National Heads-Up Poker Championship | |
---|---|
Created by | NBC Sports |
Narrated by | Ali Nejad and Matt Vasgersian |
Country of origin | United States |
Production | |
Production locations | Golden Nugget Las Vegas (2005), Caesars Palace (2006 - 2013) |
Running time | 60 minutes (including commercials) |
Release | |
Original network | NBC |
Original release | 2005 – 2013 (no 2012 event) |
External links | |
Website |
The National Heads-Up Poker Championship was an annual poker tournament held in the United States and produced by the NBC television network.[1] It is a $25,000 'buy-in' invitation-only tournament[2] organized as a series of one-on-one games of no limitTexas hold 'em matches. The participants include many of the world's most successful poker players, as well as celebrities.
The championship was the first poker event to be televised on and produced by a major U.S. television network.[1]
In October 2011, NBC announced that the National Heads-Up Poker Championship would not return in 2012, ending the championship's seven-year run.[3] After a one-year hiatus, the tournament returned for a final time in 2013.[4]The $25,000 buy-in event ran from Jan. 24 through 26 at Caesars Palace, the same venue where the event was held from 2006 through 2011.
In February 2014, NBC announced the National Heads-Up Poker Championship would not return in 2014.
The Heads-Up Championship had been sponsored by online poker companies before Black Friday. The World Series of Poker (WSOP.com) is the new presenting sponsor.[5]
Structure[edit]
The single-elimination tournament is modeled after college basketball tournaments. Players who win a match advance to the next round; the player who wins six matches is crowned champion.
The first round is seeded randomly the night before the tournament begins. Players are divided into four brackets – Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts, and Spades. A participant advances by winning a heads-up match against his or her randomly drawn opponent. The structure of the brackets then determines every match thereafter. The semifinals consist of one player from each bracket, with the winner of the Spades bracket playing the winner of the Clubs bracket, and the winner of the Hearts bracket matched up against the winner of the Diamonds bracket. A best-of-three final match then determines which of the two finalists is crowned champion.
A pair of eights heads-up against a suited Q-J is a fifty-fifty proposition. The higher suited cards would have an edge against a lower pair, such as 2’s or 3’s, since the board itself can sometimes destroy little pairs. Common Pre-Flop Match-Ups (Non Pairs) The following heads-up confrontations contain no pairs. Two high cards vs. Heads Up Tournament Poker - Kindle edition by Rousso, Vanessa, Annie Duke, Josh Doody. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading Heads Up Tournament Poker. To many, heads up is the purest form of poker. Playing heads up forces players to utilize many different skills in order to be successful. Some of the many skills include the ability to read hands, bluff (in correct situations), adjust constantly to your opponents playing styles, and value bet thin. Heads up (HU) poker is considered the King’s discipline of no limit Texas Holdem, and that for a reason. It is the most challenging, action-packed and honoring game format poker has to offer.
Brief history[edit]
The National Heads-Up Poker Championship is an invitation-only event. In contrast, the World Heads-Up Poker Championship is an open event with a maximum participation of 128 players.
The 2005 event took place at the Golden Nugget Las Vegas between March 4 and March 6. It aired weekly on NBC from May 1 to May 22 with commentary from Gabe Kaplan and Matt Vasgersian.
The 2006 edition took place from March 4 to 6 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. NBC began its coverage by broadcasting one part of the opening round on April 16. The semi-final and championship matches aired May 21. Kaplan and Vasgersian returned as commentators.
The 2007 edition was broadcast from April 8 to May 20. Ali Nejad took Gabe Kaplan's spot as commentator due to Kaplan competing in the tournament.
