Heads Up – Sit n Go Strategy.
beatpoker | Jul 08, 2010 | Comments 0
Absolutely everyone who wants to make money from online poker MUST learn a strong heads up sit n go strategy. Whether you specialise in multi-table tournaments, SnGs or your just a typical cash game grinder, taking a few weeks out of your standard game to work on a strong heads up strategy is invaluable. Why? Well it’s pretty obvious. It doesn’t matter what type of poker game your playing, there will always be a strong chance of you being up against just one other player to win the pot. This is especially important in the late stages of tournaments due to their being such a huge difference of winnings between first place and second place.
Heads Up Sit n Go Games
In this article we will discuss Heads Up Sit n Go’s. These are ideal for improving your heads-up skills as they are very low risk (you only have to pay an initial buy-in to enter) and their structure will allow you to get experience in the various aspects of heads-up play.
First of all, you need to understand that heads up games are completely different to six max and full ring tables. Heads up games are much more often won by skill instead of luck. Unlike full ring games, there are only your two cards against your opponent’s two cards so most of the time you will be either miles ahead or miles behind. The key to winning is to work out which and play accordingly.
In Heads-Up Texas Holdem you will need to play a lot of hands. Unlike full ring games, the format does not allow you to wait for strong hands as your opponent will be able to read you like a book and will be able to eat away at your stack. Instead you want to be playing almost all of your hands from the button while limiting your starting hands range when out of position. Playing on the button is essential in heads up play, in this position you want to be seeing as many flops as possible. The reason for this is because your opponent will very rarely hit anything on the flop allowing you to pressurise him into folding. Ofcourse, if your opponent shows a lot of strength (eg. raising your bet) be very wary and fold if you think your hand is beaten.
Understanding Your Opponent
Getting a read on your opponent is incredibly important in heads up, as this will strongly help you decide how to play your hands both pre-flop and post-flop. During the early stages when the blinds are low is a perfect opportunity to do this. Take note of how aggressive or passive he is. Does he always see the flop or does he wait for strong hands? Note how he plays post-flop. Does he slow play big hands or will he bet and raise? Or does he call all your bets on the flop hoping to hit his hand on the turn or river. All of this information is invaluable and should be used to exploit your opponent as much as possible.
With Tournament Shark you will have instant access to your opponent’s statistics the second you join their table.
The key to beating heads-up players is to adjust your game depending on your opponent. For example, if your playing a tight player, make the most of it. Bet a very high range of hands pre-flop to steal the blinds but be extremely cautious when he shows sign of strength. In contrast, when playing a loose and aggressive player play a much thinner range of starting hands and consider slow playing when you think you have the strongest hand. Chances are your opponent will keep betting post-flop with nothing, make the most of this!
With these tips you have got a strong Heads Up Sit n Go strategy. With experience you will find your opponents much easier to read and so you will be able to adjust your play to maximise your winnings.
Best Poker Sites for Heads-Up Games
- If you want to start playing low stake Heads Up SnG games we recommend Ultimate Bet. Their HU SnGs start from around $1.10 making them perfect for Heads Up newbies.
- If your looking for a large amount of Heads Up SnG games ranging from mid-stakes to high-stakes then we recommend Poker Stars due to their massive player-base.
See you at the tables!
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