heads up help... please...

I realize this site deals mainly with the online community and as far as i know there are no heads up tables online. I want help with this for two reasons: I occasionally have a card playing friend over and we will play a $5 cash game heads up. But I am losing way too much more than I should against people who I have dominated in other larger cash games goin at home. THe second reason is obviously in a tournament game you have to have some sort of heads up skill to take it down.

From reading other articles online they say the key to heads up is nonstop betting pre and post flop and that whoever bets first is gonna take down the pot. However, I know that it is not at all this simple.

So anybody else out there who cant find anything better than a $5 heads up game... please help.

Originally Posted by dmb31690

I realize this site deals mainly with the online community and as far as i know there are no heads up tables online. I want help with this for two reasons: I occasionally have a card playing friend over and we will play a $5 cash game heads up. But I am losing way too much more than I should against people who I have dominated in other larger cash games goin at home. THe second reason is obviously in a tournament game you have to have some sort of heads up skill to take it down.

From reading other articles online they say the key to heads up is nonstop betting pre and post flop and that whoever bets first is gonna take down the pot. However, I know that it is not at all this simple.

So anybody else out there who cant find anything better than a $5 heads up game... please help.

If you want heads up strategy help then I'm sure all kinds of people are willing to add in their opinions, including me. If you're asking for sites that offer heads up play, theres a couple. If you wants heads up tournaments you can play at royal vegas and ultimate bet and probably others. For heads up cash games, you can play at royal vegas, ultimate bet, and poker room for sure and probably others.

As said above. There are plenty of places to play heads up so get in the practice if possible.
Quick guide.
The average hand (computer statistics say) is Q7 (i think! )
Therefore
raise with an ace, a pp, suited connectors and any two cards over 9.
simple eh?
if you hit the flop bet regardless of what pair it is (personally i throw a pot bet out if i raised anyway to see if opp has anything especially early on)
Your really in raise/fold mode heads up. If you cant raise dont play. Yeah your opponent will get tired of it but he'll be damn skilled if he can read you. Always raise good hands too.
post flop you if you want to mix it up then obviously check raise. If you flop the nuts eg flush then try to give him an extra card to catch something. It isnt necessarily about winning lots of hands heads up its about persuading your opponent just once that you dont have the nut hand and letting him fall into the trap.

Harrigton on Hold'em volume 2 had a big chapter on heads-up

Here are some tips from the book:

1. You don't have the odds to throw away any hand on the button (small blind) *this may not be true without antes, but just don't fold heads up unless your opponent raises a lot preflop
2. Preflop raises can be as lower because you're only trying to get one person out. 2-2.5x is good for the button and a little higher for the big blind because of the positional disadvantage
3. Position is more important because it's not going to change throughout the hand *in a full game the button might fold giving you a better position or the blinds might fold giving you a worse position relatively
4. Watch the M of your opponent and you
5. Worst hand is 23o, whereas in a full game it's 270
6. To call an all-in have at least A8 or a pair. A8 will guarantee to have a better kicker than average.
7. JT is more "playable" than K3 although obviously a weaker hand in an all-in situation. A chance to make middle pair twice is better than one chance to make top pair

Hope that helped

More importantly is getting to know your opponent and adjusting. Pure aggression will not work against stupid calling stations. If he's gonna sit there and call you can slow down a lot and just value bet the shit outtaa him with your decent pairs and above. If he's gonna fold every time then you get crazy. If he's aggressive, you're gonna have to get a lot trickier and read him more - is he aggressive as in bets a lot but folds to raises? If so checkraise. Is he aggressive as in reraises your raises? Trap him. Taking your time to trap an over aggressive opponent will only work in NL - I dont know jack about limit.

Also, as someone else said on here, find out who's the better player as fast as possible and then decide if its worth staying.

thats a start... thx guys... just need to play and work on it

here is an example of what not to do.

***** Hand History for Game 2555072574 *****
$100 NL Texas Hold'em - Thursday, August 18, 04:24:56 EDT 2005
Table Table 36849 (Real Money)
Seat 4 is the button
Total number of players : 2
Seat 3: Wahoo2006 ( $268.20 )
Seat 4: mmpkiszm ( $82.05 )
Wahoo2006 posts small blind [$0.50].
mmpkiszm posts big blind [$1].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Wahoo2006 [ Js 3s ]
Wahoo2006 calls [$0.50].
mmpkiszm checks.
** Dealing Flop ** [ 7d, 6s, 9s ]
Wahoo2006 bets [$2].
mmpkiszm calls [$2].
** Dealing Turn ** [ Ks ]
Wahoo2006 bets [$5].
mmpkiszm calls [$5].
** Dealing River ** [ 7h ]
>You have options at Table 37361 Table!.
Wahoo2006 bets [$15].
mmpkiszm is all-In [$74.05]
Wahoo2006 calls [$59.05].
Wahoo2006 shows [ Js, 3s ] a flush, king high.
mmpkiszm doesn't show [ As, 7c ] three of a kind, sevens.
Wahoo2006 wins $163.10 from the main pot with a flush, king high.
mmpkiszm has left the table.

HU is about finding holes in your opponents play and exploiting them. Be aware of your image and be able to change gears. Aggression is good, but it has to be controlled or else you will be spewing chips.
I would suggest you play some HU sngs, I have played quite a few of them on PS and it will definitely improve your HU game.