After reading a couple articles on heads up play on Pocketfives I figured I could also be of some assistance. I'm going to try and go over some common situations that often come up:


Playing the player who over-values top pair

These are most likely the easiest opponents to play against. There is never any reason to slow play hands against someone who is capable of going bust with just top pair/no kicker. <READMORE> For example: The flop comes down 2 8 J rainbow and you are holding 88. I see so many players check this type of flop. Why? Your best option is to bet at the pot and hope you get raised. If the player is holding a hand like JQ, he's willing to go broke with it. Checking can lead to a scare card coming on the turn and greatly reducing your chances of busting this player.


Inducing bluffs

So you notice that every time you check the turn, your opponent is firing out a pot-sized bet on the river. Odds are he's either floating you or betting a missed draw. One way to combat this is to bet your big hands on the flop and then check the turn behind him. For example: You raise on the button with AQ and you get called. The flop comes down Q Q 5. You Bet 3/4 of the pot and you get called. The turn is a blank, and it's checked to you. Remembering the tendency of the player to bet the pot on the river, you check behind him. Of course he fires out a pot-sized bet on the river. You move in, and he folds sheepishly. You may even get called by a weaker hand here, as you have disguised your hand very well.


Bluffing

For a bluff to work, it has to make sense. You're playing a guy who ALWAYS check-raises his strong hands. He doesn't like to get mixed up in a huge pot unless he's confident he has the best of it. As usual, you raise it up on the button with 78s. You pick up a gutshot straight draw on a 4 5 10 board. The enemy leads out for a big bet. This doesn't make much sense. He hasn't led out before. He has always check-raised his big hands. Your best option is to raise here, as his most likely holding is a straight draw. A huge raise is not needed. Try and raise 2.5X his bet. If he calls, you can be absolutely sure he's on a draw. If a blank falls, you move all in, and if one of the straight cards comes, you simply check behind and hope you hit your gutterball.


Mixing your play up

Notice how I described how to bluff a player. He set himself up to be bluffed. Don't let yourself get set up. Mix your play up. Lead out with absolute monsters, trash hands, and draws. Play huge hands the same way you would play garbage. Being unpredictable really puts a ton of stress on the other player. I was once playing vs a player who called every single one of my lead out bets. I didn't have much, so I was often forced to fold to his pot sized bet on the turn. I knew that soon enough I was going to pick up a big hand and make him pay. He limped, and I checked with 55. The flop came 5 9 2, and I led out for pot. Of course he called, as expected. When a J came on the turn, I check-called his pot-sized bet. I wanted him to think I was afraid of the J. The river was an A, and I again checked to him. This time he over bet the pot, and I pushed all in. He called with A7. Had I never led out with trash to begin with, this hand wouldn't have played out the same way.

Playing heads up can take some time to get used to. The best advice I can give is to constantly take notes on how a player plays certain hands. Keep the hand history open so you can see what they are showing down. Oh yeah, suck out when you need to!
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