Heads-Up Help!!

WINKY911

Hi All

I Have a thread going in the General Poker section about trying to turn a complete novice (me) into a competent poker player. Started the challenge at the begining of Feb and am up around £10 playing NL4 only.
My question is I played a little HU today and really enjoyed it although I lost around a buy-in and would appriciate input on the following.

1, Do people think HU is a good way to help improve my game or should i be concentrating on 6 max?

2, Can we expect more variance in HU as opposed to 6 max?

3, What should my opening, calling and re-raise ranges be?

4, What should my opening bet sizes be? Today I varied it between min raises and 3x but found I was getting called by any two cards should I be playing my strong hands like I do in 6 max raising 4-5 x etc.

5, Any other tips on HU would be brilliant.

Sorry for all the questions any help would be much appreciated.

Cheers
Wayne

KKrippler

Head up SNG's are a great way to build a bankroll and get a good grasp of No Limit Poker.

Playing the £1, £2 and £3 SNG are very soft, play tight and value bet all ur good hands. 

Opening raise between 2.5 to 3x, nothing higher.

Play the opponent, easy to say but try to c if ur oppenent is a nit or if he/she is a station. Some players are so easy to get value from, there also the players to never bluff.

Theres load more to say but Im too lazy, gl in your poker quest. 

EvilPingu

In Response to Heads-Up Help!!:

1, Do people think HU is a good way to help improve my game or should i be concentrating on 6 max? 2, Can we expect more variance in HU as opposed to 6 max? 3, What should my opening, calling and re-raise ranges be? 4, What should my opening bet sizes be? Today I varied it between min raises and 3x but found I was getting called by any two cards should I be playing my strong hands like I do in 6 max raising 4-5 x etc. 5, Any other tips on HU would be brilliant. Sorry for all the questions any help would be much appreciated. Cheers Wayne
Posted by WINKY911

1) HU is very important if you want to improve your game. You can't win a tournament without playing HU

2) Depends what you're playing, I imagine. HU Hyper STT's will have massive variance, whereas the slower STT's will be lower variance.

3) I'd open most hands on the button. Some people will just raise ATC on the button, I open most, but not all hands. You don't have to play 8 high just because you're on the button - you can throw it away, it's only a small blind.

4) It doesn't matter too much what your opening raise is, whether you go for min raise, 2.5x, or 3x - As long as you're raising the same amount every time, then you just have to find a raise size that you think is best. If you raise 5x with premium hands, and 3x with everything else, people will notice.

In Response to Heads-Up Help!!:

My question is I played a little HU today and really enjoyed it although I lost around a buy-in and would appriciate input on the following.
Posted by WINKY911

I assume that by "Lost a buy-in", you were playing NL4 HU? If so, stop, because the rake will kill you - you'd be better off playing STT's instead.