Heads Up Poker Tournament Strategy

Heads Up Poker Tournament Strategy Playing online poker heads up against a single opponent requires a completely different strategy than playing at a full online poker table. While some players may choose a heads up game, the most common situation is during free online tournament play when it gets down to the final two players who are battling it out for the top prize money.

Tight Play Versus Loose Play

Many players I have talked to tell me that they have the most difficulty adjusting to playing heads up play and are not very successful when put in that situation. The reason for this is that they are used to playing a very tight game. In a heads up situation you can’t play tight and expect to win a free online poker tournament.

When you are playing heads up you can’t afford to wait. Many times it comes down to who can steal the most blinds. Therefore you must loosen up and call more or you will go broke.

Queen – Seven is called the computer hand because computer simulations show this hand is will win 51.77 percent heads up against a random hand. So with this hand or any hand higher than this one you are almost forced to play. A small pair or even a single Ace or King can be a big favorite in heads up play.

Judging Opponents

You need to judge your opponents. Online poker is a game about making judgments. You need to test the waters by doing the raising and being the aggressor. If you find yourself in a game with a passive player you now know how to beat him. If on the other hand your opponent is also aggressive you will have to use some discretion and very your online poker play.

Playing heads up online poker is a lot like playing chicken. This means you will need to bluff more before the flop and sometimes fire away after the flop with nothing. With just two players there will be many times when the flop doesn’t hit either player. Many times it is the person that acts first who will win the pot. Just remember that occasionally your opponent will have a legitimate hand. Although you don’t want to be bluffed out of a pot you will sometimes have to give it up to save your self from elimination.

Stack Size

The size of your chip stack makes a big difference in how you play online poker. If you have a big stack you can be much more aggressive as you opponent might be inclined to fold more often waiting for a big hand. While this may work there will be a time when they are forced to make a stand. Although you want to keep the pressure on you also don’t want to double up your opponent too often or you will soon find yourself with the short stack.

Players limp in from the small blind for two reasons. They are either trying to see the flop cheaply or they are trying to trap an aggressive opponent. Again this calls for judgment on your part. Your objective in heads up play is to try and extract the most money from your opponent. If you have a big hand and know your opponent will raise then you can limp in and try for a check raise.

I. Last Position Play

A. If you are second to act when all the cards are out and your opponent bets:
1. Call if your hand is not worth a raise but has a better chance of winning than the pot odds you are getting. Your chances of winning are the sum of the chances that your opponent is bluffing, plus the chances that your hand can beat his legitimate hand.
2. Raise if your opponent will still be the underdog after calling your raise. Raise also as a bluff if you think it ill work often enough to have positive expectation. Also consider raising with what appears to be a calling hand if your opponent is capable of throwing away a better hand than yours for one more bet.

B. If you are second to act when all the cards are out and your opponent checks:
1. Bluff if you think it will work often enough, remembering that a bluff does not tend to work as often in second position as it might in first position.
2. Bet your hand for value if you are a favorite to have the best hand, even when your opponent calls your bet. Don't bet in close situations to avoid a check raise.

II. First Position Play

A. If you are first to act when all the cards are out and have a very strong hand:
1. Try to check-raise if your opponent will bet and call your raise more than half as often as he will call you when you bet.
2. Come out betting if you don't think a check-raise will work often enough to be profitable or if you think you can win three bets when your opponent raises and you re-raise.

B. If you are first to act and have a bad hand:
1. Bluff if you can get away with it often enough for the play to have positive expectation.
2. Otherwise check and fold if your opponent bets.

C. If you are first to act and have a hand that is favorite to win if called but not strong enough for you to try a check raise:
1. Bet if your opponent will call with more hands than he will bet with if you check.
2. Check and call if your opponent will bet with more hands than he will call with.
3. Never check and fold.

D. If you are first to act and have a hand that is a small underdog to win when your bet is called:
1. Bet if your opponent will call with more hands than he will bet, as long as some of the hands he would have bet, had you checked, would be worse than yours. Check and call if you think your opponent will check behind you with a significant number of hands better than yours but might still bluff with some hands you can beat.
2. Check and call if your opponent will bet with more hands than he will call with, as long as your pot odds make it worth caliing when he does bet.
3. Check and fold if your opponent will almost never bet a hand worse than yours.

See also:

Freerolls - Main Page

Freeroll Schedule

Poker Strategies - Freeroll Poker Articles

Free Poker Sites - Online Poker Rooms

Free Poker Tournaments - Freeroll Qualifiers to Poker Events

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