In Heads Up poker, the button acts first preflop and last postflop. This is quite different from the 6max or full ring tables where small blind will always be first to act postflop, followed by the big blind. In HU, the player on the button (BTN) will play more hands compared to the button on 6max and full ring games. Heads up poker is arguably the most challenging and potentially profitable form of poker out.
The Best Heads Up Poker Plays | Texas Hold'em Strategies
- Heads Up Poker Sites - Best Heads Up Poker & Strategy Most online poker sites offer a variety.
- There are many free poker HUDs available these days but by far the best one (and the choice of most poker pros) is PokerTracker. If you play Zoom poker in particular (or if you multi-table), PokerTracker is by far the best HUD out there because it allows you to easily keep track of all your opponents.
- The Best Heads Up Poker Strategy How to Play Poker The overwhelming majority of the poker you play is going to be against multiple opponents. Even when you're playing casually with friends, you're going to seek out a full table because the crowd is just part of Texas Hold'em poker.
The most common poker strategy for heads up poker is to be aggressive. That's not necessarily a poker strategy, it's more of a style of play, and it's correct for heads up poker, but it shouldn't be taken too literally. If you do that, you're going to play recklessly. That's against our poker rules for winning. We don't want that…
In the world of poker, Texas Hold'em is king. Go to any poker room in the world, and you'll see the Hold'em tables buzzing with action. Texas Hold'em poker tournaments are even more action-packed, and for good reason.
With a small, pre-determined investment, players can experience the thrill of stacking chips and playing against pros for a life-changing payout and bragging rights as the lone survivor. So, how do you outlast the competition and go about winning Texas Hold'em poker tournaments?
SUBSCRIBE for New Videos:
Visit Poker Journal:
POKER EBOOKS FROM POKER JOURNAL
♠ Basic Training | Beginner's Guide to Texas Hold'em | PDF
♠ Sharks on the Strip | Surviving the Las Vegas Poker Scene | PDF
♠ Crushing the End Game | Optimal Poker Tournament Game Plan | PDF
♠ The Poker Player | PDF
Best Heads Up Display Poker
DISCLOSURE: We often review or link to products & services we regularly use and think you might find helpful. Wherever possible we use referral links, which means if you click one of the links in this video or description and make a purchase we may receive a small commission or other compensation.
How To Play Heads Up Poker
POKER TUTORIALS/PRODUCTS WE RECOMMEND.
♦ Advanced Poker Training | The World's #1 Poker Training Site!
♦ Too Busy To Study Poker? | Learn About CORE
♦ Improve Your Poker Game in a Fun and Interactive Way | Free Trial
♦ Poker Tracker 4 | Ultimate Online Poker Tool Suite | 30 Day Free Trial
♦ Step Up Your Game with Hold'em Manager 3 | Free Trial
DISCLAIMER: The information provided in all of Poker Journal's videos is for educational and entertainment purposes only, and is not to be interpreted as a recommendation for you to play any specific poker game or course of action. NEVER gamble based solely on our recommendations.
Before viewing any of our videos, all members, visitors, and guests agree and fully understand that the gaming industry and playing all types of poker games contain implicit and explicit risks.
That being stated, understood, and agreed upon, anyone who directly or indirectly uses the services, and/or products shall not hold us or any of its affiliates liable to anyone for any loss, injury, or damage resulting from the usage of the Poker Journal's videos.
If you want to learn more about 'How to Play Poker' the right way, don't forget to Subscribe and hit the Notification Bell. We share all the Poker Tips and Poker Strategies that help you navigate poker games and tournaments to outmaneuver, outplay, and outlast the competition and to win more playing poker.
RECOMMENDED PLAYLISTS
♣ How to Play Poker
♣ How to Win At Texas Hold'em | Poker Tips
♣ Texas Hold'em Poker Strategy
♣ Texas Hold'em Poker Tournaments
♥ See You On The Felt!
source
To many, heads up is the purest form of poker. Playing heads up forces players to utilize many different skills in order to be successful. Some of the many skills include the ability to read hands, bluff (in correct situations), adjust constantly to your opponents playing styles, and value bet thin.
Another important skill that heads up players must develop is hand selection. When first starting out, some players will play nearly every hand (even out of position). They seem to think that they need to over compensate for heads up play. Other players will not play nearly enough hands causing them to lose money due to the blinds and/or their opponent's steals.
But just like anything else in poker (some will say life too), balance is important. In regards to heads up poker hand selection, you must find a middle ground between playing too many hands and not playing enough. And to help with that, I have created a basic starting hand guide below.
HU Poker Starting Hands - On the Button (In Position)
The button in heads up poker is no different then the button in a 6-max or full ring game - you will have position throughout the entire hand.
