Texas Hold Em Heads Up

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Kongregate free online game Texas Hold 'Em Poker: Heads Up - Improve your poker game! Play no-limit Texas Hold 'em poker in a 3D first-person perspective a. It plays is heads-up limit Texas hold'em poker, a game with over 1014 information sets, and a chal-lenge problem for artificial intelligence for over 10 years. Cepheus was trained using a new vari-ant of Counterfactual Regret Minimization (CFR), called CFR+, using 4800 CPUs running for 68 days. In this paper we describe in detail the en.

If you're new to the heads up game, you can really get crushed by rushing in blindly. Proper heads up strategy is vastly different than normal No Limit Hold'em Strategy, and you need to make the correct adjustments in order to beat your opponents and make money. I recommend following the 10 tips below to help you get started and learn the basics, then read the rest of our heads up poker strategy to fine tune your game. Good luck.

Tip #1 - Open it Up

The first tip you need is to open up your starting hand ranges. Since you only have two players at the table, the average starting hand that sees the flop is going to be much worse than at a normal 9-handed table. Because of this you should open up your starting hand range.

Mobile casino expert. You can't afford to wait for premium hands while playing heads up because you're in the blinds every hand. I recommend playing the majority of your hands as the big blind, and playing damn near every single hand when you're the dealer. Learn more differences between heads up and 9 handed poker.

Tip #2 - Play Your Position

Position becomes a huge factor in heads up poker, because you are either in the best position or in the worst position every hand: there is no in between. Like I mentioned before, I recommend playing every single hand when you're in dealer position. When you're the dealer, you'll post the small blind, act first preflop, and act last on the flop and beyond. When you're the small blind, you'll post the big blind, act last preflop, and act first on the flop and beyond.

Because of this, you want to be really aggressive preflop as the dealer, and raise with a wide range of hands (think any pocket pair, any suited connector, and two big cards, etc). Also, you should be more conservative as the big blind, and respect raises from the dealer.

Tip #3 - Remember Hand Values

As I mentioned in tip #1, the starting hand values go way up in heads up poker. The same goes for showdown hands. The average winning hand in heads up poker will be much worse than the average winning hand at a 9-handed game, so adjust accordingly. Even hands like middle pair or second worst pair are still decent hands and will probably win an uncontested pot, so bet them out.

Tip #4 - Semi-Bluff When Possible

A great way to pick up a bunch of pots in heads up poker is by firing out smallish bets into un raised pots. When I'm playing heads up I like to bet a ton of flops as long as I get any piece; even a straight draw or bottom pair is worth taking a shot on the flop. If my opponent calls I'll slow down, but most passive opponents will toss basically any hand but top pair or maybe second pair to a bet.

Tip #5 - Spot Bluff Attempts

This is basically the opposite of the above tip. If you're playing an aggressive opponent, you'll have to make a stand to prevent constant semi-bluffs and preflop raises. I like to re-raise on occasion preflop, and to call the majority of the flop bets to see if my opponent will bet again on the turn and river. Even if you only have middle pair you should look him/her up to keep them honest, or he/she will continue to pummel you in every pot.

Tip #6 - Make Value Bets

This relates to tip #3 because with lower winning hands you'll have to extract value from hands you normally wouldn't. For example, when you have middle pair on the river you should bet because it is likely you're ahead and will get called by third pair or worse. Also, when you have an extremely strong hand I like to make small bets on the flop, turn, and a larger bet on the river to get maximum value out of my opponent by reeling them in.

Tip #7 - Adjust to your Opponent

Throughout the course of a heads up battle, you'll gain reads on your opponent, and he/she will gain reads on your play as well. As you pick up common plays and tendencies of your opponent, you need to make adjustments to counter their most used moves. For example, if you notice that your opponent is always checking the flop and betting the turn when he/she flops top pair, make sure to fold more on the turn if that same situation comes up.

Tip #8 - Switch up your Game

This is just the opposite of the last tip. As you're picking up reads on your opponent, he/she will be doing the same. Because of this you need to switch up your play to keep them guessing, especially if you are in a long heads up battle that spans over an hour. To keep your opponents on their toes, make sure to alternate between betting flops and checking them when you hit, and throw in an occasional strange play like a big bluff or a check-raise. Learn more about switching up your game.

