Heads Up Poker (1 On 1 Poker)
This is a dedicated Heads-Up Poker page where we have compared all poker rooms with heads-up games (1-on-1 poker) on a number of relevant features.
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Heads-Up Poker (1-on-1 Poker)
About Heads-Up Poker
Heads-up is a form of poker that pits you against a single opponent in head-to-head competition. The game continues to increase in popularity as more and more players are discovering heads-up poker. This is poker in its purest form - to play heads-up is much more about understanding your opponent than about the cards themselves.
Lately, heads-up poker has gotten a lot of attention in the world of poker for two main reasons. First, there is a growing number of heads-up tournaments taking place both in the U.S. and in Europe, and some of the events have been televised. The National Heads-Up Poker Championship, broadcast by NBC, is probably the largest heads-up tournament and has brought this form of No-Limit Hold'em to a wide audience. Another major event, the World Heads-Up Poker Championship, takes place annually in May in Barcelona, Spain.
Spectacular high-stakes online games constitute a second reason for the rising popularity of heads-up poker. Sometimes in these games, hundreds of thousands of dollars can change hands in a matter of minutes. Of course, this kind of scene draws a lot of attention, and the railbirds flock around the tables. Some of the online heads-up players have even become stars on the Internet and are vividly discussed among different poker forums.
Becoming a skilled heads-up poker player requires plenty of hard work and smart play. To master heads-up, you first need to gain your share of experience in regular poker games, and then, oddly enough, try to forget most of what you learned, because heads-up poker is a totally different animal.
In a full ring game, you usually have to show down a pretty strong hand to win the pot, but this isn't necessarily the case in heads-up. Since you have to play most hands - if you fold too often, you'll lose a lot on account of the blinds - aggression is the key. You have to fight for every pot, and with only two players in the game, the average winning hand is not very strong. Therefore, you have to get comfortable bluffing and pushing even the slightest edge hard. Remember, heads-up poker is about playing the player, not the cards.
Check out our top list above to find the best heads-up poker action online.
