⚔️ Bounties & heads-up
when the rules of “normal” tighten and loosen
The normal rules of tight play loosen dramatically in two spots: bounty events, where knocking a player out pays a cash prize, and heads-up play, where only two players remain. Both reward aggression far more than a full table does. This lesson covers how to adjust.
Two formats bend standard hand values enough to deserve their own lesson: bounty events, where every knockout pays cash immediately, and heads-up — the one-on-one endgame every title runs through.
In a bounty event, a short stack’s all-in has a prize stapled to it. Calling ranges widen — sometimes a call that loses chips on its own becomes profitable once the bounty is priced in. Just don’t overdo it: the bounty is a bonus on good decisions, not a licence for bad ones.
Heads-up, hand values transform: with only two hands dealt, any pair, any ace, any two paint cards is a real hand. King-high wins showdowns. The preflop button posts the small blind, acts first before the flop and last after it — and should be raising most hands it’s dealt.
💡 Key idea: aggression wins heads-up. Two passive hands can’t both be right — whoever keeps asking the questions collects the blinds, and the blinds are enormous by then.
In a bounty tournament, every opponent’s head is worth money, so calling all-ins gets more profitable — you’re paid extra to eliminate people. The wider the bounty relative to buy-in, the looser you call, especially against short stacks you cover. In heads-up, with only two players and you posting a blind every hand, folding is expensive: you raise the vast majority of buttons and defend your big blind very wide.
The unifying idea is that fewer opponents and extra incentives both shift the math toward aggression. Hands that are trash nine-handed — K-3, Q-7, any ace — become raises or calls heads-up. The mistake is playing a final table or a bounty spot with your cautious full-ring instincts; the correct ranges are several times wider, and the players who adjust fastest take the chips.
Questions
How should I play heads-up poker?
Very aggressively. With only two players and a blind posted every hand, folding bleeds chips. Raise most buttons and defend your big blind wide — hands that are junk at a full table are playable heads-up.
How do bounties change tournament strategy?
Bounties pay you to eliminate opponents, so calling all-ins — especially against shorter stacks you cover — becomes more profitable. The bigger the bounty relative to the buy-in, the looser you should call.