Heads up poker

-Phil Ivey27

-Phil Ivey27

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I'm usually a very good heads up player, at least thats what I consider myself, as well as my statistics with HU aren't bad. But, earlier today I just kept losing HU, I mean I was recieving absolute atrocious beats. Even so, i believe i should have won my games, this got me to re-evaluating my HU strategy, in the end I still have not changed it, and just now ive won my fourth in a row, I guess my bad beats stopped. I would still like to recieve some tips though, maybe your own HU strategies, to help my own.

I mean you can always get better.
 
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turby

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I've also got a keen interest in HU. Do you go for one table HU or multitable HU competitions?

I usually play aggresive with position but I mix it up of course! How bout you?

Btw, (sorry if I'm hijacking) but does anyone know any good books on HU play?
 
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antizzle23

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Agressive! Agressive! Agressive!
cant go wrong...mix it up a lil of course....but if uve never played with the guy, chances are that u can trick him into thinking u have a bunch of hands
if u disguise them right
 
Dalsue214

Dalsue214

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Its all about how to bet and your timing... Also pay attention to their bets and not their cards...

There are more bluffs in H/U poker than in a 9 seater table.. In My Opinion

I think you should time yourself good enough to where they fold and when you have a monster.. make it like your struggling.... when you get a good half of their stack play tightly.. wait for the moment and take all his chips and win the match! :)
 
absoluthamm

absoluthamm

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You need to be aggressive. Starting hand requirements go way down in HU, to the point that any hand can be called for the SB.

In fact, unless you know your opponent will raise you every time you only call, you would be folding great pot odds by folding your SB pre-flop(you are always getting 3:1 odds in the SB) so you should (almost) always call.

Because your starting requirements have gone down, you also have a good chance to have a very well hidden hand, then ch/r if they bet into you. I love HU because it's man to man, you get a better read about that one person and not the whole table and attack their weaknesses.
 
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pokermatch

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Well basically in heads up holdem, you play much more agressively. Youhave to bluff a lot more and play a lot of not so good hands in orderto win. The reason for this is because there are only two of you, and youare practically forced to play every hand almost, since if you dont youdbe folding your blinds constantly, causing your stack to go down heavily.Some good tips would be to not be affraid of your opponents raises, sinceit is to be expected that your opponent does the same... bluffing and loose playing. Reraises are important to show him whos boss. But becarefulnot to be too agressive, cause if you are each hand then they can use thisto their advantage.
 
Makwa

Makwa

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Been doing a lot of Omaha HU lately. I like to sit back and watch villians play at early stages, let him push me a bit, and keep lots of notes (no time for chat, it rarely helps anyways)... when I have a read on the poor bugger I start moving on him with aggression, selected check raises, board bluffing, slowplaying -- the whole nine yards. Usually, 3/4 of the way through they are dizzy and on the ropes, unless they caught some amazing hands. Near the end they will often impatiently push with a marginal hand, so I wait for nuts and take them down.
 
absoluthamm

absoluthamm

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I've never played Omaha HU, just NL and Limit(which I think is boring as hell!!!). I might try Omaha HU though, I like playing it, just never been HU, except for in final tables that is.
 
silverslugger33

silverslugger33

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Agressive! Agressive! Agressive!
cant go wrong...mix it up a lil of course....but if uve never played with the guy, chances are that u can trick him into thinking u have a bunch of hands
if u disguise them right

Be careful with this. At low levels, pure aggression will work, because your opponent will generally have no idea what they're doing, but once you play a decent player, they'll just start trapping you constantly. So yes, you can go wrong with the Aggressive Aggressive Aggressive strategy.
 
-Phil Ivey27

-Phil Ivey27

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Be careful with this. At low levels, pure aggression will work, because your opponent will generally have no idea what they're doing, but once you play a decent player, they'll just start trapping you constantly. So yes, you can go wrong with the Aggressive Aggressive Aggressive strategy.

Absouletly, I play aggressive but careful against those who seem passive, and I love to play against the super aggressors, wait for a hand and just bust them, they won't see it coming.
 
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StakkTaxxa

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once you take 1 bad beat heads up expect more. so play super tight because your opponent is a gambler not a poker player
 
cardplayer52

cardplayer52

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i think adjusting to the player your playing is the most important HU skill. i used to play alot of HU matches and there were some players i just couldn't seem to beat. the really aggressive ones gave me problems. against these players i learned to trap. i either check/call a medium hand to the river or check/raise on a total bluff. i think mixing up your game is a must as there sure to catch on if you play consistant. i mean there are only two of you. not to many other player to pay attention to.
 
JessyMoneyAA

JessyMoneyAA

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In HU you got to have some luck. I play just small pots a the beginning of a match to see how my opponent is playing because this is very important in HU.
 
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