Views on heads up...

Im interseted to know everyones views on heads up.
Lately im begging to think its all just luck, more and more nowadays all tournys finish with all in and calls pre flop. Which really there is no skill to. Yes you may be favourite pre flop but AK vs 57 aint that big a favourite. all you need to do is catch a card. Im begging to think all you need is a run of cards or a bit of luck.

Whats everyones opinions?

Luck or Skill? 60% skill 40% luck?

-Chance Favours The Prepared Mind-

luck plays a huge part - no doubt about it

remember that night i was heads up against stu - i had about 80% of the chips and decided to go all in every hand til i either lost or won.

Due to the blinds being so high, i was making even more money when he folded and when he won an all in it didnt really make a dent in my chips. I won quite quickly after that

obviously, you can manipulate people who are just starting the game by bullying them out of hands which they should be involved in but other than that theres a huge amount of luck involved

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dont get me wrong - of course theres skill involved, but a good run of cards for one player and a bad run for the other can change things greatly whereas over the course of a normal poker game the cards should even itself out (i say should)

a lot depends on the level of the blinds as well

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Of course it takes both. But I beleive that once its heads up luck plays a larger role than it does with a full table. I think heads up is more luck, with some skill needed.

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ultimately it depends on how high the blinds are. Starting with low blinds as you do in a heads up match I win over 75% of games - consistently.

Some games luck played no or almost no part other times I beat someone who had a drawing hand and could have caught, occasionaly they catch.

Heads up is arguably the most skillful form of poker because you play the hands to obtain much more accurate reads of your opponents and it is far less about what hands you are dealt. That being said against an aggressive player who has the sense not to bet too much beyond the size of the pot and knows when to fold a little bit of luck may be needed (say picking a spot where you are 70-80 % favourite - when you lose your out.

High blinds however against someone who has the sense to play quite aggressively then luck plays a big part but that doesnt stop there from being a decent level of skill in the heads up section. It might be you win with 50% of the chips 60% of the time but that is still a significant success.

One of the most important things is not luck or skill, but which player is willing to be the agressor and push the other player out of pots. Even with a shorter stack of say 40/60, I have seen the player with less chips come out firing and even the chips back out when the blinds are high. However, no playing style or abililty can stop a run of cards and when heads up and that can quickly end a match.

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I would say more luck than skill, some dwim wit was down to 250 chips while i had 13250, and he won about 4-5 all ins, where I had Ax and he had like 94- or J-10...

There are two completly different Heads-Up games. One is a heads-up game and the other is the end of tourney where the blinds start off high and they both need to be played differently.

I feel that a lot more skill is involved in a heads-up game...you have to know your opponent much more than you do in a full table game. Most of the important decisions are made pre-flop and differ if you are SB or BB...there are a lot more considerations as whether you even get in the hand and the way that you enter the flop and what you do at the flop...It is mainly a pre-flop/flop game but requires a vast amount of skill....it is also not a place to chase...at least not against a good opponent that is. It is a very skillful betting and bluffing game.

I think that is exactly it. I voted for skill, but a huge amount of luck is involved. At a full table, you can really wait for the cards to come to you. If you hit a streak of horrible cards, it will hurt you, but not seriously. If you cannot get the cards in heads-up, your done for. But, like any aspect of poker, you have to have skill. You have to know when to bluff. You have to bluff the right amounts. You really have to study betting patterns, because there is only one person against you. You must mix up your betting patterns. All of that is essential in heads-up.

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