Title: Texas Hold'em Tournament Play - Playing heads-up takes nerve,
skill and bluff
Author: Rick Dacey
Article:
Texas Hold'em - Playing heads-up takes
nerve, skill and bluff. Rick Dacey steers you to the winning pot
By Rick Dacey
Playing heads-up is the closest you'll ever get to feeling like
you're playing Russian roulette with Christopher Walken in The
Deer Hunter. There might not be a gun to your head, but going
toe to toe at the poker table is a high pressure situation.
And if you can't conquer this aspect of the game then there's no
chance that you'll be able to pull off your dream win, like
American Chris Moneymaker.
Moneymaker busted opposition out through a number of online
satellite tournaments on his way to winning the World Series of
Poker Main Event in Las Vegas in 2003, scooping $3.6 million
when he knocked out his last opponent on the final table.
Neither Moneymaker nor this year's winner, Australian Joe
Hachem, had played in major US tournaments before but both
proved that as well as playing the cards they were skilled at
bullying an opponent in single combat.
Heads-up is much like a game of chicken - you don't need the
fastest car or, in this case, the best hand. The nerves to stay
on target and not deviate from the line once the pedal has hit
the metal are far more important qualities. This kamikaze
attitude could get you into trouble if you crash your Route 66
racer into a King Kong pick-up truck, but without it you may as
well walk away from the table before you even lay down your
first blind.
The most important thing to remember is that you don't need the
best hand to win; it doesn't matter what cards you get dealt if
the other person folds. If they toss in their 10-8 and you're
sitting there with an 8-6 you still pick up the chips. In
heads-up you can justifiably contest any pot with just a single
court card and almost any pair is worth pumping.
Show some aggression
Forget the time that mother told you to play nicely with the
other children - be a monster, be aggressive. Once you're the
chip leader, bully the other player off the blinds and use your
position to pile the pressure on their dwindling stack.
If your normal game is a tight long-haul style then be prepared
to change gear rapidly. You can't expect to play tight and still
win. You'll get more blinds stolen than if Ikea left its
Liverpool warehouse unlocked overnight. If you play a checking
and folding game while you wait for a decent hand, you'll be
that much easier to read when the big slick is slid your way.
In heads-up one of the two of you will win every hand until all
the chips are at one end of the table. If you attack the other
hand you force your nemesis to make the decision to call, fold
or raise and it should allow you more time to spot tells and
expose bluffs.
The majority of the time neither hand will have a great deal of
ballast to it. If your opponent checks then you have to bet. If
a re-raise comes your way then you can always fold, but giving
free cards towards a potential straight or flush draw is not an
avenue that you want to pursue.
If you're the small blind you should attack the big blind like a
rabid dog. Salivate, bark, get on all fours and start humping
the table leg if you think it will help, but you have to raise
that big blind more often than not. Most players will have
learnt the adage 'don't throw good money after bad', and if
you're down to the last two so will your opponent. If they only
call a third of the time on raises to their big blind you'll be
in profit and may win the hand if it's called anyway.
F**k the flop
When the big blind is called and the flop hits the baize you
can't afford to look at the community cards in the same way as
you would during normal play. If you hit a middle pair with a
decent kicker during a standard game you'd probably be quite
happy about it. In a heads-up this puts you in a very strong
position. As a rule of thumb, if you're on the button never just
call - always raise to ensure you get a payout when you get
dealt a decent hand. If you don't know the person you're playing
you may not get many chances to get an insight into their
heads-up technique. Watch the pre-flop raises to get an
understanding of what your opposite number will bet as a bluff
and what is a solid move aimed at pulling you towards a heavy
loss. When you get to see cards on their backs make sure you
remember the betting practice of that hand. If a similar rhythm
emerges later, it's odds-on they'll be holding similar hole
cards.
Against an inexperienced, passive player it's best to raise as
often as possible and lay as many bets on the flop as you think
you can get away with without making your loose and wild play
too obvious. It's good to remember that the chance of starting
with a pair is around 16/1, so a single court card is worth a
punt. If the newcomer folds in the face of heavy raises and
continues to look cowed, pile on the pressure until they show
the first sign of strength. If they meet you head-on after
folding their first couple of hands, chances are they'll
actually have a hand - then it's time to assess how good your
hole cards are and consider backing off.
However, it's paramount to sustain the assault on your
opponent's stack of chips. If the stacks get tipped over 3/1 in
your favour it makes the likelihood of a comeback from the
sweating mess in front of you very remote indeed. Take them to
the cleaners and start calling them all-in.
Bouncebackability?
This advice is all well and good but it does assume that you
have the larger clay army in front of you. What if you're the
lowly peasant fighting against heavy artillery? It's a tricky
decision whether to wage a war of attrition and call their
bluffs or opt for the ambush, waiting until you get a 'decent'
hand to wreak heavy damage. However, you need to strike a
balance to ensure that your stack isn't simply whittled away by
blinds, which will make it that much easier for the opposition
to call you out on pretty much any hand.
You know that the big stack is looking to bet you all-in and
they'll be likely to play you on most hands from the small blind
just to pile on the pressure.
The best chance you have when you are very short-stacked is to
act like a down-on-his-luck street urchin. Go all-in with a half
decent hand and you'll either double through, steal the blind -
giving you more to bet with on the next hand - or get caught
trying to pick pockets. But if you're continually getting your
blinds stolen your chances of getting back on level terms slip
further away with every hand.
Whether you're playing heads-up specifically or finishing a
sit-and-go, you'll find it embraces two of the most pure aspects
of poker: the ability to disguise your own hand and figure out
what your opponent has in front of him. But if you want
tournament success then it's vital to master the heads-up. Well,
unless you're happy coming second
More TEXAS HOLD'EM Articles:
- Poker Life, Poker Features: Texas
Hold'em - Do The Shuffle
- [B]Poker Life, Poker Features: Texas
Hold'em - Letter from America
- [B]Poker Tips, Tournament Play: Texas
Hold'em - Online Tells
- Poker Tips, Tournament Play:Texas
Hold'em - Sit-and Gos
- Poker Tips, Skills & Strategy:
& Texas Hold'em - Hold'em Tournaments
- Poker Tips, Skills & Strategy:
Texas Hold'em - Minimising Losses
- Poker Tips, Skills &
Strategy:Texas Hold'em - Poker Etiquette
Submitted By Q
Inside Edge Magazine - Dennis Publishing
About the author:
Online Gaming Editor - Dennis Publishing
• 
• 
• 
• 
Calendar 
Home