Results[edit]
Year | Winner | Runner-up | Best-of-three final score |
---|---|---|---|
2005 | Phil Hellmuth | Chris Ferguson | 2–1 |
2006 | Ted Forrest | Chris Ferguson | 2–1 |
2007 | Paul Wasicka | Chad Brown | 2–0 |
2008 | Chris Ferguson | Andy Bloch | 2–1 |
2009 | Huck Seed | Vanessa Rousso | 2–0 |
2010 | Annie Duke | Erik Seidel | 2–1 |
2011 | Erik Seidel | Chris Moneymaker | 2–0 |
2012 | no tournament | ||
2013 | Mike Matusow | Phil Hellmuth | 2–1 |
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ abNBC Spot in the Cards for Poker Tourney February 2005 article from the Las Vegas Sun
- ^NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship Inks Four-year Deal with Caesars, a May 2008 article from pokernews.com
- ^'NBC Cancels National Heads-Up Poker Championship'. PokerNews. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
- ^'NBC Brings Back National Heads-Up Poker Championship'. PokerNews. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
- ^'National Heads-Up Poker Championship returns to Caesars Palace'. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
On This Page
Introduction
Heads Up Hold 'Em is an Ultimate Texas Hold 'Em variant by Galaxy Gaming, based on Texas Hold 'Em. The player may raise his bet one time, and has three opportunities to do so. The earlier he raises, the more he can bet. The main differences between Heads Up Hold 'Em and Ultimate Texas Hold 'Em are in the former the player may raise only 3x his Ante bet before the flop, but the game includes bad beat bonuses for losing with a straight or higher.
Rules
Following are the rules for Heads Up Hold 'Em. For those used to the terminology in Ultimate Texas Hold 'Em, what is called the Blind there called the Odds bet here.
- The game is played with a single ordinary 52-card deck.
- The player must make an equal bet on both the Ante and Odds.
- Two cards are dealt face down to the player and dealer. The player may look at his own cards.
- The player can check or make a Play bet equal to three times the Ante.
- The dealer turns over three community cards.
- If the player previously checked, then he may make a Play bet equal to two times his Ante or check again. If the player already made a Play bet, then he may not bet further.
- Two final community cards are turned over.
- If the player previously checked twice, then he must either make a Play bet equal to exactly his Ante, or fold, losing both his Ante and Odds bets. If the player already raised he may not bet further.
- The player and dealer will both make the best possible hand using any combination of their own two cards and the five community cards.
- The dealer will need at least a pair to open.
- The following table shows how the Ante, Odds, and Play bets are scored, according to who wins, and whether the dealer opens.
Scoring Rules
Winner Dealer Opens Ante Play Odds Player Yes Win Win See rule 12 Player No Push Win See rule 12 Dealer Yes Lose Lose See rule 12 Dealer No Push Lose Lose Tie Yes or No Push Push Push - Winning Ante and Play bets pay 1 to 1. Winning Odds bets pay according to value of the hand and whether it wins or loses. The following pay table shows what winning Odds bets pay.
Winning Odds Bet Pay Table
Hand Pays Royal Flush 500 Straight Flush 50 Quads 10 Full House 3 Flush 1.5 Straight 1 All Other Push Galaxy Gaming, the game owner, has four different pay tables for losing blind bets, as follows.
Losing Odds Bet Pay Table
Hand Pay Table 1 2 3 4 Straight Flush 500 500 500 500 Quads 50 50 50 25 Full House 10 10 10 6 Flush 8 6 5 5 Straight 5 5 4 4 All Other Loss Loss Loss Loss - In addition, there are two side bets, that pay based on the player's cards only, the Trips Plus and Pocket Bonus. These side bets are explained after the analysis of the base game.
Strategy
The player should make the 3X raise with any pair except deuces. Otherwise, use the following table shows when to make the large 3X raise.
The strategy for the medium and small raise are the same as in Ultimate Texas Hold 'Em, as follows:
Medium Raise: Make the 2X raise with any of the following:
- Two pair or better.
- Hidden pair*, except pocket deuces.
- Four to a flush including a hidden 10 or better to that flush
* Hidden pair = Any pair with at least one card in your hole cards (thus the pair is hidden to the dealer).
Small Raise: Make the 1X raise with any of the following, otherwise fold:
- Hidden pair or better.
- Less than 21 dealer outs beat you.
For a more powerful small and medium raise strategy, I recommend the James Grossjean strategy card for Ultimate Texas Hold 'Em.
Analysis
Heads Up Poker Ai
The following table shows all possible outcomes of each hand, what it pays, the probability, and contribution to the return under the losing Odds bet pay table number 1 (the one that goes 500-50-10-8-5). The lower right cell shows a house edge of 2.36%.
