Poker Strategy for two player texas hold em?
I have been playing online sit n go hold em tournaments for the last three days and am starting to get the hang of things. I have been placing second or third almost every time. My question is what is a good strategy when it comes down to you and one other player…playing tight will not work well any more as the blinds are too high…any pointers on what style of play is recommended when you have made it down to 2 players?
I’m very aggressive when I play head-to-head. I make my initial bet 2.5-5 times the big blind if my opponent simply checks or calls the blind. If he bets, I at least double it. I do this regardless of what is in my hand. My bets on the flop and turn are at least half the pot. I usually go all-in on the river if I DON’T think I have the better hand, but don’t think my opponent has a good hand either. If I think I have a real good hand, I usually just bet the pot.
Most of all, do NOT get emotional. Just because you lost a hand, don’t try for the "revenge" bets. Emotion in poker = losing.
Tags: don't try, Human Interest, better hand, pot odds, real good hand, Texas Hold Em
I’m very aggressive when I play head-to-head. I make my initial bet 2.5-5 times the big blind if my opponent simply checks or calls the blind. If he bets, I at least double it. I do this regardless of what is in my hand. My bets on the flop and turn are at least half the pot. I usually go all-in on the river if I DON’T think I have the better hand, but don’t think my opponent has a good hand either. If I think I have a real good hand, I usually just bet the pot.
Most of all, do NOT get emotional. Just because you lost a hand, don’t try for the "revenge" bets. Emotion in poker = losing.
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Play aggressively. Raise every time you have the button.
Watch your opponent’s betting patterns – does he raise every time he has the button? Does he check/ raise ever?
Don’t call a large all-in bet unless you have a good pair, 2 high cards, or have good reason to believe that your opponent is bluffing. You want to be the big bettor, not the caller, unless you have the goods.
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Aggression is key when you’re heads-up, but not sure I’d say unconditionally so as the others did…relative stack size is even more a factor here. Any pocket pair and paint of just about any kind is usually worth a raise in this situation tho.
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The best strategy is to be aggressive. There’s only 2 of you left and there is a bigger chance of winning for you. That’s what I do.
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I play at http://www.blindhit.com
A book series that I personally found very helpful is the one from Dan Harrington, he has a set on tournament play.
Harrington on Hold ‘Em, Volume 1: Expert Strategy for No Limit Tournaments: Strategic Play
Harrington on Hold ‘em: Expert Strategy for No-Limit Tournaments; Volume II: The Endgame
Harrington on Hold ‘Em: Expert Strategy for No-Limit Tournaments, Volume 3: The Workbook
http://www.onlinepokercash.info/index.php/learning-poker-online
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http://www.onlinepokercash.info/
In general, the fewer the players, the more hands you play. You should be seeing the flop about 80% of the time by the time you get to heads up in most cases.
Chip ratio is an important thing to pay attention to….If the chips are distributed no more then 3 to 1 then neither player is too far behind because one hand can change who is in the lead. Once the ratio gets greater then 7 to 1 the larger stack can get very aggressive basically raising with any two cards as losing a hand will not greatly change chip position.
In general – with the big stack and/or the button, you can be more aggressive with your raises. With the small stack and/or big blind you should be less aggressive by simply calling and not reraising.
Pairs and high cards have higher value and suited connectors have lower value short handed, so just because T9s looks pretty, don’t get too aggressive pre-flop with it. However Axo or even Kxo is a good heads up hand.
Hopefully you have been paying attention to your opponent and already have some ideas about his play by the time you get heads up. Most people shift gears to be more aggressive preflop when down to 2, but when in tough situations will default to there preferred style of play. If you’ve noticed they are pretty conservative, they will be less likely to call after the flop without a pair or good draw even folding K high with a gutshot to a big bet when it is good. If you’ve noticed they are aggressive pretty much all the time before heads-up play, you can trap them as they are likely to bet any flop and even call a big raise or checkraise with bottom pair or A or K high.
Have Fun!!
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