Heads Up poker, the variant of the Texas Hold’em game that involves only two players at the table, constitutes a very exciting, adrenaline pumping, tough decision making, “the winner takes it all” experience. To put it simply, winning a tournament of Heads Up poker will finally earn you the tiger’s stripes as a professional gambler and propel your way into the big boys’ ranks.

While you still have to remember that there is always a chance your adversary will be dealt the winning card against all odds, the best thing to do is keep your cool at all times. After all, with the right strategy, the luck factor can easily be nullified or at least mitigated. Let’s go into the details, shall we?

1. Extend the array of hands you normally play

For high stakes poker tournaments featuring 6+ players at the table, the value of the cards for what can be considered a “good” hand is significantly higher. In the heads up version of the game, you can definitely lower your standards to virtually any face card or pair, because in a two-man session the odds of being dealt high-end formations (or of your opponent getting them, for that matter) are limited. However, you should not rely on suited cards and/or connectors the same way you would for a 6+ player poker game. To put it simply, high cards represent your best bet, so to speak.

2. Aggressive playing is more recommended than ever

Winning the heads up high stakes poker tournament involves assuming the alpha (dominant) position and making your opponent gradually understand that you are a force to be reckoned with. In other words, it is vital to let him gradually learn that his feeble attempts of stealing the pot have no place at the table and one of the best ways to achieve this goal is to force him to pay more than he would like just to see your cards every time.

3. Folding sometimes does not brand you a coward

Okay, so we established that an aggressive strategy is mandatory in heads up high stakes poker, but you simply cannot continue to bet in spite of holding a bad hand every single time or you’ll burn through your resources rather quickly. When you should fold is, of course, highly dependent on the current situation and in time you will be able to determine whether this is the right move or not by evaluating your cards and the potential hand of the opponent.

4. Calling? No such thing in Heads Up poker!

Refraining from calling is part of the instrumental aggressive style that you should adopt in conjunction with learning how and when to fold if the odds are stacked against you. The singular moment when calling represents a viable alternative is the attempt to lure your unsuspecting victim into a deadly trap by acting unsure. Otherwise, you virtually have two options: betting/raising in order to double your chances of winning either by higher card value or bullying your adversary to fold and folding the hand. Well, there is no middle ground, as you can see!

by paco | RSS | trackback