There has been a lot of action in the online poker rooms on the heads up poker tables lately and this is in large part due to several reasons. The number one reason they have become so popular is because they are generally quick and you only need to beat one opponent. It’s a lot easier to learn the game of one opponent then it is to learn the game of a whole table of poker players. We’re going to go through some simple heads up strategy which will help you when you’re playing in heads up tournaments online. You can find tournaments starting as low as $5 and going all the way up to $1000+ if you’re a high roller. Another major reason is because of the NBC Heads Up Poker Tournaments that are going on right now every Sunday morning on NBC.

* You need to be willing to raise the pot often when you play heads up poker. You don’t need to raise the pot preflop that often unless you want to, but after the flop you need to bet and raise the pot to find out where you stand in the pot. Often when an opponent leads out with a small bet they’re just trying to steal the pot, so put in a small raise and find out where you stand. If they fold then you win the pot and if they don’t you know they probably have a hand.

* Since any two cards can win preflop I don’t recommend raising preflop that often unless you’re just trying to steal the blinds that round. A lot of players will call a raise preflop with almost anything so you don’t really need to raise the pot when you have a good hand. You only do this on a full table to make most of the marginal hands fold, but heads up you won’t scare many opponents out preflop with a raise. Save your betting until you see the flop and find out how well your hand stood up.

* If you try and execute a bluff and your opponent calls you or raises you then just give up on the idea of bluffing that hand. A lot of players will fire another bullet in this situation which is just what your opponent wants you to do. When you’re beat you need to be one of the first to realize it so that you can save yourself some money in the hand.

* If you like action then heads up poker might not work for you because most of the game is spent betting or folding. You’ll either bet and win the pot or your opponent will bet and win the pot. Not often will you both get mixed up into a hand, but when you do it will usually determine who will win the heads up tournament.

* If your opponent is winning a lot of small hands don’t become discouraged because all it takes is one big hand to get back into the game. Often the player who wins heads up matches will win less pots then the other player, but the pots the winner wins are much bigger then the pots his/her opponent wins.