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Heads Up Poker Strategy
Heads up poker is like no other form of the game, you are constantly involved in a hand as either the big blind or the small blind and button holder. The action is non stop and your starting hand selection must be lowered in order to allow you to play the vast majority of hands dealt to you.
There are two ways to win a hand, either by having the best hand in a showdown or by forcing your opponent fold. This statement never carries more meaning than in heads up play and you will need to adapt your shorthanded strategy to remain competitive.
Arguably any hand is worthy of raising in heads up play because you are playing the player more than the cards, but any ace or king deserves raising, also any pair, high ranked suited connector or hand with two face cards is worth raising for value; whether you hit the flop or not it's worth following through with a bet on the flop to start building a clearer picture of where you are in the hand.
Pot odds mean less because you rarely get the correct odds to draw to certain types of hands, a better way of dealing with the mathematical aspect of the game is to make the pot big when you feel you're infront and keep the pot small if you feel you're behind.
Betting on a draw becomes more attractive with so many flops missing both opponents, betting out on the best of your draws is a prerequisite to playing dominating heads up poker, waiting until you have made at least a pair is not an option as you will be providing your opponent the opportunity to win far too high a ratio of pots, you want to win more pots and more of the big pots than them, betting on draws puts you in a strong position to force an opponent off a hand and maintains constant pressure on them aswell as allowing you to win with the worst hand occasionaly. Pair draws such as AK or KJ are a good draw to bet with before the flop and also after the flop for value even if you have'nt made a pair, straight and flush draws are worth betting too, although if the draw does'nt hit by the river you are left in a sticky situation with just a low ranked high card, have a clear preference for higher ranked suited connectors over lower ranked ones because you have a more solid unmade hand to work with in the later rounds of betting.
Studying your opponents actions and reactions is one of the keys to success in poker, never moreso than in heads up play. Be prepared to bide your time initially until you have a clear picture of how your opponent intends to play against you; once you understand how they are playing, find ways to exploit their weaknesses aswell as eccentuate your skills.
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