Advanced Poker Advice: Heads Up Poker Strategies

by David Williams | Feb 13 2008

In my last article, we talked about Heads Up No Limit strategy, as I prepare for the NBC Heads Up Poker Championship. We discussed misconceptions about how easy the strategies for heads up might look on paper, but how hard they actually are to implement.

This time, I'd like to discuss three more tips related to heads up play. These strategy adjustments, coupled with the more basic tips in the last article should get you ready to hold your own in a heads up match, where psychological warfare really begins to take shape.

The first thing I would like to talk about is trapping in heads up play, since trapping in a heads up hand is very different from regular ring game play.

In a nine or 10-handed poker game, the hands that you trap with have to be much stronger than a hand you would trap with in a heads up poker game. Let's look at an example:

You have K-Q offsuit and out of position pre-flop, and you raise. You're called by the button, and you see a flop of Q-10-6, and you're first to act. Checking here would be a bad move, as your vulnerable top pair needs to be protected from giving people free draws at a straight, or opponents catching an ace on the turn, since a hand containing an ace is likely in a full ring game. In a full ring game, top pair is a hand that you want to win the pot with right away, before you give opponents the chance to catch up.

Now, let's look at this same hand but apply it to heads up play. You raise from the big blind heads up, and the button/small blind calls. The flop comes down the same, Q-10-6, and you are the first to act. There is still a straight draw possible. An ace can still come off on the turn, but checking to let your opponent see another card isn't that bad of a plan here. You are so strong heads up that you want to shield that from your opponent.

What's the difference?

In heads up, it's hard to make a pair. I mentioned in the last article that you only connect with the flop about a third of the time, and when you connect with top pair, it's a monster. You want to feign weakness so that your opponent might either bluff the turn or pick up a little something to match his hand so he can call you on the river. It's safe to try and act weak to gain extra bets later in the hand.

Another consideration in heads up play is position. In heads up play, the big blind will be out of position for the whole hand, except for pre-flop play. This gives the small blind a huge advantage. You'll be at the disadvantage of being out of position for the rest of the hand, and you'll need to raise more pre-flop to make sure you won't have to make too many difficult decisions on later streets.

You want to either end the hand pre-flop or end it with a solid continuation bet on the flop, should your opponent call your pre-flop bet (I'd suggest a range of three to five big blinds). You should also take into account your opponent's style, because as always, each poker situation is unique to whom you’re playing against.

If you are playing against an opponent that frequently calls your raises no matter how big or small, then it is more worth it to just let him do the heavy betting when you have a hand you want to play.

The final tip I'd like to touch on is heads up poker pot control. Chipping away at an opponent in heads up is the strategy that most pros like to use. Being aggressive enough to raise pre-flop on the button with a wide range of hands, but then continuation betting, betting out small or even check-calling keeps the pot in your control and also keeps the pot small.

If you have played enough heads up, you will really start to develop a sense for when your opponent has something or not. I think heads up poker is the fastest road to learning to read your opponents, and in doing so, your post-flop play will begin to get better.

With better post-flop play, you want to keep the pots small. Since your skill advantage is superior, you don’t need to get into big confrontations unless you have the goods.

In heads up poker, it is sometimes difficult to control pot size, as often times, you'll run into the player that has heard that aggressive play is the only way to win heads up poker. While it is a strong strategy, it's often misinterpreted to mean that you should try to bulldoze over people, which is not the case. If you can just take more pots than your opponent when you both have nothing, then you have a cushion for the pots that will turn into big confrontations. This way, if you lose that pot, you're not out of the game just yet, and if you win, then you've broke your opponent.

In the past two articles, I feel like we have gone over enough heads up to give you a solid base for your future battles.

Remember, heads up poker is just as much about your opponent as it is about your cards. Once you gain a feel for what he is trying to do, counter attack and the chips will fall your way.

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