Why Heads-Up No Limit Hold’ Em Poker is the way to go
Online poker players are always looking for an edge, whether it’s taking advantage of a deposit bonus, cashing in on a rakeback deal, utilizing software like Holdem Manager, or finding a strategic edge at the tables. This final detail is where heads-up play comes in: Learning the intricacies of heads-up play is one of the best ways to increase your profits at a No Limit Hold’ Em poker table, and these advantages will be the focus of this article.
More Hands = More Money
If you are a winning online poker player you understand that success is measured in hands played: The more hands you play, the more money you will win. This makes your goal in poker quite simple: Play as many hands as you can, in as short a time period as you can! For example, if you average $100 profit for every 500 hands you play your win-rate would be $.20 a hand. So, if you were somehow able to play 1,000 hands in the same amount of time, you would win twice as much: $200. You’d be playing more hands in the same amount of time; and more hands = more money!
Switching to heads-up play allows you to see two, three, or even four or more times as many hands as you can in a full ring or 6-max game, so your win-rate will skyrocket!
Better Reads
During a typical game of Texas Hold’ Em –Full ring or short-handed– it takes a while to understand how the different people at the table are playing and what their tendencies are. The reason for this is that the poker players you find in a typical online poker games, with six to ten players, only get involved in a hand sporadically, and even fewer of their hands warrant going all the way to showdown. Therefore, it takes time for you to develop good reads on the players in the game.
Well, heads-up play solves that problem immediately. Not only will your opponent be playing virtually every hand –hands with more showdown value as well– but you only have one opponent you have to keep an eye on! You don’t have to worry about watching multiple opponents; your attention can be focused on a single player. This is why heads-up play gives you more information in a shorter amount of time in which you can base your decisions on.
Fish-Finder
Heads-up play also helps you identify a dangerous player very quickly: If you sit down at a heads-up online poker table and a player is simply running over you, it could be a hot streak, or the player could be better than you (yes, it is possible). If a player is crushing you, and you are unable to get a read on him, you are probably up against a very solid player. On the other hand, if a player is luckboxing into hand after hand you know it’s only a hot streak.
In this way, heads-up poker helps you quickly identify the good players and the bad players: And in poker the key to success is not always how good you are; it’s how good –or bad as the case may be—your opponent is! And when you find a fish in heads-up online poker you have hit the jackpot! This player is belongs solely to you until one of you decides to leave the table; you won’t be splitting up the fish’s chip-stack with any other players.
Practice Makes Perfect
Above I described how you see more hands and can make better reads on your opponents playing heads-up poker, but you will also be involved in numerous hands yourself; which gives you the opportunity to develop your own skills as a poker player.
In poker, practice truly does make perfect, and in heads-up play you will be able to practice in just about every conceivable area of the game: Flop textures, bluffing scenarios, adjusting to different players, reading hands, working on your table image, thinking on different levels: In heads-up play you will be making decision after decision allowing you to improve in many areas.
Tournament Relevance
An overlooked area where heads-up play will help your online poker game is in tournaments. Very few poker players, outside of Sit & Go grinders, have much heads-up experience –and even their experience in heads-up situations pales in comparison to heads-up cash game players—which will give you a tremendous advantage if you find yourself at the final table of an online poker tournament.
True, these situations will not be all that common, but the beauty of a tournament is how top-heavy the prize structure is: For instance, the difference between finishing 1st in the PokerStars Sunday Million and finishing 4th is a difference of about 3-to-1: Earning $75,000 or $220,000! Having the skills to close out a big tournament –WSOP, WPT, or EPT–could mean the difference between making a nice score and being set for life.
So there you have it; five reasons why you should be playing heads-up No Limit Hold’ Em. Making the switch to heads-up play can be as beneficial as a sweet sign-up bonus or rakeback deal.
Author: Alex Galin
Website: http://www.rakebackinn.com – Sign Up Today – for the Best Online Poker Rakeback Deals!
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