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Comment by flipper | Hacker News Reader

Yeah, I wouldn't recommend it either, but in the situation you describe couldn't the cheater just raise on the flop? If they get looked up by their opponent, when they catch a lucky Ten on the turn they can just say they were bluffing with air.

I'm not a heads-up player so I'm not sure how often you could get away with such gambits. Also, in this situation the opponent might suspect the cheater holds JT, T9, 98, 87, 76, A9, A8 or any number of other hands that could have hit the flop. Wouldn't a solid heads-up player fold A4 frequently enough in that situation that they never realize they're playing against a stacked deck?

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Maybe, but I think first action heads up is on the small blind (opponent). He'll be raising that hand. You play most hands heads up, but you toss 10-2 offsuit normally to a raise. After the flop comes down, then I think first action is the dealer. If he bluffs 10-2 there, that's a complete bluff - and the paired board makes it less likely he hit something, though JT would be an option for someone who calls. If he bets the flop, and the turn, maybe the Ace-Four folds at some point. But if he shows it down (and some people will), it'll look like a completely unnatural sequence of events. You usually don't call significant raises with 10-2 offsuit, and then you're pure bluffing when the flop hits - you have almost no chance of making a hand, except the very small chance you hit a ten and they don't have an overpair or hit an overcard or have a straight themselves.

The dealer always has position by definition (we deal to our left and finish with ourselves, and action starts to the left and finishes with us).

The page is actually mistaken in this aspect; it has out opponent labelled as "SB" whereas in fact hero, the dealer, will be SB and out opponent is BB.

A solid heads-up player will pretty much never fold A4 from the small blind. small blind is also the button, so they'll have position for the rest of the hand.

Really, the only question is how much to raise, or if to limp. the limp/mini-raise tactics would be there essentially to add some deception to post-flop play.

Ace high is a pretty strong hand heads-up, even with the shit kicker, as the odds are against your opponent flopping any pairs at all.

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