Intermediate Heads Up Strategy
Once you have mastered the heads-up poker basics such as odds and outs,
position play, and adjusting to your opponents playing style, it is time to work
on a more complex heads
up poker strategy. Factors such as becoming difficult to
read, selecting the right opponents, and de-coding your opponents betting
patterns to accurately put them on a hand become more important as you move up
the levels. This article looks at ways in which you can take your heads-up play
to the next level.
During any heads-up poker match you will be watching your opponents playing
style and adjusting your own to gain the maximum benefit from this. How you play
against any individual is influenced by both how tight or loose and how
passively or aggressively they play.
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Watch the Read
While you are busy figuring out your opponent’s playing style they are doing
exactly the same thing for you! As your opponent is asking these questions it is
important that you take every opportunity to feed them incorrect information.
This is achieved by mixing up your play so as not to become predictable. Ways in
which to do this include randomly altering your bet sizes and the hands with
which you raise.
Alter your Heads Up Style
Another way to become difficult to read is to ‘change gears’ at various times
during the heads-up poker session. Go from being tight to loose or step up your
aggression for a number of hands before returning to your usual levels. Many
opponents will make decisions about your playing style early in the game and
stick with that impression throughout – this is an ideal opportunity to feed
them misleading information.
Selecting the right opponents becomes more important as you move up the betting
limits in heads-up poker. At any online poker site some opponents will be more
skilled and experienced than others. If there are regular players at your chosen
levels it can pay to watch their matches against others. This will benefit you
in two ways. Firstly you can take notes on their betting patterns and use this
to read their cards better when you do play them. Secondly it will allow you to
decide whether they are a strong player and someone who should be avoided at the
tables. At the end of the day poker is about winning the money, the weaker your
opponents the better chance you will be the one who ends up winning those big
pots.
Recognize Patterns
Decoding your opponents betting patterns to read their hands comes from a mixture of logical reasoning and experience of playing against different player types. Ensure that you make notes on your opponents which cover important points such as how they bet with a monster hand, with a drawing hand and when weak. Also note the bluffing frequency of your opponents, if they always bet on the end of a hand when you have shown any weakness, it may be possible to encourage such a bluff more often when you have a hand strong enough to show down. Your play should adapt to exaggerate the mistakes that you opponent naturally makes – if they already bluff too much then encourage them to bluff more, if they rarely bluff you should work on showing strength when the bets are small in the early rounds in order to define your hand cheaply.