Last night was the first heads-up match between Roy and I.  We began at around 9 o'clock with $20,000 in chips and the blinds at 100-200.  We raised blinds every 20 minutes, but we were playing so fast, that we got a lot of hands in on each round.

Early on, my goal was to see what Roy's plan was.  I have to admit, I played a little timidly, and he ran me over for the most part, taking a $25,000 to $15,000 chip lead without any really huge hands.  Then the following hand came up to swing the match:  I limped in with K♠8◊, and Roy raised it another 500 to go from the big blind.  He'd been doing this fairly routinely, and this time I called.  The flop came down 9♠ 9♣ 5♥, and Roy bet out 900.  I didn't figure him to have hit this, and I didn't give him credit for a pocket pair or other strong hand because of the aggressive manner in which he'd been playing up to this point.  I called his bet, planning on raising later to take the hand.  The turn was a K♣.  This changed my mindset a little bit.  Roy bet out 1800, and rather than raising, I just called, figuring I could induce a bluff from him on the river.  I thought that if I raised now I would take it down, and I didn't think I was in danger of getting outdrawn by anything.  The river was a K◊, giving me kings full of 9s.  Roy bet out 3000 this time, and with the way his betting kept escalating throughout the hand, it seemed obvious that he wanted to get rid of me.  I also stopped to consider that maybe Roy actually did have a hand, because he usually won't fire all three bullets on a total bluff.  A standard play here would have been to value-raise, just doubling his 3000 to 6000.  I figured this would be too obvious, though, and I wanted my bet to look like a steal bet.  After all, he couldn't possibly put me on having a king with the way the hand had played out.  I raised his 3000 to 9000, and he went into the tank for a couple minutes.  Finally, he called, and I showed him my kings full.  He told me that he had pocket aces, which really shocked me, as I hadn't given him credit for anything like that.  That means that I hit perfect perfect to beat him, the only way it could have happened.  It was a dirty hand, but at least my intention were pure.  This pot put me up to around a 2-1 chip lead, exactly where I wanted to be.

Now that I had seized control of the match, I wanted to ride the momentum and keep him down.  I became more aggressive preflop, and the blinds were at 200-400 by now, so that was a bit more profitable than it could have been previously.  A good example of my big stack play came when I had Q♠5♠, and made a raise of 600 on the button.  Roy called, and we saw a flop of 10♠6♠3◊.  He bet out 1200, and I raised all-in on the flush draw.  I knew that he couldn't really call here with anything but a strong top pair, and if he did call, then I had a 2-1 shot of winning the match right there.  He folded though, which was fine by me, and I took the pot.

I kept whittling Roy down, and he wasn't able to stab at so many pots, so I kept improving my chip lead, until he was down to $3500 to my $36,500.  I knew his shortstack style, and he would push whenever I seemed weak, so when I picked up pocket queens in the small blind, I thought it was the perfect time to trap him.  He had been pushing almost half the time I limped in, and I had made up my mind early to limp with big hands to trap him.  The trap worked to perfection, and Roy moved all-in after my limp. I called him immediately, and the look on his face was priceless.  It was something like shock coupled with dismay.  I don't think I've ever seen Roy caught so off-guard at a poker table.  I turned over my queens, and he flipped over ace 5 off, making me about 2-1 to win it.  For some reason, though, I didn't think I would win, just because our heads-up match couldn't be over with this quickly.  The flop was all rags, but sure enough, the turn was an ace, and I couldn't spike a queen, so Roy doubled up to 7000.

Now the momentum had shifted again.  Roy became more aggressive, and it seemed like I was backpedaling.  He came in raising 1000 on my big blind, and I called with A◊5♥.  The flop was A♥4♠6♥.  I checked it to Roy, and he bet 1000.  I check-raised him another 2000, and after some thought, he called.  The turn was the 3♥, so now I was open-ended in addition to having a weak flush draw with my top pair.  I checked it again.  Roy bet 3000, and I just felt like he was seeing my check as weakness.  I raised all-in for another 5400, and he called, flipping over 7♥8♥ for a made flush, the one thing I didn't want to see.  That doubled him up and actually gave him a slight chip edge on me.

Roy continued to ride the momentum, and I could tell he was gaining confidence against me with each hand.  I went on a string of 8 2 offsuits  and jack 4 offsuits that lost me four or five straight blinds, and with the blinds being at 400-800 now, that certainly didn't help.  Roy got back to being aggressive, raising almost every pot on the button.  I was playing far too passively, and I rarely came over the top of him.  Before I knew it, I was down to about 4500.  I stayed patient though, and trusted that I could work myself back into the match.

After taking a few small pots and getting back to about 8000, I had a little bit more room to play.  I picked up 8 4 offsuit on the button, and decided to just double the blind.  I hadn't done this all day, and I figured it might throw Roy for a loop.  He said, "Minimum bet?  Sign of strength.  I call."  Then we watched a beautiful flop of 8 8 Q come down.  Roy bet out 1000, and I doubled it.  He called.  The turn was a 3, and Roy again bet out 1000.  I went all-in for another 4500, and after some thought, he folded a queen face up.  I think if anyone from the SPT would have seen this hand, they would be shocked.  They all have this image of Roy being a loose, lucky player that calls everything, but it's really not true.  I don't know how he put me on an 8, or maybe kings or aces, but he did, and he made the right fold.  There's maybe one or two other guys in our game that can make that fold, especially against me.