Tip #9 - Be a Finisher

This is an important tip for heads up players. When you battle your opponent down to a small stack, you have to finish him/her off and not let him/her back into the match. To do this, you can't give them any easy double ups or get lazy and call off big bets. The easiest way to let a crippled opponent back into a match is to call preflop all-ins with a poor hand just to try to knock them out. Continue to play your normal game, and you'll finish them off quickly.

Tip #10 - Stick to Your Bankroll

One common mistake that new players make is playing heads up cash tables with their whole bankroll. This is a big mistake, and will almost surely leave you broke. I recommend never playing with more than 1/10th of your entire bankroll if you're a casual player, or more than 1/50th of your stack if you're a professional or serious player.

Heads Up Texas Hold Em

More Heads Up Poker Strategy:

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Introduction

Heads Up Hold 'Em is an Ultimate Texas Hold 'Em variant by Galaxy Gaming, based on Texas Hold 'Em. The player may raise his bet one time, and has three opportunities to do so. The earlier he raises, the more he can bet. How to download snapchat on ipad air. The main differences between Heads Up Hold 'Em and Ultimate Texas Hold 'Em are in the former the player may raise only 3x his Ante bet before the flop, but the game includes bad beat bonuses for losing with a straight or higher.

Rules

Following are the rules for Heads Up Hold 'Em. For those used to the terminology in Ultimate Texas Hold 'Em, what is called the Blind there called the Odds bet here.

  1. The game is played with a single ordinary 52-card deck.
  2. The player must make an equal bet on both the Ante and Odds.
  3. Two cards are dealt face down to the player and dealer. The player may look at his own cards.
  4. The player can check or make a Play bet equal to three times the Ante.
  5. The dealer turns over three community cards.
  6. If the player previously checked, then he may make a Play bet equal to two times his Ante or check again. If the player already made a Play bet, then he may not bet further.
  7. Two final community cards are turned over.
  8. If the player previously checked twice, then he must either make a Play bet equal to exactly his Ante, or fold, losing both his Ante and Odds bets. If the player already raised he may not bet further.
  9. The player and dealer will both make the best possible hand using any combination of their own two cards and the five community cards.
  10. The dealer will need at least a pair to open.
  11. The following table shows how the Ante, Odds, and Play bets are scored, according to who wins, and whether the dealer opens.

    Scoring Rules

    WinnerDealer OpensAntePlayOdds
    PlayerYesWinWinSee rule 12
    PlayerNoPushWinSee rule 12
    DealerYesLoseLoseSee rule 12
    DealerNoPushLoseLose
    TieYes or NoPushPushPush
  12. Winning Ante and Play bets pay 1 to 1. Winning Odds bets pay according to value of the hand and whether it wins or loses. The following pay table shows what winning Odds bets pay.

    Winning Odds Bet Pay Table

    HandPays
    Royal Flush500
    Straight Flush50
    Quads10
    Full House3
    Flush1.5
    Straight1
    All OtherPush

    Galaxy Gaming, the game owner, has four different pay tables for losing blind bets, as follows.

    Losing Odds Bet Pay Table

    HandPay Table
    1234
    Straight Flush500500500500
    Quads50505025
    Full House1010106
    Flush8655
    Straight5544
    All OtherLossLossLossLoss
  13. In addition, there are two side bets, that pay based on the player's cards only, the Trips Plus and Pocket Bonus. These side bets are explained after the analysis of the base game.

Strategy

The player should make the 3X raise with any pair except deuces. Otherwise, use the following table shows when to make the large 3X raise.

The strategy for the medium and small raise are the same as in Ultimate Texas Hold 'Em, as follows:

Medium Raise: Make the 2X raise with any of the following:

  • Two pair or better.
  • Hidden pair*, except pocket deuces.
  • Four to a flush including a hidden 10 or better to that flush

* Hidden pair = Any pair with at least one card in your hole cards (thus the pair is hidden to the dealer).

Small Raise: Make the 1X raise with any of the following, otherwise fold:

  • Hidden pair or better.
  • Less than 21 dealer outs beat you.

Heads Up Texas Holdem Free

For a more powerful small and medium raise strategy, I recommend the James Grossjean strategy card for Ultimate Texas Hold 'Em.

Analysis

The following table shows all possible outcomes of each hand, what it pays, the probability, and contribution to the return under the losing Odds bet pay table number 1 (the one that goes 500-50-10-8-5). The lower right cell shows a house edge of 2.36%.

