[jitterbug726]

Hi there,

This is my first post, so you'll have to forgive me for any typos.

I figured this would be a good thread to reply to because Heads up SNGs are an awesome way to play poker and they're my favorite way to play. While i'm certainly not even close to being one of the best HU SNG players, I've compiled a 205-84 record at the moment (I started off at the $2 HU SNGs and have worked my way up to playing $20-$30 sngs) and have been successful at the stakes you’re playing now so I thought I’d take a shot at helping you out.

Having stacks of the same size aren't bad at blinds of 50/100, but you're basically at the beginning of the stage where it’s become a crapshoot.

Unfortunately, your range has to become much wider at this stage of your match.

Since your stacks are 15BB each, you have to start raising with just about everything. Go over the top with ANY pairs (even 22-33-44), and raise with any ace if the pots been limped. You also have to play any hands that contain two face cards fast, and you're certainly going to want to hit your flops by now. It's hard to bluff someone with blinds this high because people become so commited to the pot that they're going to see it through to the end with middle/bottom pair.

At this point in the tournament you're really going to want to have a feel for your opponent, so you know when you can take pots away. With such high blinds it’s not likely that either of you will see any flops that you like, so at times it simply becomes a bet first and win type of game. You’re going to want to avoid getting to this blind stage and higher though, and it’s a better bet to start relying on outplaying your opponent in the earlier stages of the tournament to build a lead (if not win).

The key to winning heads up sit n goes consistently is aggression. You have to constantly bet everything with confidence, and learn your opponent’s betting patterns (this is very easy at the low stakes tables, where few people attempt to mask their betting patterns). Bet with bottom pair, bet with middle pair, bet with an inside straight, bet everything.

You’ve got to know when to put the brakes on though, you can’t just raise 20 pots in a row and expect someone to lay idly by. Players will either start trapping you or start bluff re-raising you. This is when you start waiting for decent hands to raise with.

You have to frustrate your opponent and create a loose table image in the first three blind levels. Don’t be afraid to get caught bluffing. If they start calling you with marginal hands, you’ve succeeded. Once you’ve created the perception that bottom pair is usually good against you, you’re going to start getting paid off in the higher blind levels (hopefully you don’t suddenly become card dead around here :P). Some people even start going all in with like 40BB against your small raises. The weak tight players are the best players to take advantage of with this strategy, because if you continually take pots away from them they’ll eventually do something stupid like try to hit a runner runner draw to beat you. I have had opponents start trying to be Stu Ungar, calling me with ten high and jack high because they were so pissed off at the never-ending betting.

An important thing to remember is to keep the pots small. I normally only raise to 2BB or 3BB. It doesn’t matter what starting hands I’m raising with, it’s always only 2 or 3 big blinds. Half-pot is a good ballpark in terms of post flop bets, as this seems to be what people are comfortable calling (and when you’re bluffing you minimize your losses), however some opponents are perfectly fine with calling full pot bets with their draws. If they hit, well that’s just poker, you’re forcing them to make a huge mistake anyway. With starting stacks of 1500, an opponent who calls your pot sized bets with a draw against your flopped top set is going to commit 420 chips to see you to the end at BLIND LEVEL ONE. These are the morons you want to play with.

Last, never lose heart if you find yourself short stacked at the low blind levels. You don't normally need to start going all in with anything unless you go to 10BB or below. You just have to fight your way through and hope you get some help along the way. If your opponent is very weak, it doesn’t matter if he has a 5-1 chip lead, you can just keep whittling away at it. Personally, I like to see a lot of flops when I’m short stacked if I can just limp in. This strategy might not be optimal for others, but I think it’s effective, especially when you’re playing against people who don’t put enough pressure on you with their big stacks.