Tackling an Aggressive Heads Up Opponent
Heads up Poker is something you need to learn. If you want to win any tournament then you will have to beat someone heads up. That goes for any Multi Table Tournament or Sit and Go; unfortunately heads up poker is something we cannot opt out of. It is certainly difficult to master, but there are strategies available that can give you a real edge on the competition. One of the most frustrating types of heads up player is the overly aggressive opponent who just raises and creates big pots in every hand. You will encounter this regularly during your online poker hands, so you need a strategy to counter this aggressive play.
Aggressive heads up players will almost always raise pre flop and make a continuation bet. This strategy works because if you fold to either of these raises your stack will diminish. You need to be aware that your opponent cannot possibly be hitting every hand as this is mathematically impossible in heads up play. You need to be able to call these preflop raises and then decide what you want to do when faced with the continuation bets. If you notice that mirroring his strategy finds you are constantly called on the continuation bet, then you should deduce that they have a wide range and playing hands like second pair with reasonable kicker down to the river is correct. By playing aggressively they are strengthening weak hands showdown values.
It can be frustrating facing an aggressive heads up opponent because you may want to play a more cautious game and see flops to hit hands etc, but your opponent does not allow you this luxury. The strategy you must use is not like at a full table where you play tighter when the table is loose and play more loosely when the table tightens up, you must mirror your opponent as you are playing every hand in the blinds.
You should play your stronger hands harder. Rather than limping in you need to raise and plant the seed in your opponents head that you cannot be ran over and that you are ready to gamble with marginal hands, just like he is. This will create some big pots, but do not worry as these types of aggressive confrontation matches usually do not last too long. You are looking to catch a great hand and get your chips in. Anything above top pair is worth the call, even a re-raise in the right spots.
Personally I struggled in heads up because I naturally wanted to play cautiously. I kept getting dominated in heads up matches until I had lost a third of my stack and then I usually went all-in only to be outdrawn. I fared much better when I layed the law down to my opponent early in the contest and made them think that betting will not necessarily mean I will fold. Heads up sit and gos are a good way of getting some practise in to the concepts you need to learn. You will encounter crazy aggression regularly, but you will be more comfortable with it as time passes. It is something I am constantly adjusting to.
Aggressive heads up players are looking to gamble and reduce the skill edge in the game. They are looking to coin flip and unfortunately you must play along, but only when you have a hand you are willing to gamble with. The irritating time playing an aggressive opponent is when you are card dead and are forced to repeatedly fold. Do not panic, just wait until you hit something and go all-in. I have found that once you take a big pot that does not end the match most players tend to slow down a little and wait for reasonable hands before committing. Now you can turn the tables and give them a taste of their own medicine. It is very satisfying!
By Malcolm Clarke
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Tags: heads up poker, online poker, poker strategy, poker tip, sit and go