Heads-up against a low stack

Playing heads-up poker against a short stacked player can be very frustrating. Most players at this stage become very tight and will only call your bet if they begin with a really strong starting hand.

Although you will probably lower your range with what cards you would be happy pushing in with, unless your opponent is confident with their hole cards holding out, they will not call.

It is important not let this frustration get the better of you and not to start playing recklessly. A lot of players start going all-in with every starting hand they have, even if it is 52. This really is playing into your opponent's hands, and it must be remembered that they only need to double up 2-3 times and they could be back on level terms with your chip count. When you play Texas Hold Em poker online, you need to play the perfect game right up until the end, or you could still lose out.

The best way of dealing with this situation, and it can become tedious, is to play your opponent at their own game. Make sure you only push-in with good hands, if your opponent goes all-in, only call with a confident strong hand. This will leave them very disappointed because they will be desperate for you to call their bet, if they had got one of the top pairs. Hopefully this poker strategy will wear them down and they may lower their range which will work in your favour.

If you are playing a tournament and you are down to the last two players, the hard work is not over yet. Until you have eliminated that final player, the prize is not yours. Don't underestimate anyone on short stack, and don't throw away all your hard work by careless play at the end.