Applying the pressure

Heads Up / Marcus Bateman / 01 March 2011 / Leave a Comment

It is crucial when you pull away in heads-up matches that you really up your aggression levels and punish the short stack as hard as possible.

One of the hallmarks of all good tournament heads-up players is the ability to lean hard on opponents once they start falling behind. This is a core skill in poker, as heads-up poker is a game of momentum and flow, and not letting up on players when they start lagging behind can be the difference between allowing huge comebacks and cruising to simple wins.

It is very hard to stay positive and aggressive when your opponent has a decent lead over you. They not only have more bullets in their stack to make more complex plays, but they have more opportunities to bust you. In heads-up games the hand match ups are typically very marginal, and it is usually very hard to survive multiple all ins against an aggressive big stack no matter what you do.

It is crucial when you pull away in heads-up matches that you really up your aggression levels and punish the short stack as hard as possible. It is hard enough to survive the unrelenting blinds in heads-up poker when playing a full stack, but is near impossible with a very short stack in the face of a highly aggressive big stack. Letting up the aggression levels is usually a bad idea in any form of poker, but especially so in this spot, where it is a huge mistake letting the short stack find a path back.

Conversely, when playing short in the face of a stacked opponent, it is crucial you have the heart to make a stand and try and get back in the game as quickly as possible. Every hand you give up in heads-up games costs you quite a lot as the endless blinds tear at your stack. It is generally a better bet to take a slightly higher risk with a bigger stack in heads-up tournaments than wait for more secure bets with big hands; as by waiting for too long for good hands, you don't even do much other than get back to square one even if you do win the hand.

Poker is won or lost over the same situations that all parties face over time. Making sure you maximise your win rate when ahead and minimize your losses when behind is crucial to dominating the heads up games, and it essential that you apply as much pressure as possible when you get ahead.

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