Avr0ra: Hello everyone!
The Heads-Up World Championship went largely unnoticed — there wasn't even a clear schedule, for instance. And yet the event could have been quite a sensation if they'd organized it properly.
Mr. Snaka, a professional heads-up player, is here to help me work out why that happened.
snaka: Hi everyone! Hello, Alexey!
In the English-speaking community, though, coverage was fairly wide. Hands were discussed on Twitter, Reddit, and 2+2. CoinPoker streamed constantly on YouTube — it was interesting to watch, not least because the players themselves were in voice chat.
Avr0ra: What if you look at the views?
It feels like they didn't see the job through.
snaka: This discipline (heads-up) isn't very watchable. I found it interesting because I understood what was going on. But for the average NL fan, it's boring. I think it turned out pretty well, all things considered.
Avr0ra: Let's get to the analysis. How did you pick the hands?
snaka: Some players from our forum helped me find the hands.
Introducing the Competitors
🥇 SeaLlama was the winner, collecting $291,594.
Avr0ra: American, 27 or 28 years old.
He's the same age as DKaladjurdjevic and Prodigy, or a bit older — from that circle. When Owen was living in Vegas, he stayed at SeaLlama's place. He's a 6-max player, but he's always played a lot of heads-up. He resembles Stefan in his unconventional style, often stepping outside standard ranges.
🥈 KraciFisk came in second place, winning $100,899.
snaka: This is FlyingLama from Stars. He only plays heads-up Hold'em and Omaha, just like buttonclickr .
I've played several thousand hands against KraciFisk. Of the semifinalists, he's the most balanced player, with a restrained style. Everyone else is constantly charging forward, their red line always climbing.
Avr0ra: FlyingLama is a very old reg. I once watched his match against OtB_RedBaron.
snaka: It was a long time ago!
Avr0ra: A very long time ago, yes.
🥉 Jungleman came in third place, winning $241,675.
Avr0ra: Jungleman is also a player from the dinosaur era. He was once one of the best heads-up players in the world. He put Tom "durrrr" Dwan in debt.
snaka: I missed this story.
Avr0ra: Back in the Full Tilt days, Tom offered $1,000,000 to anyone who could beat him heads-up (on top of whatever they won at the table). Jungleman took him up on it and immediately went over a million ahead.
Snaka: I thought Jungleman would be a fish at this championship, and I was surprised he got this far. He plays the old-fashioned way — he'll fire a third of the pot with his whole range in spots where a different sizing is standard. But his understanding is very high; he doesn't pay people off.
GoinHardInThaPaint came in fourth place, winning $146,000.
Avr0ra: 6-max player, American reg, appeared not long ago.
Snaka: He has a very interesting backstory. He's a former US soldier. He served in the East and started playing during the pandemic. He climbed to the highest stakes quickly and decided to try his luck in this tournament. He ended up being one of the weakest players in it.
#1 KraciFisk vs. SeaLlama – An Unexpected Showdown
ℹ️ KraciFisk (10,800)
SeaLlama (13,915)
Pre-Flop: (150) SeaLlama is the BB with
KraciFisk raises 230, SeaLlama… ?
Avr0ra: I'd call. If I wanted to annoy my opponent, I could 3-bet — and even call a 4-bet.
snaka: Calling a 4-bet is bad. But calling the raise and 3-betting are more or less equivalent here.
Avr0ra: How bad is calling a 4-bet off the cuff? Stefan would never fold 85s to a 4-bet.
snaka: −0.85 bb/100 — but change your 4-betting range even slightly and that number moves dramatically.
Calling with 85s against KraciFisk is very unprofitable. His 4-bet frequency is a bit lower than GTO.
ℹ️ … SeaLlama raises 1,000. Kracifisk calls 770.
Flop: (2,000)
Avr0ra: On this texture we should either bet big or check.
snaka: Right — if you bet, it has to be big. And 85s obviously doesn't belong in the larger sizing, so check.
Avr0ra: In practice, players will disagree. I wouldn't be surprised if Linus fired a third of the pot here.
snaka: That's not a mistake. If you're using a split strategy between big and small sizings, you can bet small with 85s.
