Heads-up tournament strategy: 2-to-1 chip lead, low blinds
Friday, February 22nd, 2008If you play a lot of online heads-up sit & go tournaments, you’re in this kind of position quite a lot of the time. You’ve developed a reasonable chip lead over your opponent, even though the blinds are still at level one or two. You’ll be faced withj one of two kinds of opponent:
1. The aggressive type – he pushes in a lot in this spot, one-double-up away from the chip lead.
2. The cautious one, understanding that his tiournament life is at stake at this point.
The first type is the easiest to play, and the most dangerous one. After some time, you will stop putting this kind of player on a hand, resulting in mediocre calls because you’re sick of the the steals. Don’t fall for it! His steals are worthless with the blinds at these levels. Be patient. Don’t raise too much, see flops, wait for top pair/two pair, let him push into you. Your 2-to-1 chip lead will dwindle, but you’ll have a good chance of taking him out if you have the patience to wait.
An example of his not to play: You: 2105 chips – opponent 895 chips. Blinds are 5-10 chips. Opponent has pushed 8 times in the last 10 hands. You pick up A4os on the button, and your opponent shoves again. You call. He flips over 77.
You fell for it. A4os is not a calling hand for THAT many chips. You are looking for a reasonable two overs to a pair, or two higher live cards i.e. A9 vs K7. Don’t worry about him holding 74os and you folding A4. Be patient, picking your spot more carfully will allow you for a much better chance when you do decide to call him down.
How to play: lay down the A4os. Lay down the K8’s. Wait for A10 AK – AA 22.
Good luck! 
