Another quite long post from Jepepoker. I really don’t like those small posts . How to prepare for the head’s-up ring game? That’s the question am asking myself.

Almost everything inside the head’s-up tables, in every games form, is fixed-limit. Pot-limit and no-limit head’s-up ring poker games are rare compared to their fixed-limit cousin. Although many head’s-up ring poker game actions you come across is the $0.02/$0.04 variant, you may find $10/$20 fixed-limit Omaha and Hold ’Em and $8/$16 Stud head’s-up games if you really look for them.

One main reason poker sites don’t support plenty of larger limits, nor no-limit variants, of head’s-up ring poker game is that those games don’t get too much action; but even more importantly, laws where the host sites are located geographically put a great deal of legal pressure on poker site owners to not tolerate money laundering practices (the passing of capital from one person to another – commonly for illicit reasons), so the bet size is capped on head’s-up ring tables to keep large amount of money from changing hands easily and quickly. More money change hands during head’s-up tourney play, but not in the ring-game (five thousands dollars buy-in tournament on demand is possible). Site staffs watch big-dollar traffic in head’s-up tourneys extremely carefully for possible money laundering activities.

The first few head’s up games can be the most nerve-wracking moments of your poker career. It is not just for the low-limit rule of most of the games; the stress is also completely unnerving.  Luckily, having less money at stake, takes off some of your headaches.  Since you deal with just one other player, you may take your losses personally. But you shouldn’t. As a matter of fact, the first Zen-like rule you should grasp about head’s-up games is to not take it too seriously and personally.  View this self-control attitude as just another facet of your primary poker skills.

Head’s up, in some ways, is known as the purest poker type. Given enough time, head’s-up games determine who owns the better poker skill.  It can be hard to swallow when you lose, and you can feel bad or defeated.  Just shake it off and dig a bit more into yourself and identify the person who beats you over a long game session or beats you continuously over many poker sessions, you may have an invisible crack in your poker skill. Determine the exact problem by researching your playing style, going over your daily journal, and practice diligently on the micro-limits. If you finally find the crack, immediately shore it up, even if you will never face that particular player again. Any crack in playing skill that one player discovers can certainly be found by other players.  Head’s-up ring poker games generally fall into two main categories: playing for just a couple of hands before a player leaves (generally because he gets scared, bored, or has some emergencies) or moving back and forth for a while (say, 30 minutes or more — which in head’s-up games can be over 50 hands). Some game sessions may last for “medium” time duration, like 15 minutes.