Heads Up at the Final Table

Playing heads up at the final table of a large online pot-limit Omaha high-low tournament, I had about $140,000 in chips, about twice as much as my aggressive opponent. The blinds were $5,000-$10,000, so every hand was a battle.

I thought it was over when I defended my big blind and flopped a high straight. He led with a $20,000 bet; I raised some $35,000, which put him all in with little hope. But the last two cards gave him a backdoor flush, and he then had a 2-1 chip lead over me.

On the next hand, I picked up a 5-3-3-2, which is a good hand at a full, loose Omaha high-low table, but not nearly as good in high-oriented heads-up play (you cannot win money in heads-up play if you win only the low half of any pot). But, all in all, it could be a good hand with a low flop, so I called his $10,000 preflop raise.

The flop came Q 6 4 – a good flop for me even though I didn't have a flush. I had 12 outs for a straight (four sevens, three fives, two threes, and three deuces) and the third-best low. He bet $15,000. What would you do with my hand here?

It was unlikely that he actually held a flush, but even if he did, I might salvage half the pot with a low. Since I did not intend to fold, I decided to go for it and pushed in my remaining $50,000-plus in chips. He thought for a while, then folded. Chalk one up for the big move.

We were now about even in chips. On the very next hand, I picked up the A 5 4 K, an excellent heads-up hand. As usual, my opponent raised preflop, making it $20,000 to play. What would you do with my cards?

Although there is much to be said for reraising either a lot or a little when playing against a consistently aggressive player, it is often safer and better to just smooth-call. It's safer to see the flop first, and better since he will make the first move after the flop. The flop came K-7-4 rainbow (three different suits). Since I was sure that he would bet, I checked to him. He instantly bet out $15,000. What would you do now?

Since I already had kings and fours and also an "emergency low" draw, and he had been doing a lot of betting throughout the tournament, I strongly suspected that I had him beat. So, how much should I raise?

Since I had the psychological "momentum" of the last hand going for me, I might as well stick it to him again. There was just enough in the pot for me to raise all in – that is, his $15,000 plus another $70,000. There was a lengthy pause before he called.

We tabled our hands and I was happy to see his A-7-6-4. This time he caught no miracle cards, as a 9 and 8 hit the table. Thus, I had two higher pair for high and edged him out for low. It was just about over. He lost his last couple of chips, not even enough for a big blind, on the next hand.

Note that heads-up pot-limit Omaha high-low is an extremely aggressive game and is often an exercise in brinksmanship. Thus, it is extremely important to exploit your opponent's known tendencies and weaknesses, as well as push and gamble when you have the advantage.