Strategies for Effective Heads-up Poker Play
1) Often people overlook this simple part when you play heads up, you don't need the best hand to win, you only have to make the other person fold. Aggressive play is essential. You wont win often if you are only willing to check and call and only putting money in the pot when you have a good hand. You just become too easy to read .Remember to keep the pressure on the other person to make his hand.
2) You must play the other person's hand as well as your own. This allows you to see good bluffing opportunities Remember, to win all you only need the other person to fold. The is not difference to winning with no hand that winning with the nuts. Usually neither of you have a great hand pre-flop but if you can convince the other guy you have a better hand 60% of the time, you are already ahead when you both do eventually clash. If you are more aggressive you have a massive advantage because the other guy must call and make his hand to win. If he checks the flop, you raise. If he raises you can fold but don't give him free cards when you are in position.
3) Don't look at the flop in a similar fashion to a full table. QQ at a full table is decent, heads-up it a great hand .Always raise on the button, don't flat call. Make him pay to see cards. If the guy plays all hands ensure he pays extra pre-flop when you think you have him dominated.
4) Heads up games are played to exploit a persons strengths & weaknesses. Heads up poker is much more of a person to person game than most ring games. You are playing the person more than you are playing the cards. Get inside the other guy's head, then put his play into context so you can make the right moves at the right time. You try to build a picture of what he raises you with pre-flop, how he plays it post-flop, if he actually has it or not, etc.
I was playing Heads-up games 10 hours a day at Doyle's for 3 months. This practice taught me how to close games effectively at the end stages of multi tournaments. It taught me how to bully people when I was on the blinds. By practicing regularly on my heads up strategy it helped me immensely when it came to tournament play…….well I might not have made the final 2 in as many multi's as some people but when it came to this stage I found I had more experience in this situation, so give it a try if you feel your end game is struggling, or you regularly get bullied out your blinds. You will see an improvement.
WARNING
Losing at Heads-up poker to a complete NooB
I was playing a $25 heads-up game online at the early hours of the morning. This guy was really active in the chat. One of the real annoying types….”I'm the best, you're a F**** B*****,yak, yak, yak”
I just ignored the moron. It's not going to bother me. So a few hands in, I've tried to play. He's just been all-in, so I decide to sit back & wait for a hand to take him out. No point calling, he just goes all in after I put any money in the pot.
Finally I land pocket KK. That'll do, so I flat call the hand…..yep you guessed it, he goes all-in, so I call him. He has 10-6 off-suit. What happened next was just annoying, he lands his 2 pair, wins the game. I just type in GG (good game) while he must have been typing, you're a F**** B****, I'm the F**** Best.
Yes, I suppose I could report him for his language, but it's no big deal to me. He hardly stuck me as a player who even knew how to play heads-up poker, so I put him on my friends list. Track him down & take his money off him anytime I see him at the table, easy money. So I check HU tables, no sign. I look at his registered tournaments. He is registered for a few $1 tournaments. I checked again today, same thing.
Conclusion from this, I've just lost by a complete fluke to a complete ignorant & arrogant moron & probably doubled his entire bankroll in the process…GRRRRR. I highly doubt I'll see him at the $25 tables again & when he is, someone else will probably get the pleasure of busting him.
FURTHER READING : POKER TOURNAMENT VARIATIONS
No-Limit Poker - A basic guide to No Limit Multi Table Poker tournaments
Limit v No-Limit - Identify the different tactics between Limit and No Limit poker
Sit n' Go - The slightly ammended tactics of the popular single table tournaments
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