Return TableExpand
Player | Raise | Dealer Qualifies | Winner | Pays | Combinations | Probability | Return |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fold | -2 | 5,498,078,560,920 | 0.197674 | -0.395349 | |||
Less than pair | 1 | No | Dealer | -2 | 60,518,663,424 | 0.002176 | -0.004352 |
Straight flush | 1 | Yes | Dealer | 498 | 20,279,100 | 0.000001 | 0.000363 |
Four of a kind | 1 | Yes | Dealer | 48 | 1,726,735,980 | 0.000062 | 0.002980 |
Full house | 1 | Yes | Dealer | 8 | 10,082,720,220 | 0.000363 | 0.002900 |
Flush | 1 | Yes | Dealer | 6 | 49,072,032,216 | 0.001764 | 0.010586 |
Straight | 1 | Yes | Dealer | 3 | 47,952,010,720 | 0.001724 | 0.005172 |
Less than straight | 1 | Yes | Dealer | -3 | 3,006,630,550,164 | 0.108098 | -0.324295 |
Anything | 1 | Y/N | Push | 0 | 455,081,939,824 | 0.016362 | 0.000000 |
Royal flush | 1 | No | Player | 501 | 6,914,880 | 0.000000 | 0.000125 |
Straight flush | 1 | No | Player | 51 | 279,004,320 | 0.000010 | 0.000512 |
Four of a kind | 1 | No | Player | 11 | - | 0.000000 | 0.000000 |
Full house | 1 | No | Player | 4 | - | 0.000000 | 0.000000 |
Flush | 1 | No | Player | 2.5 | 43,096,215,600 | 0.001549 | 0.003874 |
Straight | 1 | No | Player | 2 | 145,034,240,580 | 0.005214 | 0.010429 |
Less than straight | 1 | No | Player | 1 | 816,981,676,824 | 0.029373 | 0.029373 |
Royal flush | 1 | Yes | Player | 502 | 46,580,760 | 0.000002 | 0.000841 |
Straight flush | 1 | Yes | Player | 52 | 2,023,968,588 | 0.000073 | 0.003784 |
Four of a kind | 1 | Yes | Player | 12 | 964,337,328 | 0.000035 | 0.000416 |
Full house | 1 | Yes | Player | 5 | 46,108,374,192 | 0.001658 | 0.008289 |
Flush | 1 | Yes | Player | 3.5 | 202,016,746,236 | 0.007263 | 0.025421 |
Straight | 1 | Yes | Player | 3 | 421,268,280,080 | 0.015146 | 0.045438 |
Less than straight | 1 | Yes | Player | 2 | 1,600,861,520,204 | 0.057556 | 0.115113 |
Less than pair | 2 | No | Dealer | -3 | 11,023,268,784 | 0.000396 | -0.001189 |
Straight flush | 2 | Yes | Dealer | 497 | 16,724,460 | 0.000001 | 0.000299 |
Four of a kind | 2 | Yes | Dealer | 47 | 311,575,460 | 0.000011 | 0.000527 |
Full house | 2 | Yes | Dealer | 7 | 18,705,932,580 | 0.000673 | 0.004708 |
Flush | 2 | Yes | Dealer | 5 | 27,615,003,664 | 0.000993 | 0.004964 |
Straight | 2 | Yes | Dealer | 2 | 21,031,977,440 | 0.000756 | 0.001512 |
Less than straight | 2 | Yes | Dealer | -4 | 1,979,644,169,384 | 0.071175 | -0.284699 |
Anything | 2 | Y/N | Push | 0 | 214,144,135,720 | 0.007699 | 0.000000 |
Royal flush | 2 | No | Player | 502 | 11,938,680 | 0.000000 | 0.000215 |
Straight flush | 2 | No | Player | 52 | 397,598,400 | 0.000014 | 0.000743 |
Four of a kind | 2 | No | Player | 12 | - | 0.000000 | 0.000000 |
Full house | 2 | No | Player | 5 | - | 0.000000 | 0.000000 |
Flush | 2 | No | Player | 3.5 | 45,718,738,920 | 0.001644 | 0.005753 |
Straight | 2 | No | Player | 3 | 53,068,201,380 | 0.001908 | 0.005724 |
Less than straight | 2 | No | Player | 2 | 1,207,385,216,712 | 0.043410 | 0.086819 |