Avr0ra: We check the 85s and aim to check-call the turn.
snaka: That's the right play.
ℹ️ SeaLlama checks, KraciFisk checks.
Turn: (2,000)
SeaLlama… ?
Avr0ra: We don't block any flush draws, and we can't bet a third of the pot on the turn and then check-fold the river — our hand gets attacked on that line. Betting more than a third is too rich.
I'd check again.
Snaka: Correct. We want to play more polarized; merging isn't a good idea here. We want to bet hands that slowplayed the flop, jacks with draws, draws, and some low-equity hands — and check all the middling ones.
ℹ️ … SeaLlama checks, KraciFisk bets 2,000; SeaLlama... ?
Avr0ra: I'm not thrilled about check-calling 85s. But I'll have to — it's a decent blocker, good enough for one check-call.
snaka: He can bet wide against our two checks, even with hands that have no equity. So we have no right to fold any pair.
Avr0ra: We call with any pair?
snaka: Even , if your opponent frequently bets draws and then folds, then it's a mega-plus call.
Avr0ra: I would throw away here. You need to win the hand 33% of the time, and your only hope is that your opponent will fold with a missed draw.
Snaka: The opponent is only repping jacks and draws. He doesn't have many jacks. What did he check behind on the flop? , , ?
Avr0ra: There are still some traps.
snaka: Only a few. But how many unmade hands does he have? , – so many.
ℹ️ … SeaLlama calls
River: (6,000)
SeaLlama… ?
Avr0ra: We obviously check and hope for a check back.
snaka: Yes, we don’t have donk bets.
ℹ️ … SeaLlama checks, Kracifisk goes all-in 7,800; SeaLlama... ?
Avr0ra: The opponent is pretending to have . He doesn't bet ten for value.
snaka: Correct. Only top pair and higher.
Avr0ra: What bluffs does he have? It's obvious that some of his bluffs hit the ten. Here's how would I think about it in the game: should I fold all my bluffcatchers?
snaka: We definitely need bluffcatchers here. He could have hands with low equity that he bet on the turn and the river hit him. For example, , , .
Do you think 85s is a good bluffcatcher, or is better?
Avr0ra: An ace is always good heads-up. An eight blocks a straight 89o. However, 89o would often be bet on the flop, in my opinion. An eight and an ace are positive blockers.
is better than , but worse than – I feel this way, I don’t know how to explain it.
snaka: Yes, he'll bet most of his 89 on the flop. Our eight only blocks his bluffs— , .
That's why our best hero calls are , And everything else is negative calls.
Avr0ra: Is it possible that in this situation you will open with all the bluff catchers?
snaka: In matches of this level, no. Maybe against a very aggressive player, like Linus. That wouldn't be a big mistake, because Linus likes to out-bluff and go beyond his range.
But against KraciFisk, you need to look for the most stable bluffcatches.
Avr0ra: Would you fold 85s here?
snaka: Yes. If he bluffs the spades, for example, , , — then it's a pre-bluff. You should check with them because you can win at showdown.
Avr0ra: I've always found it easier to play against players like SeaLlama because they value everything. It's always been harder against players who fold.
snaka: The hardest opponents are the ones whose red line sits at zero.
The ones whose red line keeps climbing are pretty easy to play — they'll pay off all your nutted hands.
See the Showdown:
Avr0ra: Unexpected. It's an interesting hand for me, because I would expect this hand to be at full strength in a flop bet.
Snaka: We can conclude that KraсiFisk is merging heavily with the turn bet. T7s shouldn't be in a pot-sized bet—he went beyond the range and played as exploitatively as possible against SeaLlama. He realized after SeaLlama checked twice that his T7s were ahead of his opponent's range and brazenly bet the pot, drawing with Ax and weak pairs.
He checks frequently on the flop and always checks on the turn. If he merges, then our call with 85s becomes even worse, and we should fold more on the turn.
Avr0ra: A very technical hand. More like a showcase of how SeaLlama plays.
snaka: We can conclude that SeaLlama isn't shy about hero-calling. Perhaps KraciFisk knows this, which is why he found a brazen value bet on the turn.
