Freedom From BigBrother Now!

I like playing online poker tournament heads up matches, because it’s really a mental game, more so than a card game. In heads up, you always have to keep your opponent guessing. Oddly enough, I usually do this by playing every hand the exact same way. Either min raising every hand, overbetting them, or just limping in. This disguises your hands from your opponent. You have to be careful to recognize their reactions though. If you never get paid off with a min bet at a flop, you’re likely not to make any money with premium hands. This might be ok if you’re able to steal all of the small pots, but once in a while, you’ll need to get paid off on a big hand to take command of the match.

Lately, I have had problems closing out heads up matches. I will get a rather large lead by stealing pots and perhaps getting called when I have a disguised hand, but then I tend to try and push the action for a large pot. When an opponent becomes short stacked heads up, they appear vulnerable, but really, they are just one double up from being even again. And if they do double through you, the blinds are now large enough to dictate action a little heavier than in the beginning of the tournament.

So, at some point, when you have about a 2:1 or even a 3:1 lead, you have to be careful not to unnecessarily put your poker chips at risk. While you might want to take your opponent out by calling his all-in with a small pocket pair, you’re in the right percentage-wise, but you have about the same risk of starting over even stacked. All the work and pressure you’ve been putting on your opponent could be negated by one coinflip.

So, if you’ve gained an early chiplead playing one style, I suggest keeping up that poker strategy and avoiding big-pot preflop gambles in an effort to end your opponent.