| NL Hold Em| Heads Up |
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Game Set Up Lets first look at how heads up play is set up. You are either playing from the small blind which is the button at this point or playing from the big blind. The action starts with the small blind betting first before the flop and last after. Hand Selection If you are in the small blind play virtually all of the hands dealt to you except maybe 2 - 7 off. The reason for this is you will rarely be less than a 3-2 underdog going to the flop. When in the small blind it is worthy to raise with any Ace or any pair. Raising with suited connectors or J-9 and above is also recommended. When in the big blind it is your job to protect your blind with good hands and if raised by the small blind fold unless you have a raising hand. An Ace, pair, or face card with a decent kicker of 9 and higher or suited will be appropriate to call with from a small blind raise of 2-3 times the big blind. A raise of 4 X’s or higher becomes situational, meaning that it will depend on your chip stack in comparison to your opponent's as well as your opponent's betting pattern. Betting Playing no limit heads up requires you to be consistently aggressive from the small blind position. More times than not the more aggressive player wins. That doesn’t mean going all in every hand pre-flop or after, because that will only induce your opponent to wait on a hand he or she is set to be ahead heads up and racing you for all your chips with a heavy statistical advantage. What this does mean is consistently raising from the small blind or button position. Remember, even if your opponent calls you pre-flop a continuation raise will more often than not allow you to take the pot simply because 67% of the time they will miss the flop. If your opponent re-raises you pre-flop you know where you stand and depending on the strength of your hand you can react accordingly. Playing Your Stack Playing from a short stack requires you to wait for a good starting hand and push all-in. Short stacked in heads up play applies if you have less than 10 X’s the big blind or less than 3X’s your opponents stack. This means you have to play ultra aggressive with your hand in which statistically you will be a 3-2 favorite. These hands are pairs 5’s and higher, any Ace, any face card with an 8 or higher and/or suited. If the stacks are even which means that both stacks are around 60-40 with relation to one another you need to stay aggressive. However, being ultra aggressive is not necessary as it is with a short or large stack. Raise from the small blind with the before mentioned hands betting and defending your big blind with the same. If you have a large stack in heads up play you are in a position to win the tournament. You are considered of having a chip stack advantage if you have a stack 70% or higher of your opponents. When you have this stack advantage it is advisable to be ultra aggressive by raising with any two cards from the small blind 3-4x’s the big blind. This type of play forcing your opponent to pick up a hand. Don’t let your opponent limp in from the small blind by raising when he or she does so. When you are an 80-90% chip stack advantage over your opponent raise all in with any pair, connectors, or face card. You need to always be aware of your opponents chip stack as compared to your own as well as other poker fundamentals, but one thing needs to be exercised throughout heads up play and that is aggression, aggression, and backed up with more aggression. |