NL Heads-up: Pre-flop Play
Introduction
In this article
- which hands to play from the small blind
- how much to raise from the small blind
- which hands to play from the big blind
- when to 3-bet and when to call
The pre-flop game is the very foundation of any poker strategy. In a heads-up you will have to pay blinds every single hand because you will always be in the big blind or small blind. This changes the dynamics of the game significantly compared to a full-ring or short-handed table.
In this article you will learn about the basic pre-flop strategies of a No-Limit Hold'em Heads-up game. You will learn which hands you can play pre-flop and how. You will also learn how to defend the big blind and how to adjust to different types of opponents.
How to play from the Small Blind?
If you are in the small blind you are first to act pre-flop. Also you have invested less money than your opponent. Consequently, every raise can be seen as an attack on the blinds (steal-raise). You make a profit every time your raise makes the opponent fold.
Hence it makes sense to raise strong hands for value and raise weaker hands also, instead of just calling. Furthermore it makes it more difficult for your opponent to put you on a hand so it helps to deceive your opponent.
Another reason why you should openraise loosely from the small blind, is your post-flop position. It is common on all poker sites to give the dealer button to the small blind. It means the small blind is first to act pre-flop but he is in position post-flop and can observe his opponent before making any decisions.
There is no consensus with regards to a standard openraising range. However, it makes sense in theory and practice, to play about 70% of your hands, when playing against an unknown opponent.
This is what a 70% range could look like:
22+, A2s+, K2s+, Q2s+, J2s+, T2s+, 94s+, 84s+,
74s+, 64s+, 53s+, 43s, 32s, A2o+, K2o+, Q4o+, J6o+, T6o+, 97o+, 86o+,
75o+, 65o, 54o
As a beginner, if you don't feel comfortable in marginal post-flop spots you can pick a slightly tighter range. A 60% range for beginners could look like this:
22+, A2s+, K2s+, Q2s+, J4s+, T6s+, 96s+, 86s+, 75s+, 64s+, 54s, 43s, A2o+, K4o+, Q6o+, J7o+, T7o+, 97o+, 86o+, 75o+, 65o, 54o
In a heads-up a pot size openraise has become the norm, just like in other games. You raise to 3BB to give your opponent pot odds of 2:1 (4BB in the pot, 2BB to call).
Some pre-flop strategies use different raise sizes. Given certain adaptations it can make sense to raise 2BB or 2.5BB. Raising to 4BB can sometimes also be profitable. It can even be most profitable to just limp pre-flop in certain situations.
This article will look at a strategy where standard openraises are 3BB.
In a heads-up it is very important to constantly adapt to your opponents game. On lower limits you might get lucky and your opponent will barely change his strategy during the match or not change it at all.
Some general guidelines:
If your opponent folds a lot (before and after the flop) you should openraise very loosely. In this case you can even take a lot of bad hands into your range. If your opponent folds very little it is better to openraise a tighter range and mainly play hands that could win you a showdown.
You should also adapt your openraising range depending on how passively or aggressively your opponent defends his blinds. Against an opponent who defends actively i.e. re-raises a lot, you should openraise hands that you can call a re-raise with. If your opponent defends passively and calls a lot, you can openraise weaker hands as well, if they have good playability.
You should 4-bet very good hands (JJ+, AK) in most cases and even call a push.
With medium-strong hands (like good broadway cards, medium pocket pairs, and high suited-connectors) you can usually call profitably, in case of a 3-bet. You are in position which is a big advantage post-flop. You can control the pot size reasonably well and see a cheap showdown with marginal hands.
If your opponent 3-bets a lot you should only openraise a very tight range. Given the tight range you should be able to continue with most hands against a 3-bet. You opponent will have a weak range and will have to play out of position for the rest of the hand after the flop.
If your opponent makes very small 3-bets, you will get very good odds and can call with very many hands. You should only fold very bad hands, because all hands with decent playability or equity become profitable.
Stacks & Stats
Hero ($50)
BB ($50) (20/3.5/101) [VPIP_BB/3BET/Hands]
Pre-flop: Hero is SB with 7
, 2
; Hero posts a blind of $0,25.
Hero ?
Your opponent in the big blind has a VPIP of 20% and a 3-bet value of 3.5%. This means he does not defend many hands. You have raised a loose range and Villain has not shown any signs of adaptation to your style.
Basically, any hand can be raised profitably against this opponent because pre-flop fold-equity alone will be enough to make it a profitable line. If your opponent continues to play tight from the big blind out, you can theoretically raise any two cards profitably from the small blind.
