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Poker question...?

Okay, here's the deal. I have been playing poker for about 2 years now. No limit Texas Hold em. I don't want to to toot my own horn but I always make it to at least the final 3, and I can do a lot of poker chip tricks and all that fun stuff. My problem is heads up. When it's just me and the final person I suck it up! How can I play better heads up poker? Are there any tells I should look for in the other person to tell if they have a better hand? and what cards should I play besides the obvious?

Public Comments

1. Looking at their cars alot is usually a tell...3 or more times. I just try to go in every hand to tell you the truth. And if i get a really good hand i lead them on instead of coing on too strong. Hope that helps.
2. Well you didn't give me any information to answer the question but there's a few things that's certain regardless. You have to be more aggressive. Here's a simple way of looking at it, when you're playing heads up, you have to bet that the other player doesn't have a hand and what you have doesn't matter. Simply put the odds are greatly in your favor that the other player doesn't have a hand and if it goes to flop the odds are greatly in your favor they didn't hit the flop. The blinds and antes are so big at this point if you don't get aggressive bet the odds that are in your favor that the other person didn't hit, you're going to get walked all over. Beat them in the pot and be aggressive. There is also free expert poker advice at http://www.InternetPokerBonuses.com
3. My suggestion is to go online to a major poker site like Full Tilt or Poker Stars and play a bunch of heads up games. Even if it is just play money. There are plenty of two person sit and go events you can play. Where the game starts with $1,500 in tournament chips each, and you play heads up until someone wins. This would be the way to sharpen your game. Remember that when playing heads up, play almost any two cards (except the obvious like X2 or X3). Steal the blinds when get get high. Any face card can be a great hand. If you make a pair on the flop you probably have the best hand. Throw your usual starting hand requirements out of the window. But be prepared to back off if you know you are beat. Read the Harrington books for some good information on heads up play.
4. Have you read any poker books? One in particular is The psychology of poker. It does talk about diff rent styles and how to look at the way you play poker. To get better at some thing you have to find out what your limitations are and focus on bettering those limitations. Good Luck.
5. i agree about goin on 1 of the sites and just playin some cheap heads up.....depending on the blind size when you reach the heads up stage you have to play more aggressivley bluff more but make sure your bluffing in situations where an aggresive player cant come over the top with anything less than a better hand
6. Be aggressive. If you have an Ace, the chances of your opponent having an Ace as well are very low, so raise with it. I will play any pocket pair, any connectors, suited paint and rag, and any Ace. Tells...I think they are the same.
7. Open with a raise on any picture Card...this includes J-2! There are only 5 high ranks in a deck of cards (10, J, Q, K, A) and 8 low ranks (2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9). Just over 60% of the time either you or your opponent will be dealt a hand that does not consist of at least 1 high rank card hence why you can back yourself when you hit a high rank in your pocket. If you get re-raised you need to be able to read your opponent. A good tell is if you opponent has his hand(s) on top of his cards, if your op is an amateur then this indicates that he legitimately holding a strong hand and I would fold if anything higher then your high card hits the flop. If he's a pro then I would be a bit more weary as this could be a false tell he is giving out (provided he gives you enough credit to be able to read it). If you get called then I would put your op a similar strength hand to yours, either a high card, maybe low connecters or suited gappers (or even suited connectors but I would almost raise with these pre-flop). If any high card hits the flop(with no str8 or flush possible on the flop)..bet...if he bets in front of you...then you re-raise. If he pushes all in you have to fold but he would have to think you hold that high card on the flop if you re-raise his bet. If he calls your bet be weary that he is not drawing to a flush, straight or maybe hit a low pair on the flop and if a high card comes on the turn or river he may hit 2 pair so just be careful and trust your reads.
8. Heads up it's all about hacking what the other person is trying to do, and applying a counter-strategy. General guidelines: 1) Abuse the button, raise about 2-2.5x the BB, you're in position and heads up so you don't need to raise as large to win the blind. If out of position and raising, choose a larger amount as you'd prefer to not play out of position. 2) Apply pressure, this can only be done through betting. A majority of the time nobody will have anything. A high card will be the best hand. If one player isn't willing to fight for those chips out there when nobody has a hand, that player will lose 3) Realize it's becoming a crapshoot. Generally at this stage, blinds are high in relation to the stack size. As a larger % of your chips are in play preflop, you must be more willing to go all in with weaker and weaker hands. It's a negative correlation between stack size and hand strength. As Dan Harrington has said, "The cards rule in these short sessions."
9. I agree with Love P. You have to be more aggressive. Take chances with marginal hands like K9, Q8, 67 suited. Raise with them. Whenever I get an Ace anything heads up, I push all in immediately. I almost always raise on the button no matter what I have. Honestly, I've found that heads up is alot of luck. I've had massive chip leads only to see it disappear in a blink of an eye. And of course I've been on the other end with a chip and a chair and won as well. GL!
10. The most important change you need to make when you go heads up is that you need to be a lot more aggressive. As far as tells go, it's not really different than playing with many people. The cards don't matter as much when you're down to 2 players. The winner is usually the one that bets first.