Heads-Up Poker Psychology

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In a recent conversation with Phil Hellmuth, the winner of the recent National Heads-Up Poker Championship, he talked about the special feeling of competition that naturally accompanies a heads-up battle.

"I drew a lot of people that I've had trouble with in the last couple of years," he admitted. "Men the Master has beaten me more than I've beaten him in the last couple of years, same with Paul Phillips, and Huck Seed and I are more neutral. In the final four I see Antonio Esfandiari. Antonio's been crushing me in the last two years. I thought, 'this is cool.' I told my wife that I'm getting to play players that don't totally respect me, or that I've not really beaten before. I loved it."

Heads-up tables are beginning to boom at nearly every poker website, with all spreads of games and buy-in levels. Riding the popularity, Hellmuth and Esfandiari now offer some lucky amateur players the chance to play against them (heads-up) at Ultimatebet. The rising interest of the one-on-one style of poker does not surprise me, as I see a head's-up contest online as the perfect opportunity for the impersonal feelings that comes with web-based play to be masked. Even if your opponent never types in a single word of chat, you still soon get to "know" your opponent.

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The time he takes to make decisions, his bets, and his calls all begin to form a mental profile in our minds. We feel personally attacked when bluffed off of a pot and proud when we steal one. During the heads-up competition, the challenges seem greater and the rewards are even sweeter. Heads-up play carries with it the natural side effect of emotional power or domination. This emotional rush is like no other, and causes many players to come back to the heads-up tables again and again.

Basically, a heads-up game is deeply compelling because of the personal psychology. There are no built-in excuses, such as the poor play of others boosting your opposition's chip count. With the variables cut down and the blame (or credit) squarely on your shoulders, it seems that it is not just your money being gambled. Instead, it is your ego, confidence, and respect that are on the line. Phil summed it up when he talked about gaining respect from his opponents during the heads-up competition, "I was thinking that they are gonna know who I am at the end of this. If I lose, that's ok, at least they are going to know who I really am."

Playing one-on-one is simply a crash course in your personal poker psychology. There is no better way to expose the holes in your game and any shaky confidence. Phil provided some great insights to the headsup mentality, showing that you must remain confident even if your chips fall. "Antonio tried to run me over. He did run me over for a while, but I started picking up some hands and checked them to him. Checkcall, check-call - then a bet on the end. I let him bet for me." Even if you lose, whatever financial losses you suffer at the table when playing heads-up can be recouped through the growing understanding of yourself and your game. Embark on a few heads-up adventures to help evaluate where you stand.

Now go make it happen.

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