Heads Up Poker

Get $500 Bonus Here

Being able to play a strong heads-up game is extremely important if you ever intend to become a winning poker player. One of the best ways to make money in online poker rooms is to play SNGs (sit and go’s). An extreme short handed variation of these SNGs is heads-up poker. A Heads-up is basically a duel between two opponents “mano-a-mano”, nobody else there to make saves or make things worse. As such, if you beat a single opponent you walk away a winner.

Not only is a strong Heads-up strategy important for the above presented reason, without it, you won’t ever win a single tournament. After all, that’s what every tournament (whether it’s a SNG or a MTT – multi-table tournament) comes down to.
Heads up strategy is basically a spin off short-handed strategy. The game speed increases (you can’t possibly find faster games then 2-handed ones) and thus, every mistake you make or every little thing you do right will reap increased benefits or losses.

Starting hand values will decrease sharply. So will showdown hand values. Don’t think twice about taking a single high card (A or K) to the showdown if you feel the circumstances are right. Most hands are won on such high cards or pairs or two pairs. Trips (three of a kind) seldom occur in heads-up and when they do, they’re like the ultimate monster.

Loosen up. You need to play far more hands than you would in a full ring game. Think about it like this: whichever hand you decide not to play is a welcome bargain for your opponent. Get much more aggressive. If you can’t assert domination in the betting game of a headsup, your opponent will.

Strong blinds play is imperative. You have to defend your blinds and steal the other guy’s big blinds as often as you can. Remember, since you’re both going to be in the blinds (one of you in the Big Blind and one of you in the Small Blind) the edge given by the BB is cut into half.
This is pretty much it. Heads up is a heated life and death battle. He who stays sharp and manages to assert domination, wins. Simple as 1-2-3.