If you’ve ever asked yourself “can you play poker with two people?”, the answer is “absolutely!” – and it’s easier (and more fun) than you might think.
Keep reading to find out how to play poker with 2 people in different types of poker games. This version is also known as heads-up poker, and it’s a great way to enjoy the game when you don’t have a full table.
If you want to play online instead of dealing cards yourself, check out our selection of the best online poker sites in the UK. These ones are great for practising your heads-up skills.
A two-player poker game follows the same basic rules as any multi-player poker game (hand rankings, betting actions, and turn order) with a couple of key adjustments.
In a heads-up game, there are only two positions each hand: one player is the dealer and the small blind, and the other is the big blind. Both players post blinds at the start of every hand to get the pot started.
These roles rotate back and forth each hand. You’ll take turns being the small blind-dealer and the big blind so that each player gets an equal chance in each position.
Because the dealer and small blind are the same person, the order of play is slightly different from a normal poker table. Pre-flop (before any community cards are dealt), the small blind-dealer acts first, since they are immediately left of the big blind. For more pre-flop strategies you should read our guide to master your game.
For all post-flop rounds (after the community cards are dealt), the order flips: the big blind acts first, and the dealer acts last. After each hand, the dealer button moves to the other player, so that both players alternate who posts the small blind and who posts the big blind.
Aside from these positions and blind differences, two-player poker plays out the same as any other poker game. The rounds of betting (pre-flop, flop, turn, river) and the actions available (check, bet, call, raise, or fold) remain the same.
Texas Hold’em is the most popular poker variant and works very well with two players. In Hold’em, each player is dealt two private cards (the “hole cards”). Five community cards are then dealt face-up in the middle for everyone to use.
Both players make the best five-card poker hand using any combination of their two hole cards and the five shared cards, and the higher hand wins the pot at showdown.
If you’re already familiar with regular Texas Hold’em rules, playing heads-up is a natural extension. With only one opponent, you can play a much wider range of starting hands – almost any two cards can win if played well – so there’s a lot of bluffing and reading your opponent involved.
You don’t always need the best hand to win at 2 player Texas Hold’em. A well-timed bet can make your opponent fold a better hand.
Omaha has an important twist: each player gets four hole cards instead of two, and must use exactly two of them (along with exactly three of the five community cards) to form a five-card hand. This rule is the biggest thing to remember, it trips up a lot of new Omaha players!
Heads-up Omaha is usually played as Pot-Limit Omaha, where betting is limited to the size of the pot to prevent the bets from getting too out of control. Heads-up PLO can be very enjoyable if both players know the rules, but it’s a bit more complex for beginners than Texas Hold’em due to the 4-card combinations.
Many of the strategic concepts from Hold’em carry over, but you’ll need to account for the fact that any hand can become a monster in Omaha with the right community cards.
Five-Card Draw is one of the simplest variants to learn, great if you want a more casual game. Once the blinds have been paid, each player is dealt five cards face-down, and then there’s a round of betting. After that, players have a chance to draw – meaning you can choose to discard one or more of your cards and draw new ones from the deck to replace them, trying to improve your hand.
Let’s say you have two pairs and one odd card, you might discard the odd card and draw one new card, hoping to make a full house. You can also “stand pat” (draw zero cards) if you’re happy with your starting hand. Once the drawing round is done, there’s another round of betting, and then a showdown where the best five-card hand wins, just like other poker games.
In heads-up 5-card draw, you only have one opponent to worry about, which simplifies things. There are no community cards at all, it’s purely about the five cards you hold (and any you draw).
If you want to strip poker down to its absolute basics, you can try One-Card Poker. This variant is extremely simple, very fast, and mostly based on luck – but it can be a fun heads-up game.
The rules: both players put in a small starting bet (an ante) and then each is dealt one card. That’s it. A single round of betting follows, where you can either bet, raise, or fold, based on how confident you are in your one card. If one player folds, the other automatically wins the pot (no need to show cards).
If both players bet and call, then you go to showdown: you reveal your one card each, and whoever has the higher card wins the pot.