Because of the positional advantage, the button is where you should have the widest hand range. Many players will start by opening 100% of their hands and slowly shave their range back to adjust to how often they're being played back at by their opponent.
At the bare minimum, I will open up every suited connector, 1 and 2-gapper, broadways and pairs. I will also open any ace, king and most of my queen and jack hands with a kicker of 5 and above (all queens and jacks if suited). Any suited ten-x hand is good enough for me to open as well. If you were to look at all of these hands in Poker Stove, my range would be in the neighborhood of 70% at minimum.
Keep in mind that your range should fluctuate somewhat depending mostly on your opponent, game flow and at times even your image. If your opponent is 3-betting you relentlessly, you should open less, folding out hands you can't defend to 3-bets with. A majority of the hands you open you should be able to defend or 4-bet. On the other hand, if your opponent folds a lot pre or plays fit or fold on the flop, you can widen your hand range, sometimes playing as much as 100% of hands dealt.
When facing a 3-bet, I will have a slightly smaller range. I will generally defend versus 3-bets with any pair, any broadway, any suited ace and about half of my suited kings and queens (like K9/Q8 suited and above). I also defend with some suited connectors and one gappers like J8s or T9s. It's really villain dependent, but this should give you an idea of where I start at least.
HU Poker Starting Hands - In the Big Blind (Out of Position)
When playing heads up poker, the player in the big blind will be the player who is out of position for the entire hand. This is a huge disadvantage and because of this, you should tighten up the range of hands that you defend with.
As a rule of thumb, I will defend any pair, any suited ace, A9 off-suit and up, almost all of my broadways and suited connectors/1-gappers like J8s and maybe T9s. Looking at Poker Stove, my hand range will be close to 35% or 40% out of position. About 10% of these hands (suited connectors, suited kings, some suited queens) I will 3-bet with preflop.
Again, it's important to realize that this is more or less a default hand range. You should be adjusting the hands you're defending with according to how tight/loose your opponent is. The tighter your opponent, the tighter the hand range you should be defending with. The looser your opponent, the wider you can defend.
Best Heads Up Poker Player 2020
HU Poker Starting Hands - Summary
It should be painfully obvious that your opening hand range in a heads up game is much wider than what it would be in a 6-max or full ring game. If your preflop hand range isn't this wide (or close), you're too tight and you should widen up as it is likely costing you money.
The Best Heads Up Poker Plays | Texas Hold'em Strategies
- Heads Up Poker Sites - Best Heads Up Poker & Strategy Most online poker sites offer a variety.
- There are many free poker HUDs available these days but by far the best one (and the choice of most poker pros) is PokerTracker. If you play Zoom poker in particular (or if you multi-table), PokerTracker is by far the best HUD out there because it allows you to easily keep track of all your opponents.
- The Best Heads Up Poker Strategy How to Play Poker The overwhelming majority of the poker you play is going to be against multiple opponents. Even when you're playing casually with friends, you're going to seek out a full table because the crowd is just part of Texas Hold'em poker.
The most common poker strategy for heads up poker is to be aggressive. That's not necessarily a poker strategy, it's more of a style of play, and it's correct for heads up poker, but it shouldn't be taken too literally. If you do that, you're going to play recklessly. That's against our poker rules for winning. We don't want that…
In the world of poker, Texas Hold'em is king. Go to any poker room in the world, and you'll see the Hold'em tables buzzing with action. Texas Hold'em poker tournaments are even more action-packed, and for good reason.
With a small, pre-determined investment, players can experience the thrill of stacking chips and playing against pros for a life-changing payout and bragging rights as the lone survivor. So, how do you outlast the competition and go about winning Texas Hold'em poker tournaments?
SUBSCRIBE for New Videos:
Visit Poker Journal:
POKER EBOOKS FROM POKER JOURNAL
♠ Basic Training | Beginner's Guide to Texas Hold'em | PDF
♠ Sharks on the Strip | Surviving the Las Vegas Poker Scene | PDF
♠ Crushing the End Game | Optimal Poker Tournament Game Plan | PDF
♠ The Poker Player | PDF
Best Heads Up Display Poker
DISCLOSURE: We often review or link to products & services we regularly use and think you might find helpful. Wherever possible we use referral links, which means if you click one of the links in this video or description and make a purchase we may receive a small commission or other compensation.
How To Play Heads Up Poker
POKER TUTORIALS/PRODUCTS WE RECOMMEND.
♦ Advanced Poker Training | The World's #1 Poker Training Site!
♦ Too Busy To Study Poker? | Learn About CORE
♦ Improve Your Poker Game in a Fun and Interactive Way | Free Trial
♦ Poker Tracker 4 | Ultimate Online Poker Tool Suite | 30 Day Free Trial
♦ Step Up Your Game with Hold'em Manager 3 | Free Trial
DISCLAIMER: The information provided in all of Poker Journal's videos is for educational and entertainment purposes only, and is not to be interpreted as a recommendation for you to play any specific poker game or course of action. NEVER gamble based solely on our recommendations.