Return TableExpand

PlayerRaiseDealer
Qualifies
WinnerPaysCombinationsProbabilityReturn
Fold-25,498,078,560,9200.197674-0.395349
Less than pair1NoDealer-260,518,663,4240.002176-0.004352
Straight flush1YesDealer49820,279,1000.0000010.000363
Four of a kind1YesDealer481,726,735,9800.0000620.002980
Full house1YesDealer810,082,720,2200.0003630.002900
Flush1YesDealer649,072,032,2160.0017640.010586
Straight1YesDealer347,952,010,7200.0017240.005172
Less than straight1YesDealer-33,006,630,550,1640.108098-0.324295
Anything1Y/NPush0455,081,939,8240.0163620.000000
Royal flush1NoPlayer5016,914,8800.0000000.000125
Straight flush1NoPlayer51279,004,3200.0000100.000512
Four of a kind1NoPlayer11-0.0000000.000000
Full house1NoPlayer4-0.0000000.000000
Flush1NoPlayer2.543,096,215,6000.0015490.003874
Straight1NoPlayer2145,034,240,5800.0052140.010429
Less than straight1NoPlayer1816,981,676,8240.0293730.029373
Royal flush1YesPlayer50246,580,7600.0000020.000841
Straight flush1YesPlayer522,023,968,5880.0000730.003784
Four of a kind1YesPlayer12964,337,3280.0000350.000416
Full house1YesPlayer546,108,374,1920.0016580.008289
Flush1YesPlayer3.5202,016,746,2360.0072630.025421
Straight1YesPlayer3421,268,280,0800.0151460.045438
Less than straight1YesPlayer21,600,861,520,2040.0575560.115113
Less than pair2NoDealer-311,023,268,7840.000396-0.001189
Straight flush2YesDealer49716,724,4600.0000010.000299
Four of a kind2YesDealer47311,575,4600.0000110.000527
Full house2YesDealer718,705,932,5800.0006730.004708
Flush2YesDealer527,615,003,6640.0009930.004964
Straight2YesDealer221,031,977,4400.0007560.001512
Less than straight2YesDealer-41,979,644,169,3840.071175-0.284699
Anything2Y/NPush0214,144,135,7200.0076990.000000
Royal flush2NoPlayer50211,938,6800.0000000.000215
Straight flush2NoPlayer52397,598,4000.0000140.000743
Four of a kind2NoPlayer12-0.0000000.000000
Full house2NoPlayer5-0.0000000.000000
Flush2NoPlayer3.545,718,738,9200.0016440.005753
Straight2NoPlayer353,068,201,3800.0019080.005724
Less than straight2NoPlayer21,207,385,216,7120.0434100.086819
Royal flush2YesPlayer503147,692,8800.0000050.002671
Straight flush2YesPlayer533,016,851,6120.0001080.005749
Four of a kind2YesPlayer1320,440,911,3120.0007350.009554
Full house2YesPlayer6320,575,227,4080.0115260.069155
Flush2YesPlayer4.5183,447,763,4040.0065960.029680
Straight2YesPlayer4158,035,798,3600.0056820.022728
Less than straight2YesDealer32,415,318,761,2800.0868390.260516
Less than pair3NoDealer-466,873,993,6000.002404-0.009617
Straight flush3YesDealer49614,499,4000.0000010.000259
Four of a kind3YesDealer46316,891,1200.0000110.000524
Full house3YesDealer613,387,474,0800.0004810.002888
Flush3YesDealer420,484,007,0800.0007360.002946
Straight3YesDealer122,371,396,7200.0008040.000804
Less than straight3YesDealer-53,136,124,565,4000.112754-0.563771
Anything3Y/NPush0223,641,379,5200.0080410.000000
Royal flush3NoPlayer50386,472,3600.0000030.001564
Straight flush3NoPlayer53180,911,8800.0000070.000345
Four of a kind3NoPlayer13-0.0000000.000000
Full house3NoPlayer6-0.0000000.000000
Flush3NoPlayer4.541,791,833,3600.0015030.006762
Straight3NoPlayer464,386,219,8400.0023150.009260
Less than straight3NoPlayer31,317,173,128,5600.0473570.142070
Royal flush3YesPlayer504556,552,4400.0000200.010085
Straight flush3YesPlayer541,444,036,6400.0000520.002804
Four of a kind3YesPlayer1421,003,399,3600.0007550.010572
Full house3YesPlayer7261,421,403,0400.0093990.065793
Flush3YesPlayer5.5199,160,655,3600.0071600.039383
Straight3YesPlayer5195,058,020,4800.0070130.035065
Less than straight3YesPlayer43,140,424,343,7600.1129090.451635
Total27,813,810,024,0001.000000-0.023584