Royal flush | 2 | Yes | Player | 503 | 147,692,880 | 0.000005 | 0.002671 |
Straight flush | 2 | Yes | Player | 53 | 3,016,851,612 | 0.000108 | 0.005749 |
Four of a kind | 2 | Yes | Player | 13 | 20,440,911,312 | 0.000735 | 0.009554 |
Full house | 2 | Yes | Player | 6 | 320,575,227,408 | 0.011526 | 0.069155 |
Flush | 2 | Yes | Player | 4.5 | 183,447,763,404 | 0.006596 | 0.029680 |
Straight | 2 | Yes | Player | 4 | 158,035,798,360 | 0.005682 | 0.022728 |
Less than straight | 2 | Yes | Dealer | 3 | 2,415,318,761,280 | 0.086839 | 0.260516 |
Less than pair | 3 | No | Dealer | -4 | 66,873,993,600 | 0.002404 | -0.009617 |
Straight flush | 3 | Yes | Dealer | 496 | 14,499,400 | 0.000001 | 0.000259 |
Four of a kind | 3 | Yes | Dealer | 46 | 316,891,120 | 0.000011 | 0.000524 |
Full house | 3 | Yes | Dealer | 6 | 13,387,474,080 | 0.000481 | 0.002888 |
Flush | 3 | Yes | Dealer | 4 | 20,484,007,080 | 0.000736 | 0.002946 |
Straight | 3 | Yes | Dealer | 1 | 22,371,396,720 | 0.000804 | 0.000804 |
Less than straight | 3 | Yes | Dealer | -5 | 3,136,124,565,400 | 0.112754 | -0.563771 |
Anything | 3 | Y/N | Push | 0 | 223,641,379,520 | 0.008041 | 0.000000 |
Royal flush | 3 | No | Player | 503 | 86,472,360 | 0.000003 | 0.001564 |
Straight flush | 3 | No | Player | 53 | 180,911,880 | 0.000007 | 0.000345 |
Four of a kind | 3 | No | Player | 13 | - | 0.000000 | 0.000000 |
Full house | 3 | No | Player | 6 | - | 0.000000 | 0.000000 |
Flush | 3 | No | Player | 4.5 | 41,791,833,360 | 0.001503 | 0.006762 |
Straight | 3 | No | Player | 4 | 64,386,219,840 | 0.002315 | 0.009260 |
Less than straight | 3 | No | Player | 3 | 1,317,173,128,560 | 0.047357 | 0.142070 |
Royal flush | 3 | Yes | Player | 504 | 556,552,440 | 0.000020 | 0.010085 |
Straight flush | 3 | Yes | Player | 54 | 1,444,036,640 | 0.000052 | 0.002804 |
Four of a kind | 3 | Yes | Player | 14 | 21,003,399,360 | 0.000755 | 0.010572 |
Full house | 3 | Yes | Player | 7 | 261,421,403,040 | 0.009399 | 0.065793 |
Flush | 3 | Yes | Player | 5.5 | 199,160,655,360 | 0.007160 | 0.039383 |
Straight | 3 | Yes | Player | 5 | 195,058,020,480 | 0.007013 | 0.035065 |
Less than straight | 3 | Yes | Player | 4 | 3,140,424,343,760 | 0.112909 | 0.451635 |
Total | 27,813,810,024,000 | 1.000000 | -0.023584 |
As shown in the lower right cell, the house edge is 2.36%. This is the expected loss to the Ante wager only. For example, if the player bets $5 on both the Ante and Odds, then his expected loss would be $5 × 0.023584 = 11.79¢.
The average final wager per hand is 3.67 units. That makes the element of risk 2.36%/3.67 = 0.64%. This means for every dollar you wager in the game, on anything, other than the side bets, you can expect to lose 0.64¢.
By comparison, the element of risk in Ultimate Texas Hold 'Em is 0.53%.
The standard deviation, relative to to the Ante bet, is 4.56.
The next table shows the house edge and element of risk under all four losing Odds bet pay tables according to the pay table for a losing Odds bet.