Before viewing any of our videos, all members, visitors, and guests agree and fully understand that the gaming industry and playing all types of poker games contain implicit and explicit risks.
That being stated, understood, and agreed upon, anyone who directly or indirectly uses the services, and/or products shall not hold us or any of its affiliates liable to anyone for any loss, injury, or damage resulting from the usage of the Poker Journal's videos.
If you want to learn more about 'How to Play Poker' the right way, don't forget to Subscribe and hit the Notification Bell. We share all the Poker Tips and Poker Strategies that help you navigate poker games and tournaments to outmaneuver, outplay, and outlast the competition and to win more playing poker.
RECOMMENDED PLAYLISTS
♣ How to Play Poker
♣ How to Win At Texas Hold'em | Poker Tips
♣ Texas Hold'em Poker Strategy
♣ Texas Hold'em Poker Tournaments
♥ See You On The Felt!
source
To many, heads up is the purest form of poker. Playing heads up forces players to utilize many different skills in order to be successful. Some of the many skills include the ability to read hands, bluff (in correct situations), adjust constantly to your opponents playing styles, and value bet thin.
Another important skill that heads up players must develop is hand selection. When first starting out, some players will play nearly every hand (even out of position). They seem to think that they need to over compensate for heads up play. Other players will not play nearly enough hands causing them to lose money due to the blinds and/or their opponent's steals.
But just like anything else in poker (some will say life too), balance is important. In regards to heads up poker hand selection, you must find a middle ground between playing too many hands and not playing enough. And to help with that, I have created a basic starting hand guide below.
HU Poker Starting Hands - On the Button (In Position)
The button in heads up poker is no different then the button in a 6-max or full ring game - you will have position throughout the entire hand.
Because of the positional advantage, the button is where you should have the widest hand range. Many players will start by opening 100% of their hands and slowly shave their range back to adjust to how often they're being played back at by their opponent.
At the bare minimum, I will open up every suited connector, 1 and 2-gapper, broadways and pairs. I will also open any ace, king and most of my queen and jack hands with a kicker of 5 and above (all queens and jacks if suited). Any suited ten-x hand is good enough for me to open as well. If you were to look at all of these hands in Poker Stove, my range would be in the neighborhood of 70% at minimum.
Keep in mind that your range should fluctuate somewhat depending mostly on your opponent, game flow and at times even your image. If your opponent is 3-betting you relentlessly, you should open less, folding out hands you can't defend to 3-bets with. A majority of the hands you open you should be able to defend or 4-bet. On the other hand, if your opponent folds a lot pre or plays fit or fold on the flop, you can widen your hand range, sometimes playing as much as 100% of hands dealt.
When facing a 3-bet, I will have a slightly smaller range. I will generally defend versus 3-bets with any pair, any broadway, any suited ace and about half of my suited kings and queens (like K9/Q8 suited and above). I also defend with some suited connectors and one gappers like J8s or T9s. It's really villain dependent, but this should give you an idea of where I start at least.
HU Poker Starting Hands - In the Big Blind (Out of Position)
When playing heads up poker, the player in the big blind will be the player who is out of position for the entire hand. This is a huge disadvantage and because of this, you should tighten up the range of hands that you defend with.
As a rule of thumb, I will defend any pair, any suited ace, A9 off-suit and up, almost all of my broadways and suited connectors/1-gappers like J8s and maybe T9s. Looking at Poker Stove, my hand range will be close to 35% or 40% out of position. About 10% of these hands (suited connectors, suited kings, some suited queens) I will 3-bet with preflop.
Again, it's important to realize that this is more or less a default hand range. You should be adjusting the hands you're defending with according to how tight/loose your opponent is. The tighter your opponent, the tighter the hand range you should be defending with. The looser your opponent, the wider you can defend.
Best Heads Up Poker Player 2020
HU Poker Starting Hands - Summary
It should be painfully obvious that your opening hand range in a heads up game is much wider than what it would be in a 6-max or full ring game. If your preflop hand range isn't this wide (or close), you're too tight and you should widen up as it is likely costing you money.
At the same time, I hope that you noticed that none of my preflop ranges outlined above are set in stone. Starting hand ranges in any poker game shouldn't be. You should be basing your preflop hand ranges based on your opponents, game flow and image. Your exact hand range will always be fluctuating.
So while a guide like the one I posted above will definitely help you in becoming a better heads up player, knowing how to adjust for the different in-game variables will help you in becoming not only a profitable heads up player, but a profitable poker player overall.
