Hand 2 Hand Combat -- Vanessa Peng

Event: Full Tilt Online Poker Series heads-up no-limit hold’em
Buy-in: $500
Players in the Event: 1,024
First Prize: $89,088
Finish: Third

Hand No. 1

Craig Tapscott: Set up the match so far for us.

Vanessa “PrincessDonk” Peng: The villain in the hand appears to be a 25¢-50¢ to $2-$4 heads-up and shorthanded cash-game player. I believe that this is my fourth heads-up match of the event so far, and we’re in the money. Up until this hand, the villain had been losing and trying hard to regain momentum in the match. He had been taking many nonstandard lines and had been very tricky and aggressive.

PrincessDonk raises from the button to 100 with the 2 2.

CT: Why the min-raise [minimum-raise]?

VP: Min-raising is the best option, as the villain has a very high three-bet frequency. By min-raising, I’m able to combat his three-bets by being able to call more preflop, and in turn lose fewer chips when forced to fold to a reraise.

The villain reraises to 250. PrincessDonk calls.

VP: When I make the decision to defend in position with pocket deuces, I’m not calling for pure set value. Once I call his three-bet in position, the villain will gauge my calling range as being very wide, but will take out hands that are the top of my range, such as big pocket pairs and Broadway cards such as A-K and A-Q.

CT: So, what’s the plan with a vulnerable hand?

VP: The plan is to protect my hand on dry boards and to get away from boards that are too likely to have hit his range. Although his hand range for three-betting preflop is very wide, there are boards that I still perceive to hit his range harder than others.

Flop: 10 10 5 (pot: 500)
The villain checks. PrincessDonk bets 280.

VP: Paired boards are less likely to connect with a preflop range that includes lots of medium to high unpaired cards. On a board this dry, I expect the villain to lead with any hands like pocket pairs, which have decent strength, and to check-raise with any hand that he does not want to be shoved on.

CT: This sounds a bit too general. Please explain.

VP: Well, it sounds very simplistic, but my read on this particular opponent has been that he thinks on that level, as he wants to be able to make the last bet if he is bluffing, for the most fold equity. He expects me to bluff-raise any flop bet that he makes, and to bluff any flop that he checks. Therefore, he will bet any hand that he wants me to shove over, and check-raise any hand that he doesn’t want to show down.

The villain moves all in for 1,532. PrincessDonk calls. The villain reveals the J 9.

CT: OK. So, your history and reads about this player’s bets are a huge part of your thought process when making this call. What are some of your basic keys for heads-up play?

VP: Heads-up play is all about adapting to your opponent’s tendencies. The faster and the more effectively you can pick up and adapt to individual tendencies, the bigger the advantage you will have, especially in heads-up matches. Opponents vary considerably in terms of trickiness, aggression, looseness, and overall sophistication of play. When a hand reaches showdown, you are given the information about how your opponent chose to play that hand. Unless an opponent is a high-level thinker, he will take similar lines in the same situations, enabling you to maximize exploitation. In this hand, our opponent had become predictable, enabling us to take a nonstandard line and extract maximum value with what is usually considered a very weak hand.

Turn: 10 (pot: 3,564)
River: 3 (pot: 3,564)
PrincessDonk wins the pot of 3,564 with a full house.

Hand No. 2

CT: Once again, set up the opponent in this new match.

VP: The villain is a $1-$2 and $2-$4 heads-up regular. He’s a cash-game player, so I perceived him to be aggressive with his draws and big made hands. However, so far he has proven that he can be aggressive with weak made hands and draws on the flop and turn, but passive with his weak made hands and missed draws on the river.

The villain raises to 120 from the button. PrincessDonk calls with the 10 9.

VP: The villain has been min-raising [minimum-raising] a lot, and I make a pretty standard call, considering the odds and stack sizes.

Flop: J 10 6 (pot: 240)
PrincessDonk checks. The villain bets 120. PrincessDonk calls.

CT: What are you thinking at this point?

VP: On this board, 10-9 figures to be the best hand; however, there is cause for concern, because there are many bigger hands and draws that are in his hand range. Therefore, a check and a call is the best decision. I expect him to bet again with hands that are beating me, any decent draws, and some hands that I’m beating.

Turn: 8 (pot: 480)
PrincessDonk checks. The villain bets 330.

CT: Is it profitable for you to move all in here, since your hand improved?

VP: I did pick up more equity with the straight draw, but my made-hand strength is the same as it was on the flop. I have enough equity and hand strength to warrant a call, but not enough to check-raise all in.

PrincessDonk calls.
River: 4 (pot: 1,140)
PrincessDonk checks. The villain bets 780.

CT: That card is pretty much a blank. What now?

VP: Given my read on my opponent, the river decision hinges on whether or not I think that he will be betting a missed draw. In the heat of the moment, I placed missed draws in his river betting range, and I really should not have done so.

PrincessDonk calls. The villain reveals the Q 9 for the straight. The villain wins the pot of 2,700.

CT: Looking back, did you realize your mistake on your read of the villain?

VP: Yes. He is betting only his monster made hands and draws that hit. This hand highlights how important reads are in a heads-up match, and how you really have to specifically focus on them from start to finish of a hand. And it’s not how I reacted, but how I would expect a generic opponent to react.

CT: What do you mean by generic opponent?

VP: A generic opponent is one who always makes the standard play. He’s unimaginative and uncreative, and gives no thought to my hand ranges or what I perceive his range to include. When an opponent shows down a hand, take notes, especially if he had a big hand. The more hands you see, the better an idea you can get about his overall approach to poker. After every decision that your opponent makes, ask yourself why that decision was made. The more you ask questions, the better you will become at getting into your opponent’s head. This is a skill that takes time to develop. Keep at it, and your game will start to improve.

Vanessa Peng, 27, graduated with a law degree from Washington and Lee University. She worked her way up to medium-stakes cash games, prompting her to give up a career as a lawyer and pursue a dream of becoming a professional poker player. When the daily cash-game grind became too boring 12 months ago, she made the transition to multitable tournaments. Since then, she has cashed for more than $500,000 in online events, and recently made two final tables in the Full Tilt Online Poker Series.