding of hand ranges and equity, because in an aggressive match stacks can go in a lot more often, and your equity matters a lot more if thats the case.

And as much as I would prefer to give analytical and reasoned advice, I think intuition plays a big role in decision making, especially HU. Theres just some sense that I get when things are happening, and it very often leads me in the right direction, even if that means some goofy play or some thin call. I reckon it comes from years of experience and analysis, but its pretty useful.