Need advise on HU play

Lately i have been doing 9 people sngs. i get down to the final 2 people. me and whoever else. But I am terrible at heads up play. I never seem to win it. I need some advise on what the best way to play heads up when it gets to the final to players/


Thanks

What article/books have you read in regard to heads up? I know Harrington on Hold'em has a decent section in #2 about heads up play.

I have not read any books yet. I am a tight player if that helps any. do i need to loosen up my game when it comes to HU? I will have to get that book then.

A quick answer to your question is yes, you have loosen up as you are always either the BB or the SB.

I am not a good HU player but some points I have seen and taken to heart are.

You should call from the small blind unless you are playing against someone who is constantly raising out of the big blind. If you are playing against an aggressive BB you are going to have to start pushing back hard with even marginal hands.

Also you don't need sets too win middle pair is a good hand HU. As the SB you will have position after the flop. HU is about aggression. If I find myself in a HU with someone who is completely out playing I will start shoving any two decent cards. I use this strategy only as a way to keep myself from bleeding off chips due to poor play. sometimes by showing Uber aggression I can bye myself a few extra hands and regain some footing.

Thank you. I will have to try that tonight when i play.

Heads up you definitely need to loosen your hand requirements - for raising, and for calling to a certain extent.

Suited hands go down in value, high cards go up in value and aggression counts for a lot. As Steve points out, you've almost always got the right odds to at least complete from the small blind.

Keep in mind too that if the blinds are high relative to the stack sizes, as they can often be if we're talking heads up at the end of a sit and go, then it can be a bit of a crapshoot. Usually the best strategy is to pick a decent hand (in this case I'd be more than happy with, say, K8, QJ, any pair or any ace), shove it and hope for the best.

in HU if u have jack 7 suited or better u are probably ahead preflop
so be agressive, very very lag style

pantin007 said:

in HU if u have jack 7 suited or better u are probably ahead preflop
so be agressive, very very lag style

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I think the hand is Q7, the average hand. But agreed, you need to play aggressive. Just remember, ~50% of the time you have the better hand. K2o is most likely a better hand than your opponent has. I'd read Harrington on Hold 'em and pay extra attention to his discussion on M and aggression. If each of you has around 10-15 big blinds left it'll be just a crapshoot. If everyone busted early and you have a few more chips to play with, you can make a few moves and wait for a good spot to put a lot of your money in the pot.

I played a guy recently HU at the end of a SNG, we were exactly even in chips as the HU portion started (it was a 10-person sng, so each of us had 7500 chips). He was playing way too tight. I raised every single hand and he continually folded. Finally he raised, and I folded. He continued to fold to my raises until he had about 2 big blinds left. He'd push, and he won about 5 hands where we were either coin flips or 60/40 one way or the other, until he finally lost one of them. Moral of the story, go in before you get that low. Get fold equity too. If you push, they have to have a decent hand to call. 27o, the worst hand in poker, against a random hand is only a 65/35 dog. That tells you something. Even if they called you every time, you'd only lose 65% of the time. Especially if you have the chip lead, put your opponent to the test of an all-in often. Even if he knows you could have any 2 cards, is he going to make a call with J5o?

Generally in HU the best advice is to be more agressive.

zachvac said:

27o, the worst hand in poker, against a random hand is only a 65/35 dog.

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72o isn't actually the worst hand in poker when you get heads up - the worst hand becomes 32o, on account of the fact that high cards play more often.

Steveg1976 said:

What article/books have you read in regard to heads up? I know Harrington on Hold'em has a decent section in #2 about heads up play.

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A great article about it on thsi forum is a great read as well:

Heads Up Poker Tournament Strategy - No Limit Texas Hold'em

If you're in the small blind you can raise with hands as weak as Q10, A-2, 2 2, J 10 suited. And if you're in the small blind like others have said, call with any two cards, you're getting 3:1 pot odds and you have position. Also, whether you're the BB or SB, push any pair very aggressively, any pair is a big hand heads up.

Paul Wasicka seemed to put it all together pretty well. I normally follow what he says when I get it heads up in my SNGs.

Thank you everyone. i need all the help i can get lol.