I'm not sure if this is the right forum for this question, so if there's a more appropriate place, I'd appreciate if a mod can move it. This question came up the other day:

Assuming you were exactly more skilled over an opponent in NL as you were in LHE, which game should you prefer to play a heads-up match?

My first reaction was NL, since you can cause your opponent to make much more costly mistakes. But someone suggested that you should prefer to play limit poker and it's not even close. Or put another way...

A semi-competent limit donkey like me, would get busted much faster and more convincingly by a heads up specialist like Matt Hawrilenko, than my semi-competent NL counterpart would against someone like Tom Dwan. Does that make sense to you?

I suppose it does, but I'm not sure I entirely understand why. I always thought that edges were much smaller in limit. But I suppose when I really stop to think about the reality of playing a top limit player, I can see how I'd wind up feeling like I just got dragged over a pile of rocks for an entire session. I've had the misfortune to be the fish in a short-handed limit game against some really good players and they just grind, and grind, and grind you to a pulp.

I don't have much experience playing with great NL players, because I'm not dumb enough to get in a short-handed game with them. But I can see how I might be able to hang on a little longer. So is it really cut and dry? A heads up limit specialist figures to make much shorter work of his/her victim than a NL specialist? Thanks.

In a heads up match, an unskilled opponent can reduce your edge considerably by going all in a lot, because a lot of your skill comes from post-flop play. Also, he has the opportunity to get a lot of money in on a gamble, even as an underdog, and this is better for him than not doing it. Say for example that he was a 2:1 dog on the flop and managed to get his money all in. This is great for him, if you are more than a 2:1 favorite over him in skill, because now he gets to gamble above his EV.

That is, your opponent can apply a *losing strategy by going all in a lot* and come out ahead if that strategy is not worse than his edge deficit playing you without being able to go all in.

In a limit match, you'll rarely be all in before the river until the blinds get quite high, so the more skilled player will get to apply his skill to all streets. Your opponent can not make you gamble for the outcome of the match.

Basically, if you have an edge on every bet you make, then the more times you get to bet, the more often you'll converge to realizing your edge in a particular match.

Thanks Rusty,

That makes a lot of sense. Although, I wasn't talking about tournament format where the blinds go up. Just a side game heads-up match. Or maybe a 50-100 big bet freeze out over a few days (blinds stay the same).

But I think much of what you said still applies and you've shed some light on this for me. Thanks.

If the blinds never go up the I think you have even more of an edge than in a HUSNG because you won't be forced to gamble by the blinds.