Most opponents adapt after a while if you take advantage of their weaknesses too much. Hence it helps to occasionally fold a weak hand. This way your opponent won't feel as pressured and is likely to adapt much slower to your aggressive style.
Stacks & Stats
Hero ($50)
BB ($50) (60/3.5/101) [VPIP_BB/3BET/Hands]
Pre-flop: Hero is SB with 5, 4; Hero posts a blind of $0,25.
Hero ?
Your opponent has a VPIP
of 60% in the big blind but a 3-bet value of only 3.5%. This means that he only defends very few hands actively but does defend a lot of hands passively.
Your hand has poor equity (a lousy 36% against the calling range of your opponent) and you cannot assume that your opponent will fold a lot of the time.
Despite your hand's reasonable playability, it will only be profitable on rare occasions. Even if you hit a pair on the flop you will be rather lost. You will only flop an OESD 10% of the time and make Two-Pair 2% of the time.
Against such an opponent, you should simply fold the hand.
Stacks & Stats
Hero ($50)
BB ($50) (40/33/101) [VPIP_BB/3BET/Hands]
Pre-flop: Hero is SB with 5, 4, Hero posts a blind of $0,25.
Hero ?
Your opponent has a VPIP
of 40% in the big blind and an impressive 3-bet value of 33%. He does not fold a lot to your openraises and 3-bets an extreme amount of hands. So far he's been playing post-flop very aggressively, and despite being in position you'll have a hard time gaining ground against him.
Against this opponent you can openraise a tight range and fold any hand that you don't want to call a 3-bet with. Despite your opponents weak range and the great playability of your hand, a fold is the best decision until you can size up your opponent better and have figured out a way to outplay him.
The best strategy in this case would be to openraise only strong hands and play them for value.
Stacks & Stats
Hero ($50)
BB ($50) (40/33/101) [VPIP_BB/3BET/Hands]
Pre-flop: Hero is SB with A, J; Hero posts a blind of $0,25.
Hero raises to $1,50, BB raises to $5, Hero ?
Now you hold AJs against the same opponent and lead out with a raise. Your opponent 3-bets you once again, like he has already done every third time. Against your opponent's range your hand holds a lot of equity (about 61%) so you should 4-bet him. This makes your opponent decide between folding a lot of hands or playing a weak range against you post flop.
Now you can't fold to a push. Even if your opponent only goes all-in with the top sixth of his hands (88+, ATs+, KQs, AKo), you have an equity of 39% which is enough for a call.
Stacks & Stats
Hero ($50)
BB ($50) (30/12/101) [VPIP_BB/3BET/Hands]
Pre-flop: Hero is SB with T,7; Hero posts a blind of $0,25.
Hero raises to $1,50, BB raises to $2,50, Hero ?
Your opponent has a VPIP of 30% from the big blind and a 3-bet value of 12%. He does not fold a lot and he doesn't 3-bet an unusual number of hands. Usually you can simply fold a hand like T7s.
In this case, however, your opponent only raises the minimum amount of $1. Hence you get the unbelievable pot odds of 4:1. You only need to win the hand every fifth time you play it after the flop (implied odds not taken into account).
You should be able to play T7s. Your equity is acceptable and so is the playability of the hand. Given the advantageous pot odds you can make the call in position.
How to play from the big blind?
The problem in the big blind is that you will play out of position after the flop. Especially in No-Limit Hold'em that is a real disadvantage. However, you can still play a lot of hands profitably, especially if your opponent openraises a loose range.
Even if your opponent is very aggressive, and playing him out of position poses a challenge, there are some hands that you should always defend. A range that you can almost always defend is the following:
22+, A7s+, K9s+, Q9s+, J9s+, T8s+, 97s+, 87s, 76s, 65s, 54s, A9o+, KTo+, QTo+, JTo
This range consists of very strong hands (high face cards, high pocketpairs) and hands with very good playability (suited connectors, suited one gappers,
small pocketpairs). Depending on the situation, you can add more strong hands, or hands with good playability to the range.
Several factors have an impact on the call vs. re-raise decision. You should always 3-bet very strong hands for value. Those hands are at least TT+, AJs+, KQs,
AQo+.
Hands with bad equity and good playability
((off-)suited connectors, suited one gappers, small pocketpairs) gain strength through implied odds and fold-equity. You should 3-bet them against opponents who fold a lot and only call with their very best hands.
If your opponent 3-bets a lot of hands you are better off simply calling with those hands. A lot of the time you'll be able to win a lot of money post flop when you make a strong hand.
Hands with medium equity and bad playability (weak broadways, medium pocketpairs) require almost the opposite strategy. 3-betting these hands does not make much sense given that your opponent only calls with his very strong hands. Often you'll be dominated and will only isolate yourself against his better range with your 3-bet. This way you're wasting any potential the hand might have.
