Heads Up - How To Play Texas Holdem When You Are Against Only One Player
This article is the first one from the series dedicated to the different types of Texas Holdem games that can be played online and offline. Today we will talk about Heads Up play of the game. Let's start with a brief explanation of its characteristics.
We say that we are playing heads up when the players around the table are only two. It is understandable that there are several differences between this type of Texas Holdem play and the regular multi player game. Here we have only two players, which means that both of them must post the blinds and from here comes the first difference - the dealer is the person who must post the small blind and he is the player who is dealt with the first card and he is the one who acts first in the Pre flop. In all of the rest betting rounds, he acts second. All another moments are the same as in the regular game. Here the winner is the player who holds the highest hand, if the other player does not choose to fold.
Heads up play is considered as one of the hardest situations around the poker table because you have to consider a lot of things when you are building your strategy. One of the characteristics is that here you cannot play tight. If you play tight, you have less chances to win the pot. Be aware of your opponent playing style. If he or she is aggressive player, you have to be more aggressive than him or her. Of course, you have to be aware of the size of your chips stack. As big stack you have as more aggressive you could be. Sometimes this is good for you to combine this with bluffing. This is the best way to win the pot in this situation. Most people think that this is the best way to win the pot. So, you have to be familiar with your opponent. If you are playing against him for the first time, be very observe and try to find the strong and the weak sides of his play.
Let's see what you could use as a strategy during your Heads Up play. You have two situations - you can play first or last. If you are first to bet on the River and your cards are strong you could try to check-raise if you think that your opponent will bet and call your raise more than half as often. If you think that check-raise won't be beneficial for you or if you think you can win three bets when your opponent raises and you re-raise, you could come out betting. When you have bad hand when you are in first position, you could bluff if you think that you can get away with it often enough for the play to have positive expectation. The other solution is to check and then fold, if your opponent bets. If your hand is not too bad but it is not too good also, you could bet if your opponent calls with more hands than he will bet, if you check. Remember one thing, never check and fold in this situation!
Now, let's look at the situation when you are the second to act. It is better position as you can see what your opponent will do. So, you could call, if your hand is not worth a raise but has a better chances of winning than the pot odds you have. You can calculate your chances by the sum of the chances that your opponent is bluffing, plus the chances that your hand can beat his hand. You could raise in several occasions - if you think that it will have positive expectation, if you think that your opponent will be still underdog by calling your raise. Bluff only when you think that it will be beneficial for you, because bluffing in second position has less chances to bring you the pot.
You see that all the things that I have mentioned above are related, as all the things in Texas Holdem. Do not forget that the psychology is the most important element of Texas Holdem and this applies for all another poker variations. And the practice, of course, this is the most important thing! As much you play as better you will be. One of the best ways to practice is to play for free or to use different software that have been recently launched on the market. Heads Up play is one of the most exciting situation in Texas Holdem game and as good as you are as more chances you have to win. Just keep practicing and reading about your favorite games and you could achieve the highest targets you have as a Texas Holdem player.
We say that we are playing heads up when the players around the table are only two. It is understandable that there are several differences between this type of Texas Holdem play and the regular multi player game. Here we have only two players, which means that both of them must post the blinds and from here comes the first difference - the dealer is the person who must post the small blind and he is the player who is dealt with the first card and he is the one who acts first in the Pre flop. In all of the rest betting rounds, he acts second. All another moments are the same as in the regular game. Here the winner is the player who holds the highest hand, if the other player does not choose to fold.
Heads up play is considered as one of the hardest situations around the poker table because you have to consider a lot of things when you are building your strategy. One of the characteristics is that here you cannot play tight. If you play tight, you have less chances to win the pot. Be aware of your opponent playing style. If he or she is aggressive player, you have to be more aggressive than him or her. Of course, you have to be aware of the size of your chips stack. As big stack you have as more aggressive you could be. Sometimes this is good for you to combine this with bluffing. This is the best way to win the pot in this situation. Most people think that this is the best way to win the pot. So, you have to be familiar with your opponent. If you are playing against him for the first time, be very observe and try to find the strong and the weak sides of his play.
Let's see what you could use as a strategy during your Heads Up play. You have two situations - you can play first or last. If you are first to bet on the River and your cards are strong you could try to check-raise if you think that your opponent will bet and call your raise more than half as often. If you think that check-raise won't be beneficial for you or if you think you can win three bets when your opponent raises and you re-raise, you could come out betting. When you have bad hand when you are in first position, you could bluff if you think that you can get away with it often enough for the play to have positive expectation. The other solution is to check and then fold, if your opponent bets. If your hand is not too bad but it is not too good also, you could bet if your opponent calls with more hands than he will bet, if you check. Remember one thing, never check and fold in this situation!
Now, let's look at the situation when you are the second to act. It is better position as you can see what your opponent will do. So, you could call, if your hand is not worth a raise but has a better chances of winning than the pot odds you have. You can calculate your chances by the sum of the chances that your opponent is bluffing, plus the chances that your hand can beat his hand. You could raise in several occasions - if you think that it will have positive expectation, if you think that your opponent will be still underdog by calling your raise. Bluff only when you think that it will be beneficial for you, because bluffing in second position has less chances to bring you the pot.
You see that all the things that I have mentioned above are related, as all the things in Texas Holdem. Do not forget that the psychology is the most important element of Texas Holdem and this applies for all another poker variations. And the practice, of course, this is the most important thing! As much you play as better you will be. One of the best ways to practice is to play for free or to use different software that have been recently launched on the market. Heads Up play is one of the most exciting situation in Texas Holdem game and as good as you are as more chances you have to win. Just keep practicing and reading about your favorite games and you could achieve the highest targets you have as a Texas Holdem player.