As shown in the lower right cell, the house edge is 2.36%. This is the expected loss to the Ante wager only. For example, if the player bets $5 on both the Ante and Odds, then his expected loss would be $5 × 0.023584 = 11.79¢.

The average final wager per hand is 3.67 units. That makes the element of risk 2.36%/3.67 = 0.64%. This means for every dollar you wager in the game, on anything, other than the side bets, you can expect to lose 0.64¢.

By comparison, the element of risk in Ultimate Texas Hold 'Em is 0.53%.

The standard deviation, relative to to the Ante bet, is 4.56.

Blinds

The next table shows the house edge and element of risk under all four losing Odds bet pay tables according to the pay table for a losing Odds bet.

House Edge Summary

HandLosing Odds Bet Pay Table
1234
Straight Flush500500500500
Quads50505025
Full House1010106
Flush8655
Straight5544
All OtherLossLossLossLoss
House edge2.36%3.06%3.73%4.55%
Element of Risk0.64%0.83%1.02%1.24%


This is full table cloth.

Trips Plus

The Trips Plus bet will pay according to the poker value of the player's hand regardless of the value of the dealer's hand. Following is an analysis of the most common pay table.

Trips Plus Return Table

HandPaysCombinationsProbabilityReturn
Royal flush1004,3240.0000320.003232
Straight flush4037,2600.0002790.011140
Four of a kind30224,8480.0016810.050420
Full house83,473,1840.0259610.207688
Flush74,047,6440.0302550.211785
Straight46,180,0200.0461940.184775
Three of a kind36,461,6200.0482990.144896
All other-1113,355,6600.847300-0.847300
Total133,784,5601.000000-0.033363

The next table shows four known pay tables for the Trips Plus.

Trips Plus Pay Tables

HandPay Table
1234
Royal flush100100100100
Straight flush40404040
Four of a kind30303030
Full house9887
Flush7676
Straight4545
Three of a kind3333
All other-1-1-1-1
Total-0.74%-1.74%-3.34%-4.34%

Pocket Bonus

The Pocket Bonus bet will pay according to the value of the player's two hole cards. https://out-os-carefree-petersome-spaced-njuo-mac.peatix.com. The follow tables show what each two cards pays, the probability, and contribution to the total return for each known pay table for the Pocket Bonus.

Pocket Bonus — Pay Table 1

HandPaysCombinationsProbabilityReturn
Pair of aces3060.0045250.135747
Ace & face suited20120.0090500.180995
Ace & face unsuited10360.0271490.271493
Pair 2s - Ks5720.0542990.271493
Loser-11,2000.904977-0.904977
Total1,3261.000000-0.045249

Pocket Bonus — Pay Table 2

HandPaysCombinationsProbabilityReturn
Pair of aces2560.0045250.113122
Ace & face suited20120.0090500.180995
Ace & face unsuited10360.0271490.271493
Pair 2s - Ks5720.0542990.271493
Loser-11,2000.904977-0.904977
Total1,3261.000000-0.067873

Pocket Bonus — Pay Table 3

Heads Up Holdem Poker

HandPaysCombinationsProbabilityReturn
Pair of aces3060.0045250.135747
Ace & face suited20120.0090500.180995
Ace & face unsuited10360.0271490.271493
Pair 2s - Ks4720.0542990.217195
Loser-11,2000.904977-0.904977
Total1,3261.000000-0.099548

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank Charles Mousseau and Stephen How for their assistance, which confirmed my analysis. Thanks to Charles also for his advice on the medium and small raise strategy.

Texas Holdem Heads Up Tips

Internal Links

Detailed calculations on some starting hands.

Texas Hold'em Heads Up Odds

Extneral Links

Play Heads Up Hold 'Em at the Galaxy Gaming web site. Casino slots win real money. One click and you're playing.


Written by:Michael Shackleford



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