2:08am: Perhaps one of the most tricky things about heads up poker is finding the right balance between deception and truth. How you walk the fine line between value bets and bluffs go a long way to determining how successful you are in heads up sit n gos. Some people don’t bluff enough. Some people bluff too much. The most profitable players are the ones who find the right balance of the two. While there is no one set answer or “magic bullet” to describe the ratio of value bets to bluffs in heads up poker, it probably involves a lot less bluffing than you’d think.
The problem with heads up play for a lot of people is that they have trust issues. While I won’t get into the reasons behind these deep seeded issues, it is not deniable that these issues do exist. Unfortunately for some, this lack of trust towards other human beings carries over too much to the poker table. With this kind of player, it doesn’t matter how many quality hands you showdown, how many times he’s called you (and lost) with bottom pair, or how many times he folds and you show a monster — he doesn’t trust you, and he never well. As long as those two cards you’re playing are face down, he’s going to assume you’re lying.
These are the kinds of players that offset the point and value in bluffing. If you’re going to get called anyway, why lie, right? Therefore, in determining who you should and shouldn’t bluff against, you have to factor in your opponents trust factor. How do they perceive you? Have they demonstrated an ability to make good laydowns, or do they call you light every time, just to prove a point (that they can’t be bluffed)? If it’s the latter, then you really need to re-think your value bet to bluff ratio. If it’s the former, then it might do you some good to show a bluff every now and then. Regardless, bluffing has three main intentions:
- To make your opponent fold
- To throw your opponent off his game, and to keep him guessing
- To get paid later on, when you actually have a hand
If your opponent isn’t intelligent enough to even logically process those three concepts, then bluffing is a totally null and void part of your arsenal. I’ve talked about “fancy play syndrome” before. In the context of playing against a simple minded player, it’s basically the poker equivalent of buying the movie Cloverfield on Blu-Ray; it’s just totally unnecessary. Save the fancy plays for the players who have a second level of thought.
I always tell people that sometimes the solution to patching leaks in their game is right in front of their face. Sometimes less is more, and sometimes it’s not. Be able to recognize when you don’t have to change a thing in order to win, and you’re already one step closer to improving your game.
Start a Clean Slate at a New Room, a New Sharkscope, and Keep HFL Free in the Process