Card rankings follow the usual poker order, so Ace is high, then K, Q, J, 10, and so on down to 2 as the lowest. Ties can happen: if both draw, say, a King, it’s a tie and you can ante again and deal new cards.
Because you only have one card, there’s not much to analyze, so it becomes a game of bluffing and nerve. You can bet even with a low card, hoping your opponent will fold rather than risk it, or you can fold a medium card if you sense the other player is confident.
We’ll use Texas Hold’em for this example since it’s the most common game, but the general flow (deal cards, betting rounds, showdown) will be similar in variants as well.
To begin the hand, decide who will start as the dealer. The dealer gives themselves the dealer button for that hand and the other player will be the big blind. Before any cards are dealt, both players place their forced bets: the dealer puts out the small blind (a predetermined small amount), and the other player puts out the big blind (usually double the small blind). Example: the dealer posts £1 and the other posts £2.
Once the blinds are posted, the dealer gives the hole cards – two cards face-down to each player. Each player picks up their two hole cards and keeps them secret from the opponent. At this point, both players have their starting hand.
The first betting round begins. The small blind (dealer) acts first and decides one of three things to do:
Once the small blind has chosen to call, raise, or fold, the action goes to the big blind. If the small blind folded, there’s nothing to do (the big blind just wins). If the small blind called, the big blind can check or raise. If the small blind raised, the big blind can call that raise (put in enough to equal the raise amount), re-raise higher, or fold.
READ MORE: What Are the Poker Raise Rules? (And How Raising Works)
Now comes the dealing of the community cards in stages, with betting rounds after each stage. In a standard Hold’em deal there are three stages of community cards: the Flop, the Turn, and the River. In heads-up play, the big blind (the non-dealer) always acts first on these post-flop betting rounds, and the dealer acts last.
The dealer prepares to reveal the first three community cards. But before flipping them, in formal poker dealing the dealer will burn one card – this means taking the top card of the deck and placing it aside, not using it. Burning cards is done to prevent any player from gaining an advantage if they might have seen the top card accidentally or if it’s marked.
After burning one card, the dealer turns the next three cards face-up on the table. These three cards are called the Flop. They are community cards that both players can use.
Now the flop betting round begins. The big blind is first to act because this is post-flop. That player can either check or bet some amount. Then the dealer gets their turn to act. They can also check if no bet was made, or if the big blind bet, the dealer can call (match the bet), raise (increase the bet), or fold. They make their decision based on how the flop cards might have improved their hand. After this flop betting round is resolved, we move on.
The dealer then deals the next community card face-up. This single card is called the Turn. Now four community cards are on the board. Another round of betting happens. Again, the big blind acts first, and then the dealer. Betting options are similar: check if no bet yet, or bet/call/raise/fold accordingly.
Finally, the dealer shows the fifth and last community card face-up. This card is called the River. Now there are five community cards total on the table. One final betting round occurs, with the big blind acting first and the dealer last, same as before. This is the last chance to bet or bluff.
Note: at any point if a player bets and the opponent folds, the hand ends right there. The betting player wins the pot and you do not go to the next stage or showdown. Many heads-up hands end before showdown because one player folds to a bet.
If both players still have cards (no one folded) after the final betting round, you reach the showdown. This is where the two players reveal their hole cards to determine who wins. The goal is to compare five-card poker hands and see which is higher in the standard hand ranking order.
Each player forms the best five-card hand they can, using the combination of their hole cards and the community cards. Traditional poker hand rankings determine the winner, who collects all the chips that were bet in that hand. Then the dealer button moves to the other player for the next hand, and you’d shuffle up and deal again.
What if both players have exactly the same hand at showdown? In that case, it’s a tie, and the pot is split equally between the two players.
Above is a handy chart of poker hand rankings from highest to lowest. The strongest hand in poker is the royal flush (ten, jack, queen, king, ace all of the same suit), followed by a straight flush (any five consecutive cards of the same suit), then four-of-a-kind, a full house, a flush, a straight, three-of-a-kind, two pair, one pair, and finally the weakest: a high card.
