Adapting Your Play In Heads Up

Marcus Bateman / Marcus Bateman / 02 May 2009 / Leave a Comment

Most of heads up play comes down to trying to quickly adapt to your opponents playing style(s) if and when they change. This is because heads up poker is primarily a game of bluff and marginal hands, where any predictable behavior can easily be taken advantage of by the skilled player.

This is the reason that heads up poker is arguably the most skilled variant of poker. As you cannot simply sit back and wait for hands, you have to be in the thick of the action, and as a result any leaks and predictable aspects of your game will become apparent very quickly. Because of this, by far the easiest opponents to beat when playing heads up are those with only one gear.

Players that just sit back and play one style get eaten alive at heads up poker. As you have to be changing your gears and constantly re-balancing your ranges in the context of the action in previous hands, just playing one style is a very dangerous game. These players basically only make money from the very worst heads up players, those people who sit down with their whole roll or the such, and one gear players get eaten alive by the next level of players - the basic adapters.

Basic adapters are common throughout the low and mid limit heads up games and typically live off the predictable heads up players. These players understand that they should be trying to adapt to their opponents style, and will frequently make plays that look very marginal or unorthodox due to the actions of previous hands and their reads on the opponent. These players are usually profitable and can beat most players except the advanced adapters.

Advanced adapters are the truly great heads up players. They occupy the mid and high limits and are by far the most profitable players. They not only understand that they should be adjusting to their opponents style, but also understand what level their opponent is also thinking at, and make their adaptations with a constant eye on what effect it will have on their opponents. They easily stay one step ahead of basic adapters because they understand how the basic adapter will adjust and so adjust their behavior at the same time, making the basic adapters change actually the wrong strategy due to the advanced adapters preemptive change. These players are extremely dangerous and should generally be avoided once you identify them.

Constant adjustment is critical to stay one step ahead of your opposition in heads up poker. By thinking about what level your opponent is on and making your plays accordingly you will quickly establish a large edge over any weak player. Look for predictability and weakness, try and establish if and when your opponent is capable of change and let the dollars roll in.

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