Heads up frustration

Hi Everybody,

Please tell me your ideas to win heads up more. It seems like everytime I get down to 2 players, I come in 2nd, even when I have 80% of the chips. What is the best way to learn heads up strategy.

Thanks,

Carthalion

Main factor in HUs is aggression and just remember that average hand is queen high. You can never wait for premium. My preferred strategy is chip away always asking questions.

Almost always open on the button, and almost c-bet often, especially if an Ace hit (because they usually re-raise pre-flop if they have an Ace).
I open to 2.5 bb's. I think 3 bb's is too much.

When an overcard hits the turn, that's a good spot to bet.

If someone folds to your raises a lot, and then re-raises you when you have A/5, just much the hand. Your kicker sucks, and you get plenty of free money from all the blinds he's folding off.

Basically, you keep the pressure on when you're in position. Sometimes they fight back and then you fold.

Eventually he'll call with like K/T or A/4 or something, and your junk will hit two pair when he hits top pair and you stack him. Or you'll have a better kicker or whatever.

Of course, if he keeps fighting back you change gears.
Basically, HU you are playing the player not your cards.

I think Maid Marian watched me play a S&G a couple nights ago. When I got HU, I won 22 out of my last 24 hands. In those two hands he re-raised me, so I just folded. Why gamble against easy money?

Lol, I think in HU luck is much more important than in tourny with more players. Eg an A7 vs AJ can easily be a preflopallin battle.
I played in a HU last week. I had 2/3 of the chips so I tried to make the opponent go allin as SS but he won it with weaker cards...this happened 15 mins later again so I lost my patience and I went allin with weak cards: of course I didnt won with them...so HU needs mainly patience and luck.

If we're talking about HU at the end of a tournament or SNG then it's a little different to a standard heads up strategy. The reason for that is the stacks are typically much shorter - often the big stack only has 10-15BB.

The following are my thoughts on how to play the situation, they may or may not be useful.

Stack size means that luck plays a big part and if one player gets a run of good cards there's not much anyone can do to change the outcome. Hands with showdown value are the most important ones (Ax, high kings, two paint, pairs).

In a deeper stacked HU game it can be fine to raise the button with any two. In a short stacked situation like this though, I sometimes open-fold garbage hands from the button because 1: 62o has no showdown value and 2: there's not enough room in anyone's stack to maneouver, so there's zero chance I'll be able to "outplay" my opponent after the flop. That plus the amount to complete the small blind is often high relative to my stack so I'd rather just hang onto it.

So basically I just look to get the money in preflop with something that has showdown value, and shove-steal wider if the villain is nitty and folding a lot preflop.

Just as always, agression, position, pot odds, beeing able to make big folds, changing gears and use your reads on your opponent
On top of that play lose.

I agree. You have to catch on to your opponent and call some showdowns to see how they work and what it is they are thinking. I think changing gears is huge when playing heads up. Heads up is also fun because it's quick live action back and forth. =)

Good luck with your heads up grind!

This is all well and good when we're playing HU with deep stacks, like in a cash game or at the beginning of a HU sit and go.

If we're talking about the end of a SNG or MTT, however, what you've said won't work. You can't afford to "call some showdowns" just to see how your opponent is playing - you'll likely be handing them a big chunk of your stack and the lead with it.

Absolutely try to get a feel for how your opponent is playing. And keep in mind that some players change their game dramatically when they get down to HU. I've seen nits lose their minds and TAGs go weak-passive when they get to HU. But calling showdowns isn't a great way to find out what they're up to.

I usually find the villain's preflop tendencies are the most useful. If they open-fold their small blind often or fold often after you've raised from the small blind, then you should steal from them with a wide range of hands and probably tighten your calling range when they shove slightly. QJ can be a profitable calling hand against some villains, for example, but there are others where you just know they're never going to push with worse than that.