Here’s the rule when you’re playing an opponent heads up in no-limit hold ’em: You’re not just playing the cards. You’re playing your opponent’s style and his stack.
If you have the chip lead, you can bet and raise to pressure your opponent, knowing you cannot go broke. If you have the smaller stack, you can still bet aggressively at an opponent who’s protective of his chip lead.
Joe Awada faced that situation in the $1,500 buy-in nolimit hold ’em event at the World Series of Poker in 2004 when he was heads up against Scott Fischman in a battle of former dealers.
The classy Awada was dealt an 8-5 offsuit when he only had about half as many chips as Fischman. But in headsup play, you widen the range of starting hands that you’ll play and then rely on reading your opponent’s betting patterns and tells.
Fischman, meanwhile, drew 9-10 offsuit. They met the blinds and saw a flop of 10-5-8, giving Awada two pair and Fischman top pair.
“I was loving it,” Awada said. “If you’re going to go down, you’re going to go down with a big hand. He bet $60,000. I raised it $100,000. He just called. I was glad to see he had a hand.”
The turn comes a 2. Fischman sets Awada all in. Awada calls.
Joe Awada
8 of spades
5 of diamonds
Scott Fischman
9 of diamonds
10 of spades
The flop
10 of clubs
5 of hearts
8 of diamonds
Turn
2 of spades
“I’m looking at Scott and I didn’t see anything that alarmed me,” said Awada, who runs Game Entertainment, Inc., a company that creates table and video games for casinos.
The river comes a blank. Awada takes the pot and huge chip lead.
“When you flop two pair with lousy cards, it’s so hard for your competitor to put you on that hand,” Awada said. “And in heads up, that’s a heck of a hand. In heads up, ace-high is a good hand. Deuces is a good hand.”
Take note of Awada’s betting pattern and the way he read the texture of the flop. Sure, he was holding a big hand with two pair heads up, but it was bottom two pair. There were a lot of cards that could hurt Awada.
For instance, an overcard to his 8–just a 9, in this case–would give Fischman a higher two pair. Or the overcard–say a J–could give Fischman a straight draw. Or if the board paired–another 10, for example–Awada’s two pair were easily beaten by a set.
This was no time to slow-play a good hand. Get your money in when you have the best hand. His $100,000 raise meant to take down a nice pot immediately,which is about the best you can hope for with an 8-5 offsuit.
Table talk
Met the blinds: Completed the minimum forced bet to continue playing the hand.
