POTD #267 A Bottom Pair Hero Call Blind vs Blind
With 15 Left in the EPT Monaco Main Event
I’ve previously described blind vs blind play in tournaments as being like playing Zoom heads up, except the range of stack sizes is wider and sometimes there are tournament considerations. In HUNL the best bot would be the most unbeatable heads up player in the world. The best human heads up players are beatable, but they are better at winning the most vs weaker opponents than a bot. World class humans are not just great at discovering ways to exploit their competition, but maximizing the value of any exploit they discover. Sometimes, in a prolonged heads up match vs a strong player that might mean masking an exploit so their opponent doesn’t notice it. It might mean anticipating their opponent’s counter exploits and always being one step ahead. Sometimes versus a weaker player it means finding a hole in their game and relentlessly hammering away at; knowing they don’t have the skills to ever fully plug this leak in their game.
The long game of blind vs blind play in MTTs is non-existent compared to playing tens of thousands of heads up hands versus the same opponent. Especially when you consider the variable stakes you are playing. In 2019 I played blind vs blind hands versus Dario Sammartino with 100 left in the WSOP Main Event and in a $100 online tournament. If I ever had an exploit on his blind vs blind play, it would be foolish to not use it when we’re playing a pot worth several magnitudes more money. You should have a similar mindset of Who cares about balance? Let’s make the most money right now. When playing versus unknowns deep in MTTs, but sometimes you will not have found a weak spot to attack. When you don’t know much about your opponent you should revert to exploiting the tendencies of average players in your player pool while also trying to play close to solver equilibrium. In today’s hand I knew a decent amount about my opponent, but I did not think I had enough information yet to make any crazy exploits, so I decided to revert to solver baselines. In hindsight there were a couple easy adjustments for me to make, but I failed to find them.
2019 EPT €5,300 Main Event. 15 Remain. Average is 1.84M chips
Level 25 20k/40k/40k (SB/BB/BBA)
It folds to Rustam Hajiyev (1.37M) who completes in the SB, I check 8♠️2♦️ in the BB
Flop (120k) A♣️3♣️2♣️: Rustam checks, I check
Turn (120k) K♥️: Rustam bets 65k, I call
River 250k) K♦️: Rustam bets 105k, I call and lose to A♠️T♣️
