Is heads up poker (FL, Holdem) a good way to be profitable?

OK, so I read that 8 lesson on this website on getting into poker. My aim is to make long term profit at poker because I just want a little bit of money on the side because I sit at the computer a lot.

So is heads up a good way to be profitable in poker? Or is it 6 max or full ring? I just want to find a niche where I can exploit for money time and time again.

I've given them all a go and I found headup poker to be less "mathsy" because for the full ring and 6 max I've got charts telling me exactly what I should do at a given position with what cards and sometimes it is a bit complex to remember those algorithms.

Penny for your thoughts?

I think HU is less profitable depending on you opponent because you're getting raked to high hell the whole time. At 6 max and FR you dont notice the rake as much imo, because you'll be able to get chips from multiple people at the same time.

I prefer 6 max, it seems to fit my playstyle the best.

hmm I just played a game, I had 4 euroes, the other guy 7.

I lost 4 euroes, got wiped. The opponent actually gained NOTHING, he broke even.

The house took it all...

That's like less than 200 hands in micro HU. No point in playing HU below $100 NL, IMO.

Why don't you try HUSNGs?

Im pretty sure HU poker involves just as much maths if not more than 6max or FR. If you're still learning the game try starting at full ring its generally the most friendly place to start, shouldnt be many confusing algorithms, dont have to stick to starting charts just use them as a guide, and be patient.

HU is a ruthless game and very intimidating too, as a lot of the time neither of you actually hits the flop so the game becomes very much about exploiting your opponents play and getting reads on him etc, hard skills for a beginner but there are lots of people who just play HU and i admire their skills - If you do wanna play it though id do the HUsng's theyre definitely beatable and have less rake, just expect a lot of variance in any form of HU poker.

Yeah I play HU SNGs from time to time, usually at the end of a normal session. $1 entry with a 7c 'rake', so a prize pool of $1.86 - meaning the winner actually wins!

HU fixed limit micro stakes? I would say that's about the worst choice possible to start poker.

in my opinion no because for have a profit you have to win 6 hands up by 10... or 60 on 100...think so.... but if you are very good in hands up you can try and take notes by all of your results to know if you are winning or not

Thats the most complicated starting hand chart i've heard of google better imo

Seriously, for new players I would say find a decent starting chart for FR, only b/c you don't play many hands so the starting chart isn't hard to follow, For example, UTG: JJ+ AK........ and thats it lol play by it religiously until your barely looking at the chart at all and know automatically what your opening in what pos (I recently re-done this myself for 6max so I know it works) then start looking at the players to your left and right and work out ways to exploit them, for example (again) now you know what your OPENING range is in the CO you maybe see that the HJ is opening fairly wide in LP, now add/take away hands from your range to play when the HJ has opened......When you know your default button open range you can then look at the players in the blinds, how often do they defend vs a steal, very often in the micros you'll notice that a villain folds to steal 100% of the time so you can quite literally open any 2 cards and show profit.

Ive gone on for far too long now.

Cliffs:
Get starting hand chart for FR

Play by chart until its ingrained in your life

Then to up your game and start playing the player, focus attention on the 2 villains in the blinds when your on the BTN and the 2 villains to your immediate right (who will be on the BTN when your in the blinds and will be opening wider when you have position)

That set of villains are the easiest to start learning to exploit

Profit (hopefully!)

I'll have to disagree here. HUSNGs are the lowest-variance form of poker, afaik.

Consider the following example:

1) You have 9 players in a regular SNG where the TOP 3 win.
9 players * 1 BI = a total of 9 BI prize pool
33% of the field cashes
11% of the field takes 20% = 2 BI; profit = 1 BI
11% takes 30% = 2.5 BI; profit = 1.5 BI
11% takes 50% = 4.5 BI; profit = 3.5 BI
The other 67% take nothing.
You cash less often, but when you do cash, it's a bigger amount.

2) You have 2 players in a regular HUSNG where first wins 100%
2 players * 1 BI = a total of 2 BI prize pool
50% takes 0%
50% takes 100% = 2 BI; profit = 1 BI

There are some more things to consider, like winrate and rake, but, all in all, in any form of tournament poker where there is a prize pool that's divided among the players, the less players you have, the less variance there is.

You can imagine variance as statistical dispersion. In a big tournament you have lots and lots of BI but only once in a while you actually cash. So, if you plot it on a graph, you'll have one steep downward line (where you didn't cash) and then one even steeper upward line (where you cashed). Now, the distance between the top and the bottom is pretty big. That's your dispersion, which is also called variance

Yep dogmeat i get what you're saying, obviously a 10000 player mtt will be oozing variance compared. maybe i worded it wrong i dont know, all i meant was just like 6max has more variance that FR due to wider ranges, HU will have even more surely? as ranges are so wide you could easily lose 15 buyins in HUsng's and have played good, whereas losing 15 buyins in a day in cash games could happen but im sure its less common if you're playing good. Im probably wrong and am mixing sng's with cash so ill just shut up now

Your logic is somewhat flawed. Yes, you can play perfectly and still lose, but that happens maybe even more often in cash games, with multi-way pots and so on. It really depends on the structure of the HUSNG, if you're playing turbos then yes, there may be a little bit more variance than a cash game. But if you're playing normal speeds then they have as much or maybe less variance than cash games, mainly because there is a lot less shoving early on and if you're at least half decent you'll have a big edge over your opponent.

Most players play way too tightly in the bigger blind levels, so you should have a decent edge here too, albeit with a lot more variance. But, all in all, HUSNGs have little variance because you can have a relatively large winrate, 60% is standard for the lower stakes. If you have a 60% WR in a 9-handed SNG you'd be god.

Variance is pretty much the difference between your biggest loss and your biggest win. And in HUSNGs, the difference is pretty small. You either win 1BI or you lose 1BI. And you have a 60% probability of winning 1 BI.

In a FR SNG, though, you have a lot less chance of winning, hence you end up losing more. But when you do win, it's usually more than 1 BI. So the difference between your lowest and your highest point on your win-graph should be quite more substantial.

If you tilt, though, you may lose BI after BI and at the end of the day be 10BI down or something ridiculous like that. So just don't tilt

To get a grasp of how big variance is in MTTs, consider the following example:

You have a huge Call Of Duty map, and you drop 10K players on it with full ammo and so on. There's weapons and ammo everywhere. Snipers, assault rifles, mines, mortars, care packages, all the shitz.

It's very probable that at the end there will be 10-12 very good players. But it's also very probable that one of these good players be shot in the head by some noob, or blown to pieces by some stray grenade. There's also a big chance that one of these noobs finds a way to escape all the pros and actually live to the end.

Yes, skill is more than luck, but luck plays a huge role in that big of a field.

nope

Ok, not the lowest, but definitely one of the lower-variance forms of poker.

the swings can get most ridiculous in HU...if you're comfortable against a certain opponent then ride it out and keep playing as long as you have ur read on him...otherwise, get out of dodge ASAP if you feel like you're being outplayed at all....as much as the cards dont matter in HU, they can also be the death of you...

also on a personal note, HU gets a lot more personal (obviously) than any ring game...in my experience, i play aggressive and it has led to people calling me with draws when they would otherwise fold them...this is good in a sense, because i usually have the better hand at the point of allin, but then when they catch their outs on me repeatedly it's a bit frustrating, and in turn i go on tilt...which is MUCH more destructive HU than tilting at a full or 6-man table..