#2 KraciFisk vs. SeaLlama – Bad Timing for a Hero Call
ℹ️ KraciFisk (10,130)
SeaLlama (11,473)
Pre-Flop: (150) KraciFisk is SB with
KraciFisk raises 230, SeaLlama calls 130
Flop: (460)
SeaLlama checks, KraciFisk... ?
Avr0ra: I'd bet a third of the pot and never check. Is c-betting the entire range a mistake?
snaka: It all depends on your opponent. If his check-raise frequency is 5% or lower, go ahead — you can range-cbet any board.
But as a rule, people check-raise flops a little more often than GTO.
ℹ️ … KraciFisk bets 193.2, SeaLlama calls 193.2
Turn: (846.4)
SeaLlama checks, Kracifisk ...?
Avr0ra: Do I want to stack off with this hand? I don't block the backdoor jack — that matters. In my experience, against opponents like this, , are not knocked out on the turn by any sizing.
I'd probably always play greedily and overbet the turn. On a lot of rivers I'll be able to get it in.
snaka: That's right. If we're playing one sizing, then every two pair goes with the overbet.
Avr0ra: Which strong hands can you check?
snaka: TT, 99, weak jacks. Anything better, we bet. We also have to bet junk and air — , , — we play as polarly as possible.
ℹ️ …KraciFisk bets 1,058; SeaLlama calls 1,058
River: (2,962)
SeaLlama checks, KraciFisk ...?
Avr0ra: Definitely a value bet.
snaka: Yes. You can split the sizings: pot/all-in or ¾ pot/all-in.
It is precisely for these hands – the bottom two pairs, strong top pairs and overpairs – that we want to create a smaller sizing. , can be shoved.
Avr0ra: How bad is the no-all-in river strategy?
snaka: It all depends on the opponent. If he hero-calls blockers, for example, with , then you are obliged to go all-in.
In theory, the difference is 0.2 bb/100 in favor of playing all-ins.
What sizing do you choose here?
Avr0ra: It depends on how SeaLlama sees me: if he usually pays me, I'd move all-in. If not, I'd bet ¾ of the pot.
snaka: Many would call all-in with , .
ℹ️ … KraciFisk bets 2,962; SeaLlama goes all-in 9,992
Avr0ra: For me, this is a combinatorics spot. He's clearly representing the bottom of his value range — but what exactly that consists of is a tough question!
If there had been a ¾-pot bet on the turn, I'd say J2+.
snaka: Remember, in the previous hand we saw that KraciFisk likes to merge. I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't even have a ¾-pot bet here — just a pot bet or an all-in.
Avr0ra: Fair enough.
J7+ – this is how I would define the bottom of SeaLlama's value range on the river.
snaka: Still J2+. You would just call with ?
Avr0ra: Considering what you said about KraciFisk, with , I would have gone all-in. If I hadn't been confident in this assumption, I would have simply called.
Let's figure out if KraciFisk can call here. SeaLlama has value. , , , – some of them will raise on the turn. , but there are practically no sets.
Let there be 12 value combinations. Calling is expensive.
snaka: What bluffs?
Avr0ra: I think only and .
We need to call 7,000 for 23,000. The bluff frequency should be decent – 40%. That's a scary number, I wouldn't play that myself.
I found out that you can't call against me here.
I don't know how this will help, though. It sounds funny, but before this analysis, I didn't know whether this call against me was good or not.
I don't think SeaLlama is bluffing that much here either. It's scary.
snaka: I agree with you on this one. In theory, we need to sometimes turn it into a bluff and , In practice, this is hardly possible.
Avr0ra: It's best if the opponent isn't on the next level. Prime Stefan was very good at sensing these situations. He certainly worked hard on the theory, but there's no other explanation for this than a hunter's instinct. It's as if he senses whether you'll pay or not.
I probably wouldn't have folded here against Stefan. On average, I'm always in favor of folding here.
See the Showdown:
Avr0ra: Wasn't expectng that.
If we saw , , one could say that the call is good, and the opponent is out-bluffing.
Snaka: As a rule, it's best not to make such hero calls. You need statistics to draw conclusions; it's difficult to do so based on a single showdown.
