Playing Heads Up Texas Holdem

Playing heads up is definitely different than playing in a ring game or in a tournament. Heads up means that it is just you against your opponent. Many places have started offering heads up poker tournaments, either a multi-table tournament or single table.

If you have never played poker heads up there is something you can do immediately to improve your game and that is raise the pot on a regular basis. If you raise the pot very often you are going to win without seeing a flop and that is always a good thing. When playing heads up you can throw out a number of things you have learned when playing ring games and tournaments. Your starting hand requirements are virtually non-existent. You are probably going to play virtually anything unless you get raised substantially. You don't always want to raise with strong hands, you don't always want to fold hands like K-2, J-3, Q-2, etc. Any ace is almost always playable heads-up no matter what. Playing heads up the way you play the game must change or you will be at a severe disadvantage.

Another factor to remember is that position is not quite as important in heads up play. Players give too much credence to position in heads up action, when in actuality you can put pressure on your opponent from either position. One thing that is similar to regular Texas Holdem play is that aggression is very often a winning strategy. One thing to keep in mind when playing aggressively is that your aggression will work only as long as you occasionally have the cards. You can't just blindly raise every hand and hope to continue to win. Good players will eventually get tired of it and put you all in. You need to mix up your play when playing heads up just as you do in a regular game. Some things work better in heads up action than they do in a full game. Setting a trap works very well in heads up play. You can definitely slow play much more than you could in a full game where slow playing gets you into trouble. Those aces of yours are more likely to hold up against one opponent than they are against many.

When playing heads up poker you are going to find that the action moves very quickly. Hands are folded more routinely and when playing a heads up tournament, the blinds move pretty quickly. Heads up action very often is determined on one big hand. You want to understand that any pair is probably good, and anything big like a straight or flush is huge. While slow playing works many times heads up, it can also create big hands if the other player hits his draw. Heads up poker is definitely very exciting, moves very quickly, and is something that every Holdem player should try.