Heads Up - Part 1
Stack sizes play a large part in preflop strategy
If you play Sngs or Mtts, with any luck you will find yourself playing heads up from time to time. This is a very different game than 6 or 9 handed poker, and very few players make the necessary adjustments.
There are a number of factors that you need to take into account before deciding on your general poker strategy. Firstly you need to look at the structure of the game, specifically the blinds. The fewer blinds that you have once you get to heads up the more aggressive you have to be. This overrides any other consideration. If you have less than about 6 -7 blinds then your strategy should be to move all in almost every hand.
If you have between 7 and 25 you need to play aggressively. The more blinds the effective stack (the smaller of either you or your opponents stack) the less important winning each pot preflop becomes. With 50 blinds or more (and here you are probably playing a cash game), then stealing the blinds becomes much less important. Now you should be aiming for your opponent’s whole stack.
Manipulating your opponents’ tendencies is key
Different players play different styles heads up, and figuring out a counter strategy to your opponents play is the key to heads up. Most opponents fall under one of several broad categories, all of which have at least 1 key failing.
Some play very weak tight, these players are the easiest to beat. Their biggest weakness is they fold far too much. Many players who are quite good normally fail to adjust and are very bad heads up. The key to beating these players is to keep pots small and make sure you win more than your fair share of pots through controlled aggression. It’s important not to overdo the aggression, you need to make it seem natural, because if the other player realises what is happening he will adjust.
A good trick to use against players like this is to bet your hands that have no chance of winning, i.e. you limped with 45s and don’t hit a pair. However if you limp with A5 and miss, you should check it down, because you have a very good chance of winning the hand with ace high, and it looks like you are playing tight and not betting without a pair.
These opponents will often only be when they have what they consider to be a strong holding. They will rarely bluff. Try and find out as soon as possible what your opponents criteria is for betting, and then use that against them.
These opponents will often only be when they have what they consider to be a strong holding. They will rarely bluff. Try and find out as soon as possible what your opponents criteria is for betting, and then use that against them.
Make adjustments against overly aggressive opponents
Many players who adjust to heads up refuse to ever believe their opponent has a strong hand. Against these your plan should be to wait until you have a very strong hand and then stack them. You can see why this wouldn’t work against weak tight opponents. This means that you will need to give up a lot of the small pots in the early stages, be careful to always be aware of the blind situation, if you get too short you need to increase the aggression.
Some players adjust far too much and become almost maniacal. Against these you have no choice but to get all your chips in when you feel you have the best hand, even if it’s a very marginal hand. K2o or QJs is enough against somebody who is pushing all in every hand. If you have enough blinds then you should try and get to a flop before committing a lot of chips (if possible) as many of these players will play dreadfully post flop.
