Apr
18
When you reach the final table of a tournament, this is when experience and skill really comes into play. As you play the bubble and break into the money, there’s a large amount of blind stealing and crafty play that is used simply because stacks are so small, but once you get to the final table you’ll be able to play real poker, because your stack will be larger, and blinds don’t raise as quickly. This article will tell you how to win it all once you get heads up.
The reason winning is so important is because of the way the prize structure is set up. At most online poker sites, the tournament prize structure is extremely top heavy. This means that the 1st place prize is significantly larger than the 2nd place prize, even though both players outlasted the rest of the field. This prize difference is what makes heads up poker so important in being a winning tournament player.
The main points that are important to consider in heads up poker are stack size, position, and relative hand strength. We’ll go over all three. The first one we’ll discuss is stack size.
Stack size in heads up play is almost as important as your cards. The reason for this is that the small stack is facing elimination in every hand they play, but the large stack has the ability to take risks to knock the other player out without risking his entire stack. What this means as far as your strategy goes is that as the small stack you need to make stands, because the big stack will bluff you out of pots and wears your stack down. And also, as the big stack you need to be constantly pressuring the small stack, and don’t be afraid to get him all in to take a chance at winning it all.
Now, we’ll talk about position. This is the biggest factor that makes heads up play so aggressive. There are only two options here, you’re in position or you’re out of position. When you’re in position you should be making more bluffs, steals, and raises, and when you’re out of position you’ll have to concede your weak hands more often because you have to act first.
Finally, we’ll discuss relative hand strength. When you’re playing a 9 handed table, you’ll only be making bets and raises with your best hands (high pocket pairs, and made hands on the flop). However, when you’re heads up you’re only facing one man, so its likely that he has nothing either. What this means is that a 67 suited or a hand like JQ is worth much more, so you should be raising preflop with it. Also, bottom pair on the flop, or a gutshot draw is worth a bet, because you’re likely to win the pot.
That’s it for this article. To learn more, view this heads up poker page. Also, if you’re interested in playing poker from your home, read about Internet poker. There are all sorts of poker room reviews to learn from.
Enjoy.Mike Wittmeyer is a pro poker player.
April 18, 2008
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