Heads Up Poker Strategy
Heads Up poker is a name that is given to a period of poker play where 2 players face off against each other directly and there are no other parties involved in the game, meaning that the game is fast paced and often plays out a large amount of hands per hour.
Now that we know what heads up poker is, you need to know that you will have to alter your gameplay stance from that of regular poker games in order to accommodate for the lack of players involved in the game.
1. You will have to broaden your starting hand selection
This means that you are going to have to move away from sticking to the power hands that you should be playing in a regular game and increase that count to double the hands that you are willing to play, remember that will reduced players active within the game comes more cards that will remain in the dealers deck.
Should you decided that you are still going to wait for the premium hands to be laid into your lap by the dealer, you are about to experience a sharp loss of funding as the possibilities of the range of hands that could be dealt to you is increased and so chances of hitting those pocket aces, reduced.
2. Use your position as a weapon
Position is key in poker and it becomes even more important when you undertake in heads up poker action as there are only two positions to act from so you need to use your better position as leverage against the opponent while you can.
The general ruling for how to approach your hands is that if you are representing the dealer and are within the small blind, you should look to make a raise with a hand that you consider to be playable.
Playable hands in this situation would be any pair, suited connectors as well as any hand that contains an ace.
When you find yourself in the big blind you should be thinking about playing tighter, so only call any play that your opponent makes towards you if you are holding a high strength hand, failure to respect their raise would mean that you would be in a hand with very little as they could be holding a genuine strong hand.
3. Semi bluffing in heads up poker is normality
When playing heads up poker you will come across a number of players who are only too happy to make a semi bluff, signaling strength while they are still chasing an addition card to be laid onto the community board.
You have to be willing to do the same, without being willing to play semi bluffs you will be more likely to see a final hand showdown at the end of the rounds of betting and that would mean that if you failed to hit your card, you would be in a bad way as its likely that they are holding some hand with strength and if thats the case they would beat you, regardless of the level of pair or hand that they were holding as long as it was better than high cards.
4. Adapt your game to your opponents playing stance
This means that you need to fit into a game in order to be able to counteract any play that your opponent makes, so if they are aggressive, tighten up and select your hands wisely, meaning that once you get your hand you will see a larger value pot than if you were constantly trying to make a play with poor cards.
It can sometimes be hard to adapt your play but in order to be able to become a successful and more importantly profitable poker player, you need to practice all forms of play as regularly as you can.
5. Stay within your bankroll
So many online poker players head to their chosen online poker rooms and load their accounts with real money only to head to a table with all their funds firmly sat in front of them, leaving no room for error, if they lose that stack then they are left with nothing.
6. Alternate your game
As when you play any other style of poker game, you need to be able to switch your playing stance at the drop of a hat, this means that you will become harder to read for an opponent and will mean that any notes that they are taking from their end of the connection have just become incorrect.
Experienced poker players have the ability to switch up their stance over 5 times and hour, keeping a sense of mystery surrounding their games and how they play them.
You need to try to progress to this standard to be able to make a heavy bankroll at the higher stake tables.
7. Use your right to value bets
Value bets are included in the play of the game purely so that you can use them at any point that you feel they might benefit you, so exercise your right and use them at any point that you can.
Value betting in heads up action is a proven method to kill a hand in order to prevent a card showdown from happening, reducing your chances of ways to lose a hand.
8. Go for the kill while your opponent is weak
So many new heads up poker players who try their hand at the game online fail to possess the requirement to have the ability to kill their opponents game while they are given the opportunity.
Failure to take advantage of an opponents short stack only means that you are giving them additional opportunity to move their chips all in on a hand that they feel strong enough to do so, if you are pushing them to play their hands, especially while they are in the big blind, you leave them with no other options than to play or lose their chips.
9. Try to identify your opponents bluff attempts
If you are able to get a good read on your opponent to the point where you can spot when they are trying to feed you a bluff, your winning percentage will increase significantly as heads up poker is a game of well thought out bluffing.
Take your time to study their play and think about possible hands that they could be holding, get settled in the game and then feed them a raised bet straight back, you'll soon see them fold.
Remember though that not all opponents will be bluffing 100% of the time, so if you catch them out once, they should wait a while before trying again.
10. Know your hand values
Hand values come into play more while you are playing heads up poker as players are less likely to be able to make a hand. Pair this up with your inflated starter hand selection and your geared to go.
Hands such as ace high are more likely to be a winning hand in heads up poker than if you were playing a regular game.
Practice your heads up play on the real money tables and try to stay well within the guidelines that you have just read and you shouldn't be too far away from becoming a feared heads up poker player.