House Edge Summary
Hand | Losing Odds Bet Pay Table | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
Straight Flush | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
Quads | 50 | 50 | 50 | 25 |
Full House | 10 | 10 | 10 | 6 |
Flush | 8 | 6 | 5 | 5 |
Straight | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
All Other | Loss | Loss | Loss | Loss |
House edge | 2.36% | 3.06% | 3.73% | 4.55% |
Element of Risk | 0.64% | 0.83% | 1.02% | 1.24% |
This is full table cloth.
Trips Plus
The Trips Plus bet will pay according to the poker value of the player's hand regardless of the value of the dealer's hand. Following is an analysis of the most common pay table.
Trips Plus Return Table
Hand | Pays | Combinations | Probability | Return |
---|---|---|---|---|
Royal flush | 100 | 4,324 | 0.000032 | 0.003232 |
Straight flush | 40 | 37,260 | 0.000279 | 0.011140 |
Four of a kind | 30 | 224,848 | 0.001681 | 0.050420 |
Full house | 8 | 3,473,184 | 0.025961 | 0.207688 |
Flush | 7 | 4,047,644 | 0.030255 | 0.211785 |
Straight | 4 | 6,180,020 | 0.046194 | 0.184775 |
Three of a kind | 3 | 6,461,620 | 0.048299 | 0.144896 |
All other | -1 | 113,355,660 | 0.847300 | -0.847300 |
Total | 133,784,560 | 1.000000 | -0.033363 |
The next table shows four known pay tables for the Trips Plus.
Trips Plus Pay Tables
Hand | Pay Table | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
Royal flush | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
Straight flush | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 |
Four of a kind | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 |
Full house | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 |
Flush | 7 | 6 | 7 | 6 |
Straight | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 |
Three of a kind | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
All other | -1 | -1 | -1 | -1 |
Total | -0.74% | -1.74% | -3.34% | -4.34% |
Pocket Bonus
The Pocket Bonus bet will pay according to the value of the player's two hole cards. The follow tables show what each two cards pays, the probability, and contribution to the total return for each known pay table for the Pocket Bonus.
Pocket Bonus — Pay Table 1
Hand | Pays | Combinations | Probability | Return |
---|---|---|---|---|
Pair of aces | 30 | 6 | 0.004525 | 0.135747 |
Ace & face suited | 20 | 12 | 0.009050 | 0.180995 |
Ace & face unsuited | 10 | 36 | 0.027149 | 0.271493 |
Pair 2s - Ks | 5 | 72 | 0.054299 | 0.271493 |
Loser | -1 | 1,200 | 0.904977 | -0.904977 |
Total | 1,326 | 1.000000 | -0.045249 |
Pocket Bonus — Pay Table 2
Heads Up Poker Online With Friends
Hand | Pays | Combinations | Probability | Return |
---|---|---|---|---|
Pair of aces | 25 | 6 | 0.004525 | 0.113122 |
Ace & face suited | 20 | 12 | 0.009050 | 0.180995 |
Ace & face unsuited | 10 | 36 | 0.027149 | 0.271493 |
Pair 2s - Ks | 5 | 72 | 0.054299 | 0.271493 |
Loser | -1 | 1,200 | 0.904977 | -0.904977 |
Total | 1,326 | 1.000000 | -0.067873 |
Pocket Bonus — Pay Table 3
Hand | Pays | Combinations | Probability | Return |
---|---|---|---|---|
Pair of aces | 30 | 6 | 0.004525 | 0.135747 |
Ace & face suited | 20 | 12 | 0.009050 | 0.180995 |
Ace & face unsuited | 10 | 36 | 0.027149 | 0.271493 |
Pair 2s - Ks | 4 | 72 | 0.054299 | 0.217195 |
Loser | -1 | 1,200 | 0.904977 | -0.904977 |
Total | 1,326 | 1.000000 | -0.099548 |
Acknowledgments
Heads Up Poker Rules
I would like to thank Charles Mousseau and Stephen How for their assistance, which confirmed my analysis. Thanks to Charles also for his advice on the medium and small raise strategy.
Internal Links
Detailed calculations on some starting hands.
Extneral Links
Play Heads Up Hold 'Em at the Galaxy Gaming web site. One click and you're playing.