Heads Up No Limit Hold
Em has experienced a major
increase in popularity,
and with that comes a lot
of fish to capitalize on.
Whenever I am in an online
poker room lobby, there
are always several heads
up games running. These
games are great because
you are involved in almost
every hand, and most players
want to hit the flop heads
up anyway in a cash game,
so this is a great place
to work on your skills not
just in heads up poker,
but overall. Playing a session
of heads up poker can be
much more rewarding than
playing a full ring or six
max game, however unless
played properly, it can
also be quite detrimental
to your bank roll.
Aggression and Discipline
Plain and simple, heads
up no limit poker rewards
aggression. You have to
be prepared to be in situations
where you are willing to
gamble, you also have to
be prepared to exercise
great discipline at times,
laying down a monster hand
if you know your beat.
Controlling the pace of
the action is something
you want to do right from
the start when playing heads
up. This is not the time
to play your super tight
multi table strategy, playing
nothing but high percentage
hands. Because you are heads
up, those marginal hands
turn quite playable, and
you can take control of
the pot with these hands
by being the one raising
and re-raising your opponent.
You get control when you
raise, you put your opponent
in a situation where they
need to make a decision.
You want to be the person
forcing the decisions, not
the one being forced to
make them. Keep your opponent
under constant pressure,
and force them into playing
a scared defensive game.
Remember that you are not
invincible, though at times
you may feel like it when
you are constantly controlling
hand after hand. You MUST
play with discipline.
Playing a Passive Opponent
When playing against an
opponent who is playing
a weak passive game, you
should be doing a lot of
raising before the flop
and taking down the blinds.
Against certain opponents,
you want to raise the pot
every single time you are
in the small blind. You
will do this against opponents
who are playing that sit
and wait game, only playing
premium hands. Over time,
more money will be won by
stealing the blinds with
risk of your opponent making
a hand, than playing the
hand out
Playing Against an Aggressive
Opponent
At times you will sit at
a table and figure out quickly
that your opponent wants
to play the same aggressive
game you do. This is fine,
and you can still be aggressive,
you just need to be in better
control of your aggressiveness.
Do not fall into their trap,
play back at them, and make
it known that you are not
afraid of their aggressive
play. Three bet often at
these players, let them
know there won’t be
many cheap flops if they
want to play that way. Most
people who are playing aggressively
are quite reckless, and
you can capitalize on that.
Reading Your Opponent
Getting a great read on
your opponent and a feel
for the way they play
is very important when
playing heads up poker.
Realize the way they are
playing in a given situation
so that later in the session
you can use it to your
advantage. You can hyper-focus
when playing heads up,
you only have one player
to pay attention to, and
you want to do so closely.
Even the slightest edge
can make a big difference
when playing heads up.
Playing heads up will not
only add another dimension
to your poker game, but
provides great practice
for any ring game you might
play in. Play some heads
up, see a lot of hands,
and get some practice in!
|