In theory, a call with will usually not be negative.
#3 KraciFisk vs. SeaLlama – Standard Hero Call
ℹ️ KraciFisk (10,000)
SeaLlama (37,530)
Pre-Flop: (150) KraciFisk is SB with
KraciFisk raises 230, SeaLlama raises 1,000; KraciFisk calls 770
Flop: (2,000)
SeaLlama bets 600, KraciFisk... ?
Avr0ra: First question: can I just fold QTo? Probably, yes.
Or does the good old "fold early and beat them in a big pot with a stronger range" approach no longer work at this level?
snaka: If you fold, you'll lose a lot in heads-up.
Avr0ra: It looks like we have nothing, but we block his value range and have a backdoor straight draw. On the plus side: if he checks the turn, we don't have to bluff.
snaka: Yes, we can confidently count on the showdown value of our pairs.
Avr0ra: Would I raise the flop? Not with QTo, but with something else, yes.
snaka: You can mix in a little QTo here too.
Avr0ra: How bad is it to play this spot without a raising range?
snaka: You should be raising here — almost 20%! And against players who c-bet their entire range, up to 30%.
Avr0ra: I'd raise something like Q3s with a backdoor, and , I don't know why, but I want to raise not from the call/fold range, but from somewhere higher.
snaka: Because they have higher EV. , , , you can raise. With sixes, it's great—we beat twos, fours, fives, threes.
Avr0ra: And which ones? ? Do we want to raise?
snaka: , , , A5s-A7s. You can add , , , with backdoors.
ℹ️ … KraciFisk calls 600
Turn: (3,200)
SeaLlama checks, KraciFisk...?
Avr0ra: One of the best turn cards in the deck, obviously.
snaka: As a rule: if we face a small bet on the flop and a check on the turn, we should bet bigger; if the opponent bets big on the flop and checks the turn, we bet small.
Avr0ra: The first thing I'd think about is how often I get check-jammed on a turn like this.
snaka: You've played SeaLlama — can you answer that?
Avr0ra: I played him in 2022. Maybe I do get jammed on, who knows. He might check-jam not with a draw but with a medium-strength value hand — a king, for instance. If we held a club, we'd get check-jammed less often.
If I bet, I'm always double-barreling the river. Against SeaLlama I wouldn't want to double-barrel, so I'd check the turn fairly often. In theory it's almost certainly a mixed strategy.
ℹ️ … KraciFisk checks
River: (3200)
SeaLlama bets 1,280; KraciFisk ...?
Avr0ra: This was definitely a card that raised our equity. Or was it? It's a good question—you have to ask yourself. It did raise our equity. We beat all pocket pairs and .
SeaLlama is representing a jack, a ten, or worse. We have a choice between jamming and calling. Jamming is my style. If you really don't want to call, you can just shove.
But what's the argument for it? The best time to shove is when your opponent won't overcall. Is this that spot?
snaka: We need to work out which hands we want to fold out. If we want to fold out a ten, we'd rather not be holding one ourselves. Should we turn QT into a bluff when we beat part of his range?
Avr0ra: In theory, no.
snaka: Which hands do you think are best to bluff with here?
Avr0ra: These came to mind , . Although – it's a useless hand.
snaka: Yeah, nines aren't very good. But — a normal hand for bluffing. If we want to knock out a jack-ten, then we're better off shoving. , , , , – something like that.
With I'm too comfortable calling, but it's blocking hands we want to fold. There's no logic to bluffing.
Avr0ra: You can come up with a strategy against which this would be a good bluff.
snaka: If we know that he never value-bets with such a sizing of ten, but only Jx+ – then yes.
Avr0ra: If I knew that the opponent here never has traps and doesn’t like to bluff, then I could have shoved it in to shake up the game.
ℹ️ … KraciFisk goes all-in 8,400 ; SeaLlama calls 7,120
Avr0ra: SeaLlama could bluff catch with , .
See the Showdown:
Avr0ra: If we were bluffed with , then the shove is bad.
snaka: No, – standard hero call.
Avr0ra: In my universe I would like to knock it out here.
snaka: Well, put yourself in SeaLlama's shoes – you'll fold. ? If so, what will you call with?
