Playing Against Aggressive Heads Up Players

Aggressive Heads-Up Poker opponents can sometimes make your life at the tables very difficult. While using aggression in poker is a positive trait – having this used against you can be a potentially frustrating experience. This article will look at different types of aggressive opponents that you may encounter in a heads-up poker situation and will look at ways to counteract this style.

The first thing to note is that not all aggressive opponents are equal. Some will pepper you with small bets and raises on each hand, others will re-raise you every time you make a play for the pot and still others will respond to your plays with all-in moves that objectively make little sense. The first step in learning how to play aggressive players heads-up is to acknowledge that no two players are alike and to work on adapting to the specific characteristics you see in this particular heads-up poker match.

Firstly we can look at the ‘maniac aggressive’ opponent, the type who will raise all-in pre-flop or over-bet the pot on a regular basis. Such opponents are more common at the lower levels and with such a fundamentally flawed strategy will not usually be around for long. While frustrating to play against, this type of aggression is easy to exploit. Resist the temptation to ‘make a stand’ too early. Let them pick up small pots with their over-sized bets and wait for an opportunity to take their stack. Depending on the opponent this can be a 2 pair hand, pair + strong draw or even as little as top pair top kicker.

While thinking heads-up poker players often raise with position, other more aggressive opponents will raise regardless of this. This type of opponent will constantly call your position raises – betting out into you with the smallest provocation with the smallest piece of the flop. Here the optimal strategy varies depending on how deep your chip stack is and the hand you hold. Holding a strong hand, especially with few draws on the board, you should be looking to encourage your aggressive opponent to bet into you. Build the pot over several rounds before raising on the end. Since these kinds of opponents are likely to bluff with missed hands you should go out of your way to encourage them to bluff more by showing weakness during the hand.

While many aggressive players will raise a good proportion of the time, how such players will respond to your re-raises will vary. Try to identify the 3rd type of aggressive opponent – the ones who will happily bet and raise if they have the lead in the hand – but will play more cautiously when you have shown strength yourself. With this type of player look to bet when you have position, or if you catch a piece of the flop. Their response to your raise will give you valuable information. If you check then your opponent will usually bet – and you will have no idea whether this is because they have a hand or because you have shown weakness. Betting yourself gets an ‘honest response’ which can be used to better determine their holding.

To summarize, playing aggressive opponents in heads-up poker matches depends on exactly which type of aggression you are facing. The ability to adapt to the specific player during a heads-up poker game will make you a winning player over time.