See also
You can't find head's-up tourneys in the brick-and-mortar world, because the environment just isn't suited for them. The game would take up too much space and personnel (not to mention the insane amount of card shuffling you'd have to sit through).
The online environment is ideal for head's-up tourneys, however. Shuffling and pot payouts are instantaneous. Sites take care of blinds automatically. You don't have to worry if the guy sitting across from you at the table has taken a shower. You have found a truly perfect poker world.
The action in head's-up tournaments is fast and furious. Playing head's up is like having a newborn child - you just can't believe how much attention it demands. You may well see a dealing rate in excess of 150 or more hands per hour, so if you sign up for one, don't expect to do anything else during that period of time. We don't advise playing multiple tables during any event, but you should never play head's up on one table and try to sit in any game on another table at the same time.
Something about the head's-up format brings out both the best and the worst in people. Out of all online poker variations, we've met the friendliest people playing head's up, but the land of one on one is also where we've found the biggest swine.
If you want to become a serious tournament player, get plenty of exposure to head's-up tourneys. If you're both lucky and skillful enough to make it through the field, you should gain confidence: Head's up is where all tournaments end. Play, play, play until you feel comfortable.
Because head's-up tournaments exist almost exclusively in the online realm, not much has been written about strategy (yet). But we can provide a bit of poker advice:
- Don't try to win every hand. We know, it sounds kinda weird, but you may find it real easy in head's-up play to roll your eyes back in your head and drop into kill-kill-kill mode. Remember, the chips you win, not the number of hands, determine the victor. If you try to win every hand, you'll lose too much when you try to press through mediocre cards. It all goes back to the fundamental rule of economics: Maximize your wins and minimize your losses.
- Make your winning hands count big and your losing hands count little. Especially when you call bets, always take a look at the amount you have to risk to cover any bet you've already made - if it seems unreasonable, especially for a marginal call, drop the hand and wait for better cards.
- Don't reveal your pre-flop hand through your betting. Bet fair hands exactly the same way you bet your strongest hands. You want to keep your opponent guessing as much as reasonably possible. The harder it is for her to figure you out, the tougher it is for her to develop a strategy to beat you.
- Pay special attention to variations in your opponent's betting. If he always raises pre-flop by a single bet and then suddenly raises five times the blind, let the hand go because she probably has something good
- If you win a string of hands in a row, become more and more willing to fold any given hand to your opponent. The psychological strangeness of losing several hands in a row is tough, and players are more likely to bite you harder when they get a hand if they haven't eaten in a long while. To combat this blind aggression, let go of the occasional hand so you can ultimately win more. If you thought your opponent was frustrated when he couldn't get a hand, imagine if you fold right away when he has A-A.
- If you run across an opponent who seems to want to push all-in or over bets every hand, play super tight. Fold everything until you hold extremely strong starting cards (Hold'em: A-8 or better or a pair of 9s or better; Seven-Card Stud: pair of 9s or better or three cards 10 or higher; Omaha: four cards 10 or better or a pair of 10s or better) and then fire back hard. You almost guarantee yourself a mathematical edge this way, but you should be prepared for the occasional bad beat.
