Heads Up Play

“Gavin, have you seen low-limit hold ‘em games? Why on Earth would you want to discuss playing in heads-up pots when almost every hand is played three-ways, four-ways or even more multi-way?”

Perhaps you’re right. Maybe this is a counterintuitive subject for an article series on how to beat lower-limit hold‘em games. I tend to think differently though. There are plenty of people who play in these games that probably beat them at a decent rate, but have developed basically zero skills playing in heads-up pots and this will be a huge detriment to them as they progress in limits (if they ever do). I’m trying to prepare you to not only beat the low-limit games you are currently playing, but to develop skills that will be useful as you move up the ladder and play in some more difficult games.

There are several mistakes that people make when they think about playing heads-up. The first mistake I see people make when playing heads-up is taking things personally. I often hear someone at the table say things like “you’re always raising my blind.” Or “that’s the nth time you’ve raised, why don’t you let us chop?” It’s important to remember that nothing should be taken personally at the poker table. If you happen to be in the big blind when I’m on the button or in other late positions, the fact is you’re going to get your blind raised quite often and it’s something you’re going to have to get used to.

The second and, I think, biggest mistake people make is they believe that a heads-up pot is a license to spaz. Perhaps they witnessed some very advanced players play a heads-up match and they saw that they put in a huge amount of action and got to the showdown without much of a hand on occasion and that means they should do that every chance they get. The truth is, the most important thing when playing in heads-up pots in the flow of the game is to remain balanced and take advantage of your opponent’s mistakes. Let’s take a look at a couple examples of this.

Hand 1: My opponent in this hand is probably a winning player in the $8-$16 games in L.A. He plays relatively conservatively and seems to think in a mostly logical way when playing. I hesitated to include this hand because it could seem like a bad beat story, but I think there is a good lesson to be learned. So, our villain limps under-the-gun at a full table. I’m on the button with 10 10 and raise. We go heads-up to a flop of 10 9 3. He checks and calls. The turn is the A. He checks, I bet, he raises, I three-bet, he four-bets, and I call. The river is the 6 and we both check. He has the A K.

Our opponent misplays every street. First, he limped preflop. We discussed this in the last article, but it is a much better play to come in with a raise with all of the hands we are going to play. The second mistake is the flop play. He’s gotten a great flop for his hand with two overs and the second nut-flush draw in a heads-up pot against an isolation raise on the button. His hand is not only crushing my range so far, he also has a fair bit of deception, and many of the times he improves, I do as well, and, due to his image, he can probably get me to fold some hands that I wouldn’t against other opponents. He should check-raise. On the turn, he puts in the check-raise, which is a good play. He gets himself into trouble, however, when he four-bets. He has some equity for sure, but my turn three-betting range on this board has him destroyed. Remember my image of this guy. I think he plays pretty conservatively, and as a result, that makes my turn three-bet range much tighter. It looks something like this: A-A (which would include the A and have him drawing completely dead), A Kx (this is actually the loosest three-bet of the bunch and I’m not sure I would always make it), T-T, 9-9, A-x, Q J, A-T and A-9 with or without a heart, and other flushes. I have around 71 percent equity with this range. It’s not so bad for him to be a 7:3 dog when only putting in one bet, but when he forces himself into putting in four bets and opens it up to a five-bet, he’s value owning himself pretty hard. Then, on the river, when he gets there after four-betting the turn, he checks! He fails to get value with the second nut-flush (third nuts overall because there is a straight flush possible).

Hand 2: Here is an example of both of the issues I brought up earlier. In the $8-$16 game at the Commerce, almost everybody chops. I think it’s a mistake because they automatically drop $2 out of the pot whether there is a flop or not, and the total rake is $5 plus a $1 jackpot. Essentially, they’re raking $4 if we play the pot out, and, due to the fact that most of these players are not proficient at playing heads-up, I think I can beat that rake. The fact that I don’t chop is a point of contention among the regulars in the game and they don’t appreciate it that much. I think this makes it easier to beat them because they are thinking emotionally instead of rationally and their already flawed thinking in regards to heads-up play increases their likelihood of making mistakes.

The hand: I raise from the SB with A 4. BB calls. The flop is A-Q-J with two hearts. I bet, he raises, I three-bet, he four-bets, I call. Turn is the Q, I check/call. River is a blank and I check/call. He immediately mucks his hand and in doing so exposes a non-heart 8. There is really only one plausible hand that he could have to take this line and that’s T-8 since he would have had a double gut-shot on the flop. Perhaps, though, with position and a clear head, a good player would have called my flop three-bet and raised the turn. The likelihood that his line gets me to fold is much higher in that scenario than in the way he played it. Finally, I may have folded against someone who I think was operating with a clear head. Since it was apparent, however, that this gentleman was upset that I didn’t chop with him, a call was in order.

A little bit of information, like watching some advanced players play ultra-aggressively when playing a strictly heads-up match, taken out of context and applied incorrectly to playing heads-up in the flow of a full game, can be detrimental to your performance. Also detrimental to your performance and bankroll is letting your emotions get in the way of logic and clear thought. Think of the poker table as an operating room. Hard work has honed your skill to a sharp edge that operates on your opponents to extract maximum value in a sterile emotional environment. Your head should be as clean and clear as a surgeon’s scalpel. Time to go scrub in. ♠

Gavin Griffin was the first poker player to capture a World Series of Poker, European Poker Tour and World Poker Tour title and has amassed nearly $5 million in lifetime tournament winnings. Griffin is sponsored by HeroPoker.com. You can follow him on Twitter @NHGG