Heads-up Strategy

[Niccivan]

Who's got one?

lol

I find that the weakest part of my game is when I finally make it to heads up, all "rules" go out the window. Different hands hold different values than when there were more people involved. Suddenly, to me, more hands are worthy of raises and a lot more hands are worthy of calls. Depending on who my opponent is, sometimes this works, and more often times than not, seem to bite me in the butt because people's mindset change after they make it to the final 2. What are some things that go through your mind when you are heads up? Does your style change? or do you hope that the way you've played so far to get you there will ultimately be the way to go?

[Hoovini]

I read the player and not the cards so much......I feel i can win most times if i dont get sucked out on.....But you already know that Nicci.....Thats why i own you......lol.......gl in all you do

[Niccivan]

own me? lol.... someone is dillusional tonight. I need some of those meds please.

[Niccivan]

it's like pulling teeth around here to get people to respond.

[StevieJS]

Ok, just for you Nicci my little rose thorn

# 1 Basic rule, if you're the larger stack, then fold a lot from the small blind, and limp in with monsters
# 2 Basic rule, if you're the small stack, try to see cheap flops with hands like small to medium pkt pairs, and hands with deception like 5 8 off etc. with large pocket pairs JJ to AA, and AK to AJ open raise from SB, and Re-raise or push from the BB
# 3 Basic rule, Go with your instincts and feel - Most often you will make the correct decisions on the fly. Play post flop with controlled aggression, and read the context of the board and play/bet that tells the correct "story"
# 4 Basic rule, keep your cool, and keep your patience

That's my general take on the subject... Standing by now for the inevitable attack on my theories

Pretty much it, unless you want a 7 page essay

[Hoovini]

The Doc put me on ProZak.......Are you sure you want some of em Nicci?? Lmao...miss you girl...Hope you have been well and Merry Christmas and Happy New Year sweetie....

[KManDeuce]

The rules shouldn't go "out the window" suddenly when you get heads-up...they should be gradually changing as the table changes and people are eliminated. Both the numbers left and WHO is left matter. How big are the blinds? They're usually huge by the time a sit-n-go or an online low buy-in tourney gets that deep, so you need to be pretty aggressive because there's more at stake on every hand (so so SO many people play opposite...they get in lots of hands when blinds are low and fewer as they get bigger). But yeah...a ton of heads up play is dependent on the other person. Are they foldy? Then raise LOTS. Are they cally? Then bet good hands and bluff rarely. Etc, etc.

Also...by nature, heads up happens the least frequently in any tournament situation. Practice and experience always make things feel more natural, so maybe try playing some heads-up sit-n-go's.

[jmather]

Win flips

[billybob]

I THINK IT CHANGES, BUT A LOT DEPENDS ON WHO YOU ARE PLAYING AND HOW THEY PLAY. WHAT STEVE SAYS IS RIGHT ON IN MY OPINION, BUT IF U SHOW FEAR, THEY WILL BLUFF YOUR ASS OFF UNTIL THEY SEE YOU ARE NO PUSSY. AFTER THE ANTE I PERSONALLY CALL ON SMALLER PAIRS THAN I NORMALLY WOULD AND SEE THE FLOP.

[jmather]

Hehe