Nothing is more satisfying than grinding thru the field, making the final table, and eventually out playing all but one of the remaining players for the chance to battle it out in heads up and play for bragging rights and the opportunity for the big pay day. Make no mistake about it though; your work has just begun. As any serious golfer will tell you, golf tournaments are won and lost with the putter. No matter how easy it is to get it up and down, strokes are still lost 10 ft. from the pin. Heads up is no different. As Glenn Gary and Glenn Ross said, “remember your ABC’s… Always Be Closing. You have to be able to close the deal in poker if you want to make the big money. The payout differences between first and second are usually pretty substantial. You must be able to give yourself the best chances of getting your money in good in heads up play. Here are some tips to help you increase your chances of winning in a heads up battle.
1. First let’s remember you need to adjust your play and starting hand requirements to heads up play vs. a full ring game. Since you only have to worry about one other opponent you should be prepared to play many more hands and to play them more aggressively.
2. The average starting hand in a heads up battle is approx Q7 so any holding higher than that should be played more often and with more aggression. K4 statistically is a pre flop favorite to win a hand (50.23%) of the time. This should be an important factor when deciding when to raise, check or fold pre-flop especially once you consider yourself short stacked.
3. Aggressive play is always a determining factor when playing poker. It may be even more important when it comes to heads up play. For example, you will pair at least one of your unpaired whole cards on the flop only 32.4% of the time. This means that almost 70% of the time your opponent will whiff at the flop which means you should be betting a majority of the time. *Remember if you do not bet you can not give your opponent a chance to fold.
4. Any pocket pair can be a green light to push pre-flop since you will only be dealt a pocket pair 1-17 deals especially pocket sixes and above where they are statistically a favorite over most hands. Keep in mind, though your pairs are a statistical advantage over most holdings, when up against two over cards they are only a slight advantage at approx 52%.
5. The most important tip that I can give you in heads up play is playing in position (or from the dealer button). Position is probably the single most strategical advantage you have in any facet of poker but becomes even more important in heads up play because unlike other full ring games after the button there is no one else left to act. In heads up play the dealer is the small blind and first to act pre-flop and in position or second to act after the flop and on the turn and river. Raising and playing from position is important because it allows you to see what kind of information you can gain from raising from the button and the information you can gain by the action in front of you after the flop. Since you will be second to act after the flop you can take the information you gained pre-flop and use that to decide what to do once faced with a raise or a check after the flop. For example, if you raise from the button and your opponent just calls pre-flop and then checks on the flop you can usually take down a pot with a raise justified by two plays of weakness by your opponent. If your opponent was strong pre-flop he most likely would have re-raised and/or more than likely came out betting on the flop.
6. Adjust your play based on the tendencies and weaknesses of your opponent. Knowing the dynamics and tendencies of your opponent is very important in heads up and you should alter your heads up play to maximize your profits and to expose weaknesses in your opponent’s game. You should never go into a heads up match up with a preconceived idea or set plan of attack. Pay attention to what hands your opponent is raising with and which hands they are just calling with. When hands are exposed in a showdown you should be going back through the hand round by round to determine the betting patterns of your opponent.
7. Here is a list of the 17 best starting hands in heads up. Again this list changes in heads up vs. a full ring game based on the simple component that you are only facing one other hand vs. 9 other hands. For example, notice pairs become more valuable and though not shown in this example 7-2 off is no longer statistically the worst starting hand. It moves up the chart to the 5th worst starting hand. 2-3 off now becomes statistically the worst starting hand in heads up.
1 – A-A
2 – K-K
3 – Q-Q
4 – J-J
5 – 10-10
6 – 9-9
7 – 8-8
8 – A-K (suited)
9 – 7-7
10 – A-Q (suited)
11 – A-J (suited)
12 – A-K (unsuited)
13 – A-10 (suited)
14 – A-Q (unsuited)
15 – A-J (unsuited)
16 – K-Q (suited)
17 – 6-6
Best of luck in your heads up battles!
BD
