Heads Up games strategy???

[Dodger]

The heads up league is fast approaching and thought I needed to check out how this should be played as opposed to STTs and MTTs.
I've only played a couple of games and now realise I just played too tight and kept handing over my blinds without challenging those of the opponents.
Having looked at a couple of articles it seems aggression is the key.
Raising almost with everything then pushing all-in every hand if you get a healthy stack.
It could be a blood bath tonight then as I am going to put my aggressive hat on, if I can find it!
I just hope I'm not up against a PLer though as you lot seem well versed in HU play and I may then have to play more conservatively...or not!

[RandR]

Originally Posted by Dodger

The heads up league is fast approaching and thought I needed to check out how this should be played as opposed to STTs and MTTs.
I've only played a couple of games and now realise I just played too tight and kept handing over my blinds without challenging those of the opponents.
Having looked at a couple of articles it seems aggression is the key.
Raising almost with everything then pushing all-in every hand if you get a healthy stack.
It could be a blood bath tonight then as I am going to put my aggressive hat on, if I can find it!
I just hope I'm not up against a PLer though as you lot seem well versed in HU play and I may then have to play more conservatively...or not!

Raise or fold is pretty good advice for all poker, but is even more true heads up. If you catch any of the flop at all, then usually raise and re-raise.

Be aware that the value of hands is different. 78s is better than A4o in a 10-seat table, but HU it is the other way round.

The section on HU in Harrington vol 3 will teach any player a lot.

[GotaFancy?]

With HU STTs it's very different to HU at the end of an STT or MTT - you start with small blinds relative to stacks (as opposed to usually being short stacked in the final stages of an STT or MTT). You must be aware of the implied odds you are offering and be a little more cautious. Uncontrolled aggression, with large stacks will be a disaster, your opponent can just sit you out and wait for a monster hand before trapping you.

HU, with deep stacks, I tend to minimum raise (almost) every hand from the button (but would not necessarily advocate it as good play) - if my opponent calls every time regardless, I may increase the raise to 2.5xBB. From the BB I'm prepared to fold a lot of hands (though if my opponent lets me in cheap, I'll take the chance). I tend to play aggressively with position, and passively out of position. The idea being that I want to play big pots when I have position, but I want to play small pots when I'm out of position.

Obviously you cannot just apply fixed strategy blindly - you need to "get inside the head" of your opponent, and understand what they're doing and why, and then take advantage of this knowledge....

Stack size and Position are the two most important factors, even more so than cards - be careful when reading articles - usually they will be referring to short stacked HU play, which is not the case at the start of a HU STT. You can be more patient in this scenario.

[Myrie16]

I find the psychological aspect of HU so much more importandt than in a full table (or even 6 seat). I agree 100% with the comment "get inside the head" of your opponent as taking the right approach early can be a huge advantage.

Too many players, for me, make the mistake of playing HU STT like the final stages of a full table - too aggressive and impatient. While the blinds are small, this is a good time to start feeling your opponent out rather than going for the kill.

I also find some players are too aggressive because they are afraid to see a flop (much like all forms of poker i guess) but knowing whether you are playing one of these, or a bully who just wants to feel in control can make the difference to how you should play them.

One final observation, I find it easier to confuse opponents in a HU STT as you quite obviously have more hands you can get involved in cheaply, mixing up your play so the other guy doesnt see your big hand when it hits.

I only play small stakes so my input and knowledge may be very limited !

[robsterling]

I find the most important thing in HU is finding out your opponent's tendencies - their aggression, whether they call down light, whether they trap, what range of hands they raise with, whether they will use position to float, how thin they value bet, etc.

Then you find spots where you can exploit these tendencies. Versus the guy who calls you down all the way, you value bet super thin. Versus a person who is too aggressive and will bet all the way, feign weakness when strong and maybe raise scarecards that could hit your range. Against people who float a lot, start check-raising the turn more.

It is important that you have a good awareness of your opponents tendencies, your own image, and how your image will then affect his/her tendencies. Sometimes it might not at all, but if you have been caught bluffing a weak player, or value betting really thin, your bets will be elss respected. If you have check raised and got a fold a lot, your opponents wil check behind more often, etc.

This may sound very vague but in my mind it's important to think about these factors. Also it is important to try and work out a range for your opponents hand straight away eg. he raised the button, he has... or he flat called from the button he has... And then you can further define his hand on later streets. It is not important how strong your own hand is, all that matters is the hand you are representing, the range he has and whether you have fold equity, or whether you can get value from his range.

Some things are generally done in HU like when opening the button always raising, this is for the obvious reason it gives you the initiative and can win the hand right there. But there are no real rules or strict strategies, they are totally player dependent.

Hope this post helps a bit in some way, and if it doesn't sorry for the vaguery, hope you did ok in your games the other night!

[Dodger]

These replies have been very helpful.
I was ready to go in all guns blazing but, having read GaF's reply, I kept the aggression under control and it has paid off with 2 wins so far. (although it must be said the run of the cards massively helped in the second of them!)
I concur with all above posters that you are playing the player rather more than the cards...more so than in most other forms of poker.
Enjoying the experience, although I'm not too sure I'd risk much of my own money on HU games...at least I'll know, at the end of this series, whether I can hack it against decent players or not.