Even though I didn't double up, this pot got me right back in the game, and now I had the momentum.  I took a whole slew of small pots, mostly by betting out on the flop when I hit second pair.  A huge hand came up where I had 4 5 of hearts, and I limped in.  Roy checked, and we saw a flop of 2 6 8, making me double-gutted.  Roy checked, and I put some thought into it, but decided to take a free card.  The turn was a jack.  We both checked.  The river was a 7, giving me the bottom end of the straight.  Roy bet out 1,200, and I raised him 3,000.  He thought for a while, and finally called.  He had jacks for top pair, so I took a nice pot and took the chip lead back.

I came in raising with A♠9♠ on the button, and Roy called.  The flop was 3♠3♣7♠, giving me the nut flush draw with two overs.  Roy bet out 1,200, and I called.  I was thinking of pushing, but figured if he had trips I'd get called right away, and Roy still had a lot of chips, so I would be crippled if I lost it.  The turn was the J♥, and Roy bet out 3,000 this time.  Still convinced I had 15 outs, I called.  The river was the A♣, giving me top pair.  Roy bet out 5,000 this time.  That ace wasn't exactly what I wanted to see in the face of a big bet, because he could have been pushing with trip 3s the whole way.  I thought he would have looked to check-raise me with a 3, though, and I called after much thought.  He had 2 4 off, and was on a total bluff the whole time.  This pot put me back in commanding position.

This was possibly the biggest hand of the match, and there was no way I could have won any more from it.  Here's why it's sometimes better to just call with a hand rather than push, even if you think you're the favorite.  If I pushed on the flop, Roy would have folded and I only would have taken his initial 1,200 bet.  By just calling, I induced him to keep bluffing, and wound up with an additional 8,000 for it.  Against good players, sometimes it's better to let them keep betting at you, because they'll fold most times if you come over the top of them.  Aggressive players tend to keep betting if they sense weakness, though, so you can often trap them by just calling.  It's risky, but can pay big dividends.

This pot put me up about by about a 4-1 margin, and I kept leaning on Roy after that.  I picked up pocket 7s on the button and came in with a standard raise of 1500.  The blinds were now 500-1000.  Roy called, and the flop came down K♣5♣6♥.  Roy checked, and I checked behind him, because he seemed strong.  The turn was the 8♥, and he bet out 1800.  I thought of pushing here, as I figured if I was good, he wouldn't call, and if I wasn't I had 10 outs, but I still thought he was strong, so I figured 1800 was a cheap way to bust him if I hit one of my outs.  Before the river came, he went all-in in the dark for 4000.  This was fine by me, because I figured a 4 or a 9 would win it for me.  The river was a 3♣, though.  Not what I wanted to see.  The problem is, Roy is just crazy enough to make this move without a hand because it represents such strength.  I even thought he would be crazy enough to do it with a flush draw and a pair, and that flush draw had just hit.  After thinking for a full two minutes, he told me that I could pick one of his cards and look at it.  This led me to believe right away that he had me, otherwise why give me free information.  I was pretty sure he wanted a call now.  I turned over one card, and it was the 9♣.  What a scary card that was!  He could have the flush or the straight, although I had two of the 7s in the deck.  I didn't think he could have 8 9 or pocket 9s, because if I saw this card I would call instantly with a king.  I finally decided that I was beat, and I tossed it.  He told me that he had 7♣9♣, so he made the nuts on the turn and then improved to a flush on the river.  He really was strong on the flop, and he told me he would have pushed if I had bet, so I'm glad I didn't.

Although Roy won this pot, I did a good job of minimizing my losses.  Roy was around 10,000 at this point, but I was determined not to give him the momentum back.  He came in raising 1500, and I looked down to see ace 4.  I went all-in, believing that he wasn't that strong, and he folded rather quickly.  A few hands later, I checked pocket 4s in the big blind, and we saw a flop of 5 5 3.  We both checked, and then checked the turn, which was a 6.  The river was a 4, giving me a boat, and when Roy bet out 2,000, I went all-in.  He thought for a bit, then folded, saying, "I don't know why I thought that long; that was an easy fold."

With the blinds as high as they were, and with Roy shortstacked, I knew I had to keep him down.  Avoid making loose calls, and push when possible.  If all the money is in the pot, there's a chance I could knock him out.  The mistake he made earlier is that he was never able to get me all-in when I was shortstacked, although with the blinds being lower, I was able to wiggle more.  With Roy under 5,000, I pushed whenever I saw a king or better on the button.  He kept folding, and he folded his small blind a few times, also.  With only 3,600 left, he put in his big blind.  I commented that he basically had to call my all-in blind.  I saw K◊2◊, and I pushed.  He thought, and then folded, leaving himself with just 2,600.  He had 4 8 off, but I still think he had to call here.  He folded the next hand, and I looked down to see A♠10♥ on the small blind.  I went all-in, and he called his last 1,100 and flipped over A◊2♥.  The flop was completely safe, and the last two cards offered no help to Roy, either, so I had won our heads-up battle.

I took $20 for the win, and clinched that my bankroll would be over $1,000 for the school year.  I really wish that some people were around to watch this match, because it was some fantastic poker, the best I've been a part of since the Levittown Tournament of Champions, and easily the best heads-up match I've been a part of.  I think Roy and I showed why we're the two best players here, and the match really could have gone either way.  I've always admired Roy's play, but our match just reinforced that respect in my mind.  That boy can play, and he makes me elevate my game to contend with him.  It's too bad I'm going back to New York and won't be able to play with him much anymore.  I'll miss our battles.

Terrence's bankroll: $1039, after beating Jesse heads-up two days ago, winning a four-man tournament with Jesse, Andrew, and Albert, beating Pete heads-up, beating Roy heads-up, and beating Bobby heads-up twice.