11-10-04, LearnTexasHoldem:

Heads Up Texas Holdem

Question: My friends and I have been playing ring games mostly for several months now, but recently started doing small tournaments. Whenever I play in one of these tournaments, the same thing happens every time: everyone except gets eliminated except me and one other guy, and then I get nailed.

I'm pretty good at games that start with four or more players (I learned how to play from your site, mostly), but I have trouble heads-up. I think I play too tightly heads-up, as I fold a lot more than it seems I should. How should I generally adjust my play from a multi-handed game to a heads-up game? Is there a revised starting hands table for heads-up play?

Thanks,

Mike

New Orleans, LA

Top 3 Beginner Rooms

Answer: This is a really good question because it shines light on a problem a lot of new players have: They base their strategy largely on what they read in poker books and usually that ends up in a very rigid, mechanical view of how poker is played and won. What you are facing now is the perfect example -- you do fine until you get down to the heads up play where your style doesn't work anymore.

I think the problem is that we learn what to do, but not why we do it and that makes it much harder to apply our knowledge to new areas. So the obvious answer is to try to get a deeper understanding for strategy and why it would win in different settings. I think that is probably the best advice I can give anyone is to think hard about the game and try to work your way through problems.

I can honestly say that the time I spend working on this site has been way more beneficial for my game than sitting at the table playing. I can say with certainty that in the past year my game has improved: I've become tougher, more thoughtful and more dynamic. It isn't an accident and it isn't because I've been playing different limits, it is because I've put a lot of time into writing about poker and that has helped formalize my strategy.

Let me give you a few concrete concepts to think about so next time you'll have a better shot.

Number one, when you play heads up, you don't have to have the best hand to win, you just need to make the other person fold. Aggression is key. You can not win if you are only willing to check and call and you are only willing to put money in the pot when you have a great hand. You need to use your position and keep the pressure on the other person to make a hand.

Number two, you need to play the other person's hand as much as you are playing your own. This frees you up so you are better able to see spots to bluff. Remember, to win all you have to do is make the other guy fold. What difference does it make if you bet with nothing and win or if you bet with the nuts and win? In every single hand, one of the two of you will win.

A vast majority of the time neither one of you will have much of a hand preflop or on the flop. The person who is more aggressive has a huge advantage because it forces the other guy to have to call and make a hand to win. If he checks on the flop that should be an automatic bet. If he raises you can always fold but you can't give him free cards if you have position.

Number three, try not to look at the flop in the same way you would at a full table. If you had middle pair at a full table, you would feel very good about it. In a heads up game if you have middle pair, you are doing really well. The strength of hands goes way down in value. If you have position (are on the button), and you are going to play, you almost always come in for a raise. Don't just call. If the other guy is playing every single hand, then you will also need to play everyhand. Use your position and make sure to make him pay preflop when you have a decent hand.

Lastly, although I may be hard to get a handle on how someone else plays if you aren't playing with them very much, do your best. Heads up poker is much more of a person to person game then ring games are. You really are trying to get inside the other guy's head so you can put his play into context and make the right moves. You want an idea of what he raises you with preflop, how he plays it postflop if he actually has it or not and so on.

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