Avr0ra: You mean that we're not knocking out here, but we're knocking out another jack?
snaka: Yeah, it's better to fold here. , and not .
Avr0ra: Maybe that's what SeaLlama was thinking.
snaka: Moreover, now SeaLlama saw that KraciFisk pulled his hand out of his calling range. This makes the call even more profitable.
#4 GoinHardInThaPaint vs Jungleman – Running Into the 2nd Nuts
ℹ️GoinHardInThaPaint ( 10,000 )
Jungleman (36,226)
Pre-Flop: (150) GoinHardInThaPaint is SB
GoinHardInThaPaint raises 260, Jungleman calls 160
Flop: (520)
Jungleman checks, GoinHardInThaPaint... ?
Avr0ra: I remember Jungleman being a real hoot in small pots. I don't know how he plays now.
Snaka: Very aggressive. He's a real powerhouse in both big and small pots. He loves hero calls and ambiguous bluffs.
Avr0ra: You don't necessarily have to bet with K8s. The checking range is built around medium strength hands— , , and with K8s, backdoors are easily implemented.
snaka: It's better to use a large sizing with a low frequency in this texture. Kings here almost all check, except and .
ℹ️ …GoinHardInThaPaint checks
Turn: (520)
Jungleman bets 520 , GoinHardInThaPaint ...?
Avr0ra: Math trap! It's really annoying to call here—you need low-equity bluffs there, like . In practice, it's not that shameful to fold K8s, but in theory, it's always a call.
snaka: According to GTO, this is a 100% call with a huge margin.
But we need a raising range here. Our value range includes , , tens, and slow-played aces.
Avr0ra: Jungleman is playing narrow because he didn't 3-bet preflop – two pairs, straights and draws.
Good hands to raise are anything with eights, .
snaka: You can add , and .
Avr0ra: Against Jungleman's range , it's okay to raise the turn once and fold on the river, or call the turn and make a cheap bluff on the river.
ℹ️ …GoinHardInThaPaint raises 2,200; Jungleman calls 1,680
River: (4,920)
Jungleman checks, GoinHardInThaPaint...?
snaka: I liked this raise.
Avr0ra: I see how this will end. Against Cates, this is a bad bluff. He rarely folds two pair and might call. because of the blocker – a disaster!
When we played with him on Stars in 2016-2017, he was calling like crazy.
snaka: When going all-in, your opponent should sometimes fold. , and even straights – If he always calls at least straights, then our bluff is no longer worth anything.
And also with , we beat his and with a flush draw – we have showdown value.
See the Showdown:
Avr0ra: Shoved into the nuts – no fun.
snaka: It's interesting that he found a raise on the turn and bluffed this hand on the river when it should have been taken to showdown.
#5 Jungleman vs GoinHardInThaPaint – Cates Meets His Match
ℹ️ Jungleman (21,791)
GoinHardInThaPaint (10,890)
Pre-Flop: (150) GoinHardInThaPaint is BB
Jungleman raises 250, GoinHardInThaPaint raises 900, Jungleman calls 650
Flop: (1,800)
GoinHardInThaPaint … ?
snaka: If you choose a small sizing, then we set it wide – under 80%.
Avr0ra: I would check.
ℹ️ …GoinHardInThaPaint bets 500, Jungleman calls 500
Turn: (2800)
GoinHardInThaPaint…?
Avr0ra: There is no option here except check-call.
snaka: Yes, if we bet on the turn, then only big, but not with this hand.
ℹ️ …GoinHardInThaPaint checks, Jungleman bets 2,000; GoinHardInThaPaint...?
Avr0ra: Our opponent's value range is top pair and better. We beat all bluffs and don't block flush draws. I'm for a call.
ℹ️… GoinHardInThaPaint calls 2,000
River: (6,800)
GoinHardInThaPaint…?
Avr0ra: It's clear what will happen: we check, Jungleman goes all-in.
snaka: So what hand is the best hero call for us? Obviously, we always call with an ace, but what about anything else besides an ace?
