Bodog Poker Referral Number – 1169861
* The Bodog Poker download only takes a few minutes on high-speed internet. The bonus is 110% up to $550 when you use Bodog referral number 1169861.
Playing Heads-Up Tournaments at Bodog Poker
Since heads-up tournaments are my favorite games to play, I figured I ought to let some people in on the best place to play. While Pokerstars and Full Tilt Poker are bigger rooms overall, nobody has heads-up tournaments that are easier to beat than Bodog Poker.
For the same reason that Bodog has the juiciest cash games online, Bodog also has heads-up tournaments that can be crushed. That reason is this; Bodog also has a casino and sportsbook to pull poker players from. A lot of these players are action junkies, more interested in the gamble than anything else. If you let them, these players will destroy themselves.
Heads-up tournaments are for action junkies anyway, so a large portion of the ‘gamblers’ on the site tend to gravitate towards them. And, at Bodog Poker, the table action (software speed) is much faster than other rooms, meaning that good players can use speed as a weapon. If you think fast, know the smart plays to make, and know how to remove some of the luck, you can flat out crush the heads-up tournaments at Bodog Poker. In over 4 years of heads-up tournament play at Bodog, I’ve accumulated a 72% winning percentage in $5-$100 heads-up tournaments at Bodog, which has resulted in thousands and thousands worth of profits.
Here’s what you need to know.
Adapting to Your Opponents
While some of these ideas will apply to heads-up tournaments at any online poker site, at Bodog they are emphasized even more.
At Bodog Poker, you will normally know what type of player you’re up against within the first 5 hands. It might be a rock, it might be a tricky player, or in most cases it will be a maniac. When I first started playing heads-up tournaments at Bodog I hated playing against the maniacs. I let my ego get into it, and I would get crushed as a result. At that time (about 4 years ago), I would let my emotions get involved, and I would make unnecessary plays for too many chips. Finally, I decided that I was going to learn how to beat these players, and to be honest it didn’t take very long.
While you should play a certain way against a rock, another way against a maniac, and another way against a good player, the difference between heads-up tournaments at Bodog versus other rooms is the number of maniacs they have. Since there are so many, learning how to beat them is extremely important.
How to Play Against Bodog Heads-Up Maniacs
The reason it’s so important to learn how to beat the maniac heads-up players at Bodog is because there are so many of them – way more than at any other site. First, lets differentiate a maniac versus a smart, aggressive player. New players often mistakenly put aggressive players and maniacs into the same category. So, first, lets differentiate the two.
A smart, aggressive player is what you always seek to be. If your opponent will allow you to steal pots for reasonable sized bets, this is the way you should play. This doesn’t mean you’re a maniac. I’ve played in many heads-up tournaments where I was betting and raising almost everything, and my opponents called me a maniac in the chat box. They’re wrong, betting and raising everything does not classify you as a maniac. If an opponent has proven the ability to fold for certain amounts, chip away at them as long as they will allow you to do it. The key is the bet amount, and your ability to know when to back off or fold.
A maniac will overbet pre-flop when all they can win are the blinds. They’ll overbet the entire hand, ‘hoping’ you’ll fold. They’re less likely to pay attention to the fact that you called an overbet on the flop, and make another overbet later in the hand. They’re more interested in shoving you out of the pot than they are with trying to figure out if you have anything. They are the thugs of online poker, and most thugs try to win with force, not with brains.
Maniacs rarely know when to give up, and if you’re patient, you can pick them off for a big pot. Early on, when the blinds are small, don’t worry that they’ve won several pots in a row. You’ll take them for some big pots later.
Here’s how to beat them.
1/ The first, and most important thing to think about with playing maniacs is percentages. Heads-up tournaments against maniacs isn’t about playing for an hour trying to find a situation where he’s drawing dead. This may never happen, and if you’re waiting for it, you may not have enough chips left to really profit from it. Playing against maniacs is about finding situations to get all of your chips in the middle when you are a 60-65% or better favorite as soon as possible. If you can beat the maniacs at a consistent win-rate very quickly, you will build a nice consistent bankroll. To study pot odds, check out the poker calculator at PokerListings.
2/ Let them control the action and get comfortable overbetting at you. Show them your willingness to fold. When you hold rags pre-flop or miss the the flop, don’t get tricky. There is no need to call their big bets just because you don’t believe them. Since they’ll make stupid bets when you do hold a big hand, why waste chips now if you’re beat? What you’re doing is giving them confidence, and rope to hang themselves later.
3/ Flat call their overbets when you flop make a big hand. Don’t give the strength of your hand away by raising them now (most are too stupid to realize that your call means you have a hand). Give them another shot to overbet the turn. By flat calling here you’re also giving them the ability to make some sort of hand on the turn. If your hand is strong enough to withstand a pair or even two pair, you want your opponent to hit. He will be even more likely to shove his chips in the middle with very little chance (or no chance) to win.
If you flop a big hand but there are a lot of potential draws out there for your opponent, make a big raise or move all-in right now. If your maniac opponent has a good draw, they will likely call you and put your hand at risk, but if you’re ahead going into the turn this is a smart play regardless. For example, if you flop a set while your opponent flops a gutshot straight draw and a flush draw, you are a 65% favorite to win. In time, if you always get your chips in the middle as a 65-35 favorite, you’ll win a lot of money.
4/ Don’t get frustrated. Maniacs like to show their bluffs, putting a lot of people on tilt. If you tilt, you’re letting them win. Realize that all they’re trying to do is get you to stop playing tight, and make a loose call when they have a big hand. Don’t fall into their trap and set your own traps instead.
Bodog Poker is the best room online for heads-up play. Once you learn how to beat each type of player, the maniacs will be the ones to give you most profit. Play smart/aggressive against the rocks, play tricky against the good players (mixing up your play), and tight against the maniacs. Let the maniacs hang themselves and don’t let them put you on tilt. Set traps for them and let them hand you the tournament. If you let them beat themselves, they will. The result will be that you’ll take their money at a very high win rate.
To play at Bodog Poker:
1/ Write down Bodog Poker referral number 1169861 and enter it when asked for during the sign up process. This will get you the 110% bonus up to $550 on your first deposit.
3/ Make your first deposit and start playing.