In NL holdem HU, how do I beat ppl betting 5-20% of the pot all the time. They also typically call raises alot

Question

I moved up to playing 20$ HU sng's online but it seems that no one I play can fold. I would describe their style as loose agressive but my usual way of beating them doesn't work because they don't bet alot. Instead they bet often.

What can I do? I try to bluff they call all the way down with 4's. I raise when I hit a strong hand and they fold. I guess I'm being too obvious. I'm just not sure how to hedge the odds in my favor. They give pot odds almost every hand but it's hard to tell how strong my hand will be if I hit my draw. Should I just counter with a near fixed limit style? Do I have to play a similar style as them?

They'll also make heavy bets once in a while and I notice that about 50% of the time they have a big hand and 50% of the time they dont. I'll only call those bets with at least a set

I've been playing on and off for 3 years now.I've seen 600000+ hands. I've mostly stuck to low stakes but would like to give it shot at the medium ones

Thanks for your help :)

Answer 1

If you are playing with loose player you must play tight 88 or better only pairs. You must start with exceptional hands. If the table is tight then you should play with less quality hands

Answer 2

You have to be aggressive in heads-up matches.  Most hands are worth betting, especially on the button.  K-rag is a favorite against a random hand, meaning more than half the possible hands that your opponent will have will be worse.  Calling all the way down with pocket 4s int he example you gave is actually a good play, especially if they think you're bluffing.

Any pair, any ace, suited connectors, any 2 paint cards are all pretty strong hands and are worth seeing a flop.

The best advice for heads up is to play any of those hands aggressively, especially if you're on the button.  Bet it out hard.  This also enables you to bluff when you're on the button.  If the flop doesn't look dangerous, keep hacking at it.  If you do bluff, don't be afraid to keep betting out on every street.  Since most people won't keep bluffing if they get called, your opponent will likely put you on a good hand.

Of course, if you're playing a calling station, you might have to let up and if the board looks like it's dangerous with 3 flush or straight cards or if it's paired, you might have to let it go and only hammer at it when it misses.

Answer 3

I have quite a bit of HU experience. I find that the key to playing HU is confusing your opponent.

Loosen your starting hand requirements. If you tighten up you will be folding off all your blinds and when you finally do hit a hand your opponent will never pay you off. Feel free to limp in with that 7-4os, if you catch in a raised pot you are likely to have the best hand(unless they have a higher pocket pair.)  What alot of people dont seem to realize is that most HU situations preflop are 3:2 or 60/40. A little worse than a coin flip. As long as you have live cards preflop you are most likely racing anyway. Also you know from experience how difficult it is to hit a flop, your opponent finds it just as hard. In HU play knowing how rarely one actually hits the flop makes it easy to call all the way down to the river with pocket 4s.

Change your betting patterns more frequently. If you have limped the last four hands, try raising the next. If you usually raise 3x the BB, try a min raise. etc.

Know your opponent. There are many kinds of players out there, you have to be able to identify the type you are dealing with when you sit down with them HU. Loose aggressive players will overvalue any pair or any Ace and sometimes any King HU. Tight aggressive players will check/fold too often when they miss the flop. Loose passive players love to give you their money by calling off every bet you make just to see what you had. Tight passive players will destroy you if you are overly aggressive, when playing a TAG player I will usually fire no more than 2 bullets even if I figure to have the best hand, they gotta have something since they are calling...better to lose a small pot than a big one HU.

If you are able to incorporate all of these styles into your HU play(along with a little luck) you will be a force to be reckoned with at the table.

I hope this helps. good luck and I'll see you at the tables!