Hi

I came second in the first 3 Sit and Go's I entered but it was so annoying losing heads up. I am only playing a few weeks and have done a lot of study through various books, forums and tv, but I need a lot of improving heads up. Can anyone give me good advice

Trev

This has worked fairly well for me thus far:

If i've been ahead and showing signs of being aggressive with good hands, I will continue to do so.

If I'm short stacked against and aggressive player, and can afford to sit back and wait for a good hand where I feel they are pushing with slightly less than a good hand, then I will push all in right then and there looking to double up or end it if I get outdrawn.

I know it's a pretty vague way of playing heads up, and I don't always stick to it. It just really depends on how I've been playing and how my opponent has been playing to that point, and what they have shown they like to do with a short-handed table.

HU have to be played very loose and pretty agressive pre flop IMO...
(can just be me but thats how I play and I win 70-80% of my HU matches)

However, you have to lay down easily on the flop if you dont hit and your oponent show strenght. (big bet, raise, reraise etc...)

After a short period of time (maybe 20 hands, you should have notice your oponent habbits and own him like a child if he is a bellow average player.

Considering you made top 2 in your 1st 3 SNGs (if you havent been ridicolously lucky) you should bring you HU game to a good level pretty soon.

Remember, you have to take shots at the pot on almost every hand!

As Steve said, poker id really experience related, but HU play is even more.

Keep your good job!!!
Should be fine...

KJ

play loosly....bet draws....at least i usually do unless its a scary board. Unless i have some sort of reason to do otherwise i play very loosely heads up....ALWAYS unless you keep getting raised out of it...limp in with anything.

Against other beginners, and assuming you have established a straight up playing style (aka, haven't been caught on a bluff). It works well to be more aggressive. Bet when you are first to act, bluff when your opponent limps in. Newer players tend to fold until they have a good hand, against more experienced players, you'll have your work cut out for you.

When you first get heads up, you need to test a few things when you can. Find out how your opponent responds to a preflop raise or a re-raise. Does he fold to pressure? Does he pop you back? This is important so that you can know how strong your hand has to be to put in a good raise.

When he bets before the flop, how strong a hand does he need to raise? Any ace? Any two painted cards? Any pair? This helps you figure out the relative strength of your starting hand.

How much of a leading bet on the flop does it take for him to go away when he misses the flop? When he's first to act, does he always bet the flop? Does his bet on the flop vary? Can you peg the size of his bets on the flop to the strength of his hand?

Basically, you're trying to figure out what his new betting standards are in this extreme shorthanded game.

When I'm behind, I generally try to play the opposite of my opponent. If he is really aggressive, I try to wait him out as best I can (without letting the blinds eat me alive), looking for him to make a bad bluff and give me the opportunity to double up or take a chunk of his stack. Someone who is constantly aggressive will often lose patience, get frustrated by your selective play, and bluff in the wrong spot.

When I'm ahead, I try to keep the pressure up. I raise before the flop frequently to try to grind down his stack until he starts playing back at me. When he does, I downshift for a while. Above all, I try to be really careful not to let my opponent win a big pot and get back in the game. I want to get him to the point where he has to move in and where I'm in a position where I can call that bet with a reasonable hand and absorb the loss if he wins the pot.

I know that this is very general, but I hope it helps with some tips of what you're looking for at this stage of the game.

Not that books can teach you everything, but Harrington On Hold'em Two has a GREAT section on heads up play and even dissects a WPT final match between Ivey and D'Agostino hand for hand. Really opened my eyes.
This is my second favorite book now (after of course Small Stakes Hold'em)..