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Many players have a problem when it boils down to one on one play and there is no denying that heads-up play is an art.

Heads up play is all about aggression and you should usually be seeing at least 80% of the flops. That means calling mini-raises from the big blinds with pretty much any two cards and raising from the small blind with any two.

If the blinds are a tenth of your stack or higher in heads up, then from the small blind most players would be pushing with any Ace, any two cards higher than eight, suited connectors down to five, four and suited one gaps down to six, four plus any pocket pair.

It does not hurt to be very aggressive if you hit part of the flop or even if you have a good draw.

In that situation many players will come over the top pre-flop with Ace, ten up to Ace, King and with any pocket pair of seven or higher.

If you get re-raised, do not be concerned about table image and stay in the hand when you know you are beaten. Just lay it down as heads up is essentially a trapping game.

For instance folding smaller pairs because the stacks aren't deep enough to justify calling for set value.

It is not necessarily a negative thing if your opponent thinks you can be pushed around as when he gets a little over confident and makes a big bet at the wrong time, you can take your revenge.

Also do not worry too much about your stack size when you're behind. As long as you have at least a quarter of the total chips there is no cause for concern because you can double up quickly and be back to even.

Momentum is a very big factor in heads up play and when you go from almost out to even in one hand, it can prompt bad decisions from your opponent shortly after.

The nature of online games is that both players are usually fairly short-stacked relative to the blinds by the time it reaches the heads up.

So to recap what that means is that the correct way to play is often push or fold.

If you both have reasonably deep stacks, then heads up becomes a battle of psychology and getting a read on your opponent and preventing him from getting a read on you is imperative.

Try not to just call pre-flop from the small blinds too often, either raise or fold.

If you go three hands in a row without raising pre-flop, raise the fourth in almost every scenario (unless your opponent has made a big raise and you have junk).

Raise often but not every hand as that just makes you too easy to pick off (too many re-raises with junk is a common downfall) and if your opponent is very passive keep pushing him around but be prepared.

On the flip side, if he's hyper aggressive then sit back a little and try to pick him off.

What goes in before the heads up means very little in an heads up game and there is no need to preserve your image and never be afraid to lay down hands when you know you are beaten.

Angus MacKenzie / Eurosport