If you’re just learning, keep a printed cheat sheet or this chart nearby for reference. Over time, you’ll quickly learn what beats what in poker and be able to tell at a glance who has the winning hand.
In heads-up poker, aggression tends to pay off. Since you only have one opponent, you can’t just sit and wait for excellent cards. The odds of being dealt a monster hand are low, and folding every mediocre hand will just bleed your chips away. Bet and raise frequently to put pressure on your opponent, even with modest holdings.
That said, don’t go overboard and bet huge on every single hand. If you raise or bet big every time, an observant opponent will catch on and start calling you down. It’s best to use a mix of moves: sometimes open with a raise, other times just call or check, depending on your cards and your opponent’s tendencies. It’s all balance: be assertive enough that you’re not easy to bully, but don’t throw away chips with wild bluffs every hand. For more valuable advices about poker strategy you should check our complete guide.
Beginners are often told to be selective and play only strong starting hands. In heads-up play, however, hand values are relative. Almost any hand can win if it’s played well, because there are only two of you. So you should loosen up and play more hands than you would in a game with many players.
Avoid being predictable. In a two-player match, your opponent will be paying close attention to your habits as you’re the only other person there. If you do the same thing every time, they’ll exploit it.
Vary your bet sizing and frequency. Sometimes make a larger bet with a drawing hand or a bluff, other times bet small or medium with a strong hand, etc. The idea is to keep your opponent guessing. If you only ever bet big when you have a big hand, they’ll fold whenever you bet. If you never bluff, they’ll know any bet from you means strength and will fold accordingly (or only call when they can beat big hands). And if you always bluff too much, they’ll start calling you light. So mix it up!
The more you can balance your play, the harder it will be for the other player to figure you out.
When you’re the dealer, you have position on the other player after the flop, so make use of that! Acting last means you get to see what your opponent does before you decide what to do.
A common strategy is to raise frequently on the button (dealer position) to put pressure on the opponent, because even if your hand isn’t great, you’ll have the benefit of acting last in subsequent betting rounds. Being aggressive with a wide range when you have position can force the other player into tough spots.
Many beginners make the mistake of ignoring position, they play the same way whether they’re dealer or not, or they don’t capitalise on the times they have position. When you have the button, you should generally play more hands and apply pressure. When you don’t, tighten up a little and be careful about building a huge pot without a strong hand.
Bluffing is trickier with just one opponent. A good rule of thumb for beginners is to avoid excessive bluffing, especially early in the match. If you bluff at every pot or constantly make huge bluffs, a savvy opponent will adjust and call you down with medium hands.
If you never bluff, you become easy to read. Your opponent will fold whenever you bet big, because they know you must have the goods. The key is to bluff selectively and believably.
Try semi-bluffs. Bet when you have a drawing hand that isn’t made yet but could improve (for example, you have four cards to a flush). That way, you have two ways to win: they might fold, or if they call, you might hit your draw.
You May Also Like:
When you play heads-up poker, one player is the dealer and also posts the small blind, while the other player posts the big blind. The dealer-small blind acts first before the flop, and the big blind acts first on all betting rounds after the flop. After each hand, the dealer button moves to the other player, so you alternate roles each hand.
Absolutely! You don’t need chips or money to play poker, and this counts for all games, not just heads-up poker. You can use any token or scoring method to represent bets – coins, fake money from Monopoly or other board games, or even use candies as chips. Just maybe don’t eat them until the game’s over.
RELATED: How to Set Up Poker Chips? All About Organising Games at Home
If you and your opponent hold identical five-card hands at showdown, the hand is a tie and the pot is split equally between you. This is the rule for any poker game: when there’s a tie for best hand, the money in the pot is divided between the tied players.
In a casual heads-up game, you and your friend can decide when to end. There’s no fixed endpoint unless you set one. You might play until one runs out of chips, or for a certain number of hands, or simply until you both feel like stopping. Your game, your rules.
We inform you that this website uses cookies. To consent, click the ‘Agree’ button or continue browsing. To learn more about our privacy policy, click here.
Comments