Avr0ra: At the start of the match, I wouldn't open without an ace. But if I had to choose, I'd choose some. , , . or .
snaka: Everything is correct – , , , , . Moreover is better than , because with We do not block sets and two pairs.
Avr0ra: What is the best way to call? , or with ?
snaka: . Hands with a six are 100% folds.
See the Showdown:
Avr0ra: A worthy opponent for Jungleman!
#6 Jungleman vs GoinHardInThaPaint – Time for a Hero Call
ℹ️ Jungleman (41,273)
GoinHardInThaPaint (15,634)
Pre-Flop: (150) Jungleman is SB
Jungleman raises 250, GoinHardInThaPaint raises 1,200, Jungleman calls 950
Flop: (2,400)
GoinHardInThaPaint bets 1,800, Jungleman ...?
snaka: Note the bigger stacks – 150 BB.
Avr0ra: Obviously, I don't fold. But I wouldn't raise anything.
ℹ️ …Jungleman calls 1,800
Turn: (6,000)
GoinHardInThaPaint bets 4,500; Jungleman...?
Avr0ra: Again, it's clear how it ended. It's always nice to play for value in the BB spot here—they can beat you on anything.
snaka: – that's slightly positive call.
ℹ️ …Jungleman calls 4,500
River: (15,000)
GoinHardInThaPaint goes all-in 8,134, Jungleman calls 8,134
Avr0ra: In Jungleman's defense, the opponent will have bluffs.
snaka: If Jungleman calls here with , then he does it with the entire range.
Avr0ra: I wouldn't be surprised if he won. He has a good feel for his opponents. But — bad card. I'd call with two.
See the Showdown:
#7 Jungleman vs GoinHardInThaPaint
ℹ️ Jungleman (10,000)
GoinHardInThaPaint (11,422)
Pre-Flop: (150) Jungleman is SB
Jungleman raises 250, GoinHardInThaPaint raises 900, Jungleman calls 650
Flop: (1,800)
GoinHardInThaPaint bets 300, Jungleman ...?
Avr0ra: Jungleman's instant preflop call immediately indicates that he doesn't have any hands that split to an occasional 4-bet. For example, .
GoinHardInThaPaint bets 20% of the pot…
Snaka: Someone came up with the idea of betting 1/7 of the pot heads-up a few years ago, and everyone does it now. If your opponent folds a lot or raises little at that sizing, you can bet very often.
Avr0ra: Obviously, with , I will never fold, but I will not raise.
ℹ️ …Jungleman calls 300
Turn: (2,400)
GoinHardInThaPaint checks, Jungleman...?
Avr0ra: I'm all for a full-weight turn bluff. I'd specifically choose a crooked sizing—half and thirds—trying to represent sets, two pairs, .
This is that rare case when it is difficult to play defense and easy to attack.
snaka: Agreed. To knock out , and full air, we just need to make it small.
With , I wouldn't bluff, they have showdown value in heads-up.
ℹ️ …Jungleman bets 1,800; GoinHardInThaPaint calls 1,800
River: (6,000)
GoinHardInThaPaint checks, Jungleman goes all-in 7,000
Avr0ra: After a big bet on the turn, this is a bad bluff.
The interesting thing here is how often should we fold a flush? I think he'll fold a flush 10% of the time and might call without a flush.
Snaka: To bluff successfully, he needs to fold 20% of his flushes. Considering his hero calls so far, he'll call with 100% of his flushes.
Avr0ra: And if we bet a quarter on the turn, and ⅔ on the river, how often should we hit a flush?
snaka: It's enough to knock out everything except the flush.
Avr0ra: What if you bet a quarter on the turn and go all-in on the river?
snaka: The same 20%.
See the Showdown:
snaka: Jungleman and GoinHardInThaPaint either misread the ranges or are deliberately overbluffing.
Avr0ra: We had a great conversation, it was interesting! You covered a lot of technical details. I could have asked so much more, but I tried to stop myself.
snaka: Yes, you can endlessly pick at every distribution.
Avr0ra: Like in the joke:
Two poker players were jailed for 10 years in the same cell. They served their sentences from start to finish. They got out, said goodbye to prison, spent another half hour beating about ranges, and went home.
