How to improve heads up?

FeelGroggy

 I've only won one of my last nine heads up matches so figure I must be going wrong somewhere. Could anybody give me any tips on how to improve?

Lambert180

1) HUsng.com for vids

2) Play some HU SnGs (not hypers)

job done

Fwiw, winning 1 out of your last 9 doesn't necessarily mean you're bad at it. You may very well be, I dunno, but that sample isn't enough to take much info from it. Often on Sky when you get HU stacks are pretty shallow, and that brings with it a ton of variance. It's not unusual for big winners at HU SnGs to go through patches of winning 1in9 games pretty regular.

FeelGroggy

I'm probably okay heads up but it's definitely a weaker area of my game as I've never properly worked on it.

 That's the problem with poker it's hard to accurately gage your skill level at things because of variance,for all I know i'm way under ev in the games I've played HU and have been coolered on the wrong end often.

Ty, will check out the site, and will experiment with some HU sng's on stars. 

Lambert180

In Response to Re: How to improve heads up?:

I'm probably okay heads up but it's definitely a weaker area of my game as I've never properly worked on it.  That's the problem with poker it's hard to accurately gage your skill level at things because of variance,for all I know i'm way under ev in the games I've played HU and have been coolered on the wrong end often. Ty, will check out the site, and will experiment with some HU sng's on stars. 
Posted by FeelGroggy

Why would you possibly want to go and practice HU SnGs on the site where they will be by far the the toughest?

Get going on a few Speed/Turbos on Sky

F_Ivanovic

In Response to Re: How to improve heads up?:

In Response to Re: How to improve heads up? : Why would you possibly want to go and practice HU SnGs on the site where they will be by far the the toughest? Get going on a few Speed/Turbos on Sky
Posted by Lambert180

Cause if you can hold your own there then you'll be able to do alright when you get HU in a tourney Also, surely hypers are a good thing to practice, given that a lot of time you get HU you'll often have less than 25bb? It's useful to be able to play 8-25bb's HU.

TeddyBloat

For sure a great way to learn is to practice.

the turbos on sky offer a fast structure where you will get to play at lots of stack depths, whilst also offering more play for the rake paid than the hypers. action is instant on stars, and rake lower. however it is a reg-fest @ $15's and its near impossible for recreationals to play recreational players above that. $3-7 level is good for learning though, lots of action against a wide variety of skill sets.

there are some general leaks that anyone can plug:

play looooooose

you have to play very wide ranges in HU play. I play 100% of buttons right down to 6bb, and i'm rarely folding my bb to a minraise at any depth. also post flop its important to play wide ranges. this is one of the reasons becoming proficient in HU play is so beneficial to your overall game in other formats. you get to see lots of spots with a wide raneg and learning to play them well is just nutted for your developement as a player.

limp

people have an idea that limping is bad HU. they are wrong. 

against recreationals it is a boss strategy

against professional HUSNG players it is a boss strategy

it is a boss strategy. if you are ever considering folding a hand without reads HU, limp it.

forget Nash push / fold

it stinks. you should have a mixed stratgey right down to 5-6bb. if you havent heard of Nash its useful to know the theory behind the charts and how and why they where constructed, but they shouldnt really be used as a guide to play 

a thread discussing the misconceptions of Nash:

https://www.skypoker.com/secure/poker/sky_lobby?action=show_static&page=poker_community_forums&plckForumPage=ForumDiscussion&plckDiscussionId=Cat%3a57795ac2-1793-4377-b4cf-e124b0f555f4Forum%3adf77f82c-151f-4bea-aae1-fb423dcae1faDiscussion%3a6a62edcc-ed0d-4932-afef-008e168aeb81

an old guide to some hyper spots [note some of this is way out of date, but a ueful-ish guide for new players. i'd certainly not fully stand by a lot of the advice given]:

https://www.skypoker.com/secure/poker/sky_lobby?action=show_static&page=poker_community_forums&plckForumPage=ForumDiscussion&plckDiscussionId=Cat%3a2e4f51cb-c64c-449f-a843-8db9c5fe7283Forum%3a596e7081-fff1-4103-8428-5d4d19736b09Discussion%3a214221db-3b07-41df-a2b3-d909c6821814

MattBates

In Response to Re: How to improve heads up?:

I'm probably okay heads up but it's definitely a weaker area of my game as I've never properly worked on it.  That's the problem with poker it's hard to accurately gage your skill level at things because of variance,for all I know i'm way under ev in the games I've played HU and have been coolered on the wrong end often. Ty, will check out the site, and will experiment with some HU sng's on stars. 
Posted by FeelGroggy

You need to review stuff in a non results orientated way. Whether you win or lose a hand doesnt dictate whether you made the right decisions in the hand. 

I agree with what lambo said, but would add what you can also do is HH review (ideally with someone) of when you have played HU. I think this will help you work out if you are making mistakes in hands or whether its a strategy thing. 

jordz16

I used to be pretty awful when it came to heads up play, I played roughly 1000 HU games mainly hypers and turbos, i reckon I broke even, or maybe even a small loss but my head up game during MTTs improved significantly. Also I played a lot of 6 handed regular sit n gos, they just help you with your all round final table game. I think Long term on this site you want to be winning 25% of Mtts that you make the final table in on a year by year basis.

jordz16

I used to be pretty awful when it came to heads up play, I played roughly 1000 HU games mainly hypers and turbos, i reckon I broke even, or maybe even a small loss but my head up game during MTTs improved significantly. Also I played a lot of 6 handed regular sit n gos, they just help you with your all round final table game. I think Long term on this site you want to be winning 25% of Mtts that you make the final table in on a year by year basis.

FeelGroggy

In Response to Re: How to improve heads up?:
Thankyou for the responses everyone. I played a couple of £10 ones and experimented with opening/ limping 100% of buttons and calling more often in the bb and it seemed to work, maybe I've been a bit on the tighter side in the past.

Yeah I can be pretty results orientated something I need to stop. Reviewing it is definitely a good idea. I think doing some sng's would be good practice