If your opponent calls your 3-bets with too many weak hands you won't be dominated as often when you play your medium hands. You want to build up a big pot to go all-in if you make a strong hand post-flop.
If your opponent makes a lot of big openraises, it becomes less profitable to defend your hand. Your opponent won't win much more just because you fold more. Without reads on your opponent, you should only defend with very good hands against openraises of 4BB and more
If your opponent openraises very small you well get better pot odds to call the raise. Also your opponent can steal very profitably if you don't adapt. Hence you should call more against 2BB openraises.
Your 3-bet will create less fold equity against a small openraise because your opponent can call a lot being in position with a good stack to pot ratio. Hence you should 3-bet less with weak hands if your opponent openraises small amounts.
Stacks & Stats
SB ($50) (82/70/101) [VPIP_SB/FOLD_TO_3BET/Hands]
Hero ($50)
Pre-flop: Hero is BB with 5, 4; Hero posts a blind of $0,50.
SB raises to $1,50, Hero ?
Your opponent has a VPIP of 82% in the small blind and a fold to 3-bet value of 70%. He openraises a lot but only continues with a strong range against 3-bets.
Unless you have special reads that allow you to outplay your opponent after the flop a 3-bet is the most profitable play. Very often you will win the hand without a flop. If your opponent does call the 3-bet you know relatively well what range to put him on. If you make a strong hand you are unlikely to be dominated.
Stacks & Stats
SB ($50) (82/70/101) [VPIP_SB/FOLD_TO_3BET/Hands]
Hero ($50)
Pre-flop: Hero is BB with K, J; Hero posts a blind of $0,50.
SB raises to $1,50, Hero ?
You are playing against the same opponent holding a completely different hand. You are miles ahead against his openraising range and dominate a lot of his hands.
If you 3-bet your opponent will fold hands where you have him dominated and will isolate yourself against his best hands. Despite the fold equity that your 3-bet will create you should simply call because a 3-bet will destroy some of the potential profit that you can make.
Stacks & Stats
SB ($50) (70/30/101) [VPIP_SB/FOLD_TO_3BET/Hands]
Hero ($50)
Pre-flop: Hero is BB with 5, 4; Hero posts a blind of $0,50.
SB raises to $1,50, Hero ?
Once again you hold the suited connector you had in Example No. 6. However, in this example your opponents reacts very differently to 3-bets. He still openraises a loose range of 70% but only folds to 30% of your 3-bets.
This does give him a wide range but on average you are still way behind holding 45s. You have no fold equity and can't raise your hand for value.
Your opponent seems to be very loose. Hence you have good implied odds. About 25% of the time you either hit a strong draw or a made hand (two pair+) so you can continue the hand very profitably.
A fold would definitely be too weak. A call is the best alternative against this opponent.
Stacks & Stats
SB ($50) (70/30/101) [VPIP_SB/FOLD_TO_3BET/Hands]
Hero ($50)
Pre-flop: Hero is BB with K, J; Hero posts a blind of $0,50.
SB raises to $1,50, Hero ?
This time you play a suited broadway hand against the loose player that rarely folds to 3-bets. Unlike in Example No. 7 you won't isolate yourself against a better range with a 3-bet.
Against a 49% range (which is realistic given his stats) you have 56% equity. You can re-raise for value. Also your opponent's calling range includes a lot of weak Kx and Jx hands. Hence you don't need to worry too much about being dominated.
Summary
It is profitable to raise loosely in the small blind whilst defending a tight range in the big blind. You should constantly adapt to your opponent's game and react to peculiar patterns.
Whether it's better to 3-bet or flat call again depends on your opponent. While you can stick to some rough guidelines to start with, in a heads-up you have to adapt to your opponent a lot. It is all about gauging your opponent and exploiting his weaknesses.
The basic rule is to raise loosely against tight opponents and become tighter against loose opponents. Your hand range should shift towards value hands against loose opponents while you can play weak hands with good playability against tight opponents because you can create a lot of fold equity.
Other factors that influence your game are the aggressiveness and raise sizes of your opponent as well as his post-flop tendencies:
Against aggressive players you need to tighten your game in order to avoid running into marginal spots. Against passive players you can play a lot more marginal hands because you have more control over the size of the pot.
The raise sizes influence the game because it changes the pot odds that you need for a call. This determines whether you can play more or less marginal hands. Also the ratio of pot size to stack size changes. In position, a big stack can be more advantageous than out of position.
| LINKS | |||||
|
|||||
NL Heads-up: Introduction 