Heads up poker strategy: the button posts, and it acts first preflop

The Poker Tournament Directors Association rule says: heads-up, the small blind is the button, is dealt the last card, and acts first pre-flop and last on all other betting rounds. When the table first becomes heads-up, the button may have to move so that nobody posts the big blind twice in a row.

Texas Hold'em rules describe the other case. With three or more players, the button is last to act after the flop, the small blind sits to the left of the button, and the first preflop action is to the left of the big blind. That page is right for a full table. It is the wrong map for two players. Use the map that matches the number of people dealt in.

Poker for beginners is the hand ranking and the betting words. Heads-up does not change what a flush is. It changes who speaks first.

You are in every hand. Folding the button preflop means you posted the small blind and gave it up. Defending the big blind means you already posted the larger blind. Both facts push rational ranges wider than a full-ring opening range. How much wider depends on stack depth and on the price of continuing. A chart that says "raise 85% of hands" is a claim about a specific stack and a specific rake. This page has not derived that claim, so it will not print it.

Pressure is the threat of further bets, not a slogan. The button acts last on the flop, the turn, and the river. That is an information advantage on those streets and a disadvantage before the flop, where the button must act first. Poker pot odds is how to price a call once there is a bet and a pot. GTO poker strategy is the idea of a balanced range. Neither page, and not this one, is a solver output you can memorize in place of the stack sizes in front of you.

Seeing a flop costs whatever the table charges. On PVPspinArena poker the fee is 5% of the pot and only when a flop is dealt. A hand that ends before the flop pays no fee, and uncalled chips are returned before the fee. That is this site's rule, from its game data. Another site's rake, a timed collection, or a tournament fee is a different price. Do not paste 5% onto a room that posts something else.

A strategy that ignores the fee will call too often in small pots. The fee is not a reason to invent a profit. Over a short session the cards dominate. Responsible gambling applies to heads-up the same way it applies to a full table, and the session is faster because you play every hand.

Deal two players. Say out loud who acts. Button first before the flop, big blind first after it. Then price one decision with the pot and the bet, including the fee if a flop is out. Stop there. A system that promises a win rate from a position chart is not a strategy. It is a forecast this page will not make.

The cluster lives under poker. The site's terms point at the same fee rule. How it works is the product around the table, not a heads-up lesson.