Heads Up Poker
Heads-up poker is when there are only two players remaining in the current pot. For example, PokerStars.net players Joseph Hachem beat Steve Dannenmann heads-up for the WSOP 2005 Championship. Playing well when it is heads-up is a very important factor to winning at poker. Even in a 9 or 10 handed poker game, the pot will usually come down to heads-up play, especially in no limit holdem.
Whenever playing heads-up poker, it is always best to be very aggressive to try and win the pot. There is only one player that can beat you, and it is best to always make them try to make the best hand. By continually betting at the pot, it will put pressure on your opponent to make a hand, in which you can win pots when nobody makes a hand.
Pick Your Spots
Playing in a nine or ten handed no limit holdem game can be tough. If you are at a loose table, there could be over five players seeing a flop. This means that you are going to have to show the best hand against four other players if you plan on winning any pots. This is a lot tougher than trying to only beat one player.
Try to pick spots where you can win the pot before the flop or get only one player to call to see the flop. Whenever you get only one player to call to see the flop, you have a very high chance to win the pot. This means only raising and entering pots later in position (unless you have a monster in early position), and also waiting for the players acting first to fold.
Look for Tells
Once you have the play to heads-up action, you should look for clues on what your opponent is holding. This can be tough (especially online) but tells can be spotted in a players betting pattern. For example, if you raise and only get one caller, you should bet on the flop (but not too much) and see what your opponent does. If you get called, this clue should help you realize that your opponent has some type of hand, and you then need to evaluate which hands he might have and if you can beat them. Try to figure out what your opponent might have based on how much you just bet, how many chips you both have in front of you, and how many chips are in the pot.
Bluffing Heads-Up
Bluffing is the key to winning consistently heads-up. You need to be able to put pressure on your opponent so that they have to make a hand and not you. By doing this, you can hold almost any two cards and still win a lot of pots. If you can figure out what your opponent most likely holds, then you simply need to make bets to get him to fold or to keep him in the pot. If you are bluffing you need to start betting to get your opponent to fold. For example, you could make small bets on the flop and turn, and then bet the size of the pot on the river. This way you opponent will have to give you credit for a hand the majority of the time.
Big Hands Heads-Up
Whenever you have a “big hand”(the nuts or close to it) heads-up, you need to start thinking how to extract the most money from your opponent. If you are holding the best possible hand, you obviously don’t want your opponent to fold. Based on their playing style, you should make bets into them to get them to call.
If your opponent is extremely tight, make very small bets on the flop and turn or you can check it to the river so that they will hopefully hit a hand and pay you off. If your opponent is extremely loose, try to make bigger bets than the size of the pot, and they might think you are bluffing and pay you off. It mainly depends on your opponent for how much money you will win. The number one thing to remember when you have a big hand is to do whatever possible to get your opponent to call you down.
Final Heads-Up Thoughts
The biggest thing to remember when playing heads-up is to never over-play your hand and always keep control of the hand as best as possible. By being aggressive and making your opponents make their hands, you will win more pots and have more chips to use when you actually make a hand yourself.