Intro to Heads Up Poker

Heads-Up Poker involves playing against just a single opponent and is becoming increasingly popular. Heads-Up matches are played in many game types and can be in either sit and go or cash game format. This article introduces the main forms of heads-up poker, looks at the benefits of playing this variation of the game and introduces some of the key strategy changes required.

Tournaments

In a heads-up sit and go tournament you pay a fixed fee and play against a single opponent until one player has all the chips. The prize pool is then awarded to the winning player. These are available at most sites and at a wide range of buy-in levels starting at around $1 and going up to $1000’s.
The main advantage of heads-up poker sit and go tournaments is that your outlay is fixed at the start of the match. You will also find that the rake (or fee) charged by the poker site is much smaller for heads-up sit and go tournaments than for the full table equivalents. For example a $10 Heads-up match will often have a rake of 50c compared to $1 for a full ring game.

Cash Games

In heads-up cash games the buy-in amount is fixed by the level at which you are playing. This again ranges from just a few dollars into the thousands. Here you can reload your stack any time this is required. If both opponents do this several times then it is possible to end up with very deep stacks compared to the blinds.

Advantages of cash game heads-up poker matches are that you are fee to come and go as you please. Should you consider an opponent unprofitable to play against you can simply leave the table and find a different opponent.

Shoot Outs

Heads-up poker tournaments are offered by some poker sites, these can attract 64, 128 or even more players. These tournaments are run in knock-out format, the winner of each round moving on to the next round and so on. Prize pool distribution for these will vary from site to site and can either be distributed among the final 4 to 8 players or ‘winner takes all’.

Other Heads Up Games

Omaha poker is another popular form of poker that can be played heads-up, this can include the hi-lo (split pot) version of the game. You will sometimes also find 7-card stud offered in heads-up format.

When playing heads-up poker there are several strategy adjustments you will need to make. The importance of position is exaggerated in this form of the game, as players will miss the flop most of the time. The key factors are to correctly adjust the strength of hands both before and after the flop, and to react and adjust to the tendencies and betting patterns of your opponent. Waiting for premium hands is not a winning strategy heads-up, it is a game of playing the player as well as your cards.