Heads Up Talk

[New Guy]

So as you know I've been playing alot of hu sng's and been doing really well. But every now and then I run into someone that I just feel is better than me and they out play me.So heres my question,(I'm not even sure there is an answer) What makes a sng player better than a good player? Is it they are willing to bluff more?, bet better,disguise(sp?) better, or alittle of both.Im know its a combination of all of them but i'm just looking for some thought as I want to get alot better and never feel outplayed.!! Thanks in advance.

On a side note, what are the pro's and con's as far as a hu sng and a hu cash game? Thanks.

[Talking Poker]

IMO, the best players are the ones who:

-Have superior hand reading abilities.
-Mix up their play a LOT, making it very difficult to read their hands.
-Are aggressive, but not lunatic aggressive.
-Don't make the big mistakes (bet sizing errors, horrible calls, etc) that the average player makes.

Those are just the first things that come to mind for me.

As for the differences between HU SNGs and HU Cash Games, there are a lot.

[New Guy]

I totally agree.I really need to work on my bet sizing.How do you suggest I do that? I think that will really take my game to a new level!!

[Talking Poker]

It's pretty much the same as normal play. And I don't even necessarily mean perfectly sizing your bets to accomplish what you are trying to accomplish (bluff, extract value, built a pot so you can get it in on the river, whatever), it's more not being a bet size retard like so many of the people I play. Barring exceptional circumstances, you shouldn't be overbetting the pot (let alone open shoving 50 BBs into the middle like I see people do). You also shouldn't be betting 10% of the pot and so on and so forth. It absolutely stuns me that people do this so much. It's basically like they are saying, "Hi. I'm a . Please exploit me. And in case you weren't sure how, let me draw you a map."

Of course, I inevitably get them all in drawing ridiculously slim and they hit anyway, so what do I know?

[Reel Deal]

I also think the ability to set up and snap off a bluff is a big +EV skill for HU play.

[Talking Poker]

Absolutely... I should have mentioned that too. The snapping off part kind of goes with the hand reading part, but the set up is key too.