This is the area of poker that I have studied the most 
So in contrast to my usual ramblings, there may actually be a grain of truth in my comments on this topic!
We’ll start with a simple question: what % of hands do you think you should be opening heads-up?
This is great, I was honestly thinking of starting a thread on this topic. And what do ya know, on the first page here you are! Is there a way I can see my percentages for heads up games? I honestly couldn’t even give a ballpark number. I know that strategy for heads up play is so different from being around your normal 9 seat. Kind of like how people say tournament strategy and cash game strategy are different, but even more so than that. I can’t help but relate heads up contest to ‘rock paper scissors’ lol. Sounds ridiculous, I know
Sadly Replay offers no such stats tracking 
And I agree, HU play can feel a lot like just flipping a coin over and over! It’s very hard to know “what’s going on.” This is why I think it’s so important to have a sound theoretical foundation.
Heads-up we want to be opening 70-80% of hands! Certainly no less than 2/3.
Otherwise we’re simply not putting enough pressure on our opponent. Especially in tournament play, where it’s rare to reach the heads-up stage with more than 40bb, every blind we steal is significant and the potential losses associated with playing a weak hand are far outweighed by the potential benefits of stealing the big blind (and not allowing our opponent to profitably wait for “the good stuff” to see flops).
Here’s what a 70% opening range looks like:
Fun, right?
NOTE: Doug Polk says that if we want to use the smallest open size (2x) then we should actually be opening 90% (!) of hands. In practice, I haven’t found this necessary, but I’ve little doubt that against more capable opponents this would indeed be the case.
DOUBLE NOTE: “Wait, what’s my limping range?” NEVER LIMP HEADSUP <3
TRIPLE NOTE: OK, sometimes you can limp if you want, but you’re going to have to balance that strategy. Against many players this can actually be extremely profitable. When my opponent has shown him/herself to be highly reactive (they seem to be intent on playing off what we are doing, rather than just sticking to their baseline strategy), I will often begin mixing in limps at a low frequency (maybe 10-15% of hands). I will limp mostly with the weaker hands in my opening range, and simply fold to any preflop raise.
This sets up a nice trap when I limp with the top of my range—Villain has learned “limp means super weak” and may even jam over a limp with a marginal hand. Send the money!
My strategy is different.
If I win a heads-up, which is more often than not, I always look back on my recent hands.
I usually have streaks of losing, folding hands when I win here on Replay.
Not uncommon at all to see my opponent’s name as the winner of 5x in a row.
Then, of course, one or two hands later, the heads-up concludes and I’m victorious.
I wouldn’t recommend playing junk during heads-up play.
That chart is off the charts with junk hands… forget about it!
70 - 90 percent?
Never!
You can easily utilize a winning heads-up strategy here on Replay that’s not that extreme.
I don’t care if it’s Negreanu or Polk crunching all the numbers, the above just wouldn’t
be effective here at Replay Poker.
@Excaliburns tell that to my Yearly MTT rank
brushes shoulders off
drops mic
I don’t deny your claim that you can easily win HU on Replay with a far more conservative strategy.
But to say that the strategy recommended by the erstwhile #1 HU player in the WORLD (Doug Polk) won’t be effective, at any level, is a pretty wild claim.
NOTE: open challenge to anyone who feels as @Excaliburns does that this strategy won’t be effective—come play me headsup! Any stakes you like. We’ll set a time and see who’s right 
It boils down to patience vs aggression.
The numbers fluctuate wildly, so the claim might be wild, but it isn’t!
I believe you are operating under this misapprehension because the vast majority of your HU opponents are relatively weak at that format.
I think the most important factors in HU play are:
Possibly, the players you’ve come across during your success, are overrated in heads-up play.
Until I see Doug Polk or Daniel Negreanu here on Replay utilizing their heads-up strategy,
it’s all unsubstantiated!
"I think the most important factors in HU play are:
How can you have both sustained aggression and balance?
What ever happened to patience?
Your sustained aggression with junk hands continues to be your downfall.
Keep in mind, “the most important factor in heads-up play is to have the winning hand at the end!”
Sustained aggression will not get you there during the moment of truth.
It does not “continue to be my downfall.” I win with these plays far more often than I lose.
“Balance” refers to the composition of our range at a given inflection point; it is independent of aggression or passivity.
If I raise a lot, but mostly have weak hands when I raise, I am unbalanced.
Ditto if I mostly have strong hands.
If the ratio of strong to weak hands (or value to bluffs) in my range for a given bet is proportionate to the pot odds Villain gets facing that bet, I am “balanced.”
“The most important factor in HU play is to have the winning hand at the end” I trust this is just a cheeky aphorism. Taken literally, it’s quite inaccurate. The most important factor in HU play is to be one step ahead of your opponent.
Heads-up play can have a very short duration.
It can also be a long and drawn-out marathon.
You are overthinking and one that keeps it simple, could actually be one step ahead of you!
My strategy works under the pressure and time constraints of heads-up play.
In all reality, not showing up continues to be your downfall.
Why even bother posting strategy if you are a no show for the TOC?
“80% of success is showing up.” - Woody Allen
Sorry, I trust Doug Polk more than I trust you
But sure, try “keeping it simple” and folding a lot to get to the good hands. It’ll work against mediocre HU opponents. Do it against me and in the long run, you’ll get absolutely steamrolled.
PS: name the players in Nordic Warriors who have an 8-0 record in heads-up play?
It’s a small sample size my friend.
I’ve heard all about small sample sizes during algorithm discussions.
They mean nothing!
In 2023, RPOS XI, I experienced 3 of 3 highly contested wins head-to-head.
They were all memorable for the ferocity of play.
In other words, it was no fluke!
I made the correct adjustments at the right times to win all of the final hands.
There were no steamrolls involved.
3-0 at that point until one final head-to-head opportunity arose.
Snowman appeared and as I remember it, it wasn’t as ferocious a fight as the previous three.
He was one step ahead of me throughout and I couldn’t get past him for the fourth win.
Snowman broke my undefeated streak that day.
I wouldn’t be at all surprised, the day when Snowman breaks your 8-0
Stepping into the ring, a heavyweight fighter always prides himself on his undefeated record.
You might retire undefeated in that category.
All you have to do is avoid your own " Buster Douglas "
My guess it would be Asuronetorius victorious against Younguru
in a long and memorable drawn-out battle.
Probably 13-1 by that time!
“Sorry, I trust Doug Polk more than I trust you ”
That is just not true. You’re going to have the winning hand exactly 50% of the time in the long run. Aggression is the only way you get to win more than your fair sure of pots.
Sure, in a tournament you can come out ahead by winning the right pot, so patience does play a bigger factor, but that doesn’t mean aggression is not warranted.
@Excaliburns one thing we agree on here: @_snowman is a great player who has excellent chances to beat me heads-up. He might even be favored.
Spoiler: I promise you his HU strategy is a lot closer to what I’ve described here than it is to what you endorse!
The Replay opponent who I fear most HU is @MansoorH. His VPIP is approximately “yes” lol
That is just not true. You’re going to have the winning hand exactly 50% of the time in the long run. Aggression is the only way you get to win more than your fair sure of pots
Your above statement is true but not exactly about the point being made about the
final winning hand.
The sustained aggression throughout will leave you vulnerable holding the weaker hand!
RPOS XII was a very good example of some players not knowing how to close a tournament.
It’s better to fold and be patient.
Younguru never even mentioned it in his top four most important factors…
Here’s the final hand of a previous heads-up.
Patience wins over aggression!
