How To Play Heads Up
- When the word is guessed correctly and the player wants another word, the player bows his/her head forward, tilting the phone, and a new word will pop up on the screen. If players believe the word isn’t going to be guessed, they can tilt their heads backwards (so the phone tilts). A different word will appear.
- Heads up poker is the purest form of the game and is one of the most profitable game types for skilled players. Heads up poker format means that you will have to play the blind every hand and hence will have to play LOTS of hands - in some cases 100% of the hands you are dealt.
As a parent (or anyone who has to look after young kids), you can really appreciate the value of quiet games. And one of the easiest places to start is by teaching your kid(s) how to play Heads Up 7Up.
Let me give you some rules, which you need to stick by if you want success in heads ups. Play super wide pre-flop (Follow charts) 2. Don’t c bet any 2, or even near 100%. Given the wide ranges you should value bet much lighter than in regular games. Play dynamic and adjust to your opponents tendencies. In heads up poker play adjusting to your opponents tendencies is what decides who is most likely to be a winner. Sometimes uber aggressive players luck box themselves into playing the optimal.
It’s a super easy (and more importantly, quiet) game to learn.
Kids love to play it because, every time you play, there’s a different outcome.
There are actually a couple ways to play this game, so we’ll go through both of them below, along with what you can do if you don’t have enough kids for the traditional version of this game.
Let’s get into all of the details.
How to Play Heads Up 7Up
Here’s what you need in order to play:
- At least 14 kids
- Thumbs
Pretty simple.
Variation #1: The Original
Here are the instructions for how to play heads up 7up in the “original” version:
- Select seven kids to stand in front of the room.
- Tell everyone else to put their heads down (usually while sitting).
- Each of the seven kids walks around the room and taps one kid. Once touched, that kid puts his or her thumb up.
- The seven go back to the front of the room and say, “heads up, 7up!”
- Each of the kids who was touched (and now have their thumbs up) get one guess to see which of seven was the one who touched them.
- If they guess it correctly, they get to change places with the person who touched them, and now get to be in front of the room for subsequent rounds of the games (until someone else switches with them).
You can predetermine how many rounds are left in the game, and whoever are the seven left standing at the end are the winners.
Variation #2: The “Chosen One”
This example works much like the one above, but there are some important differences:
- Everyone puts their heads down and the adult/teacher in the room taps one kid – this kid is now “it.”
- That one kid then walks around and taps another six kids, who the immediately proceed to the front of the room.
- They then say “heads up, 7up!”
- The remaining kids have to guess which one of the seven are “it.”
How to Play Heads Up 7Up if You Don’t Have 14+ Kids
Heads up 7up is a fun game, but sometimes it’s difficult to play if you don’t have a large group of kids.
Fortunately, you can scale back the number of people selected and the game still works (although then it really isn’t “7” up, but it’s still the same game).
The key to playing with fewer kids is making sure that you have at least twice as many kids as the number of kids being tapped.
Here’s an example of how it would work if you have 6 kids:
- Select two kids to stand in front of the room.
- Tell the other four kids to put their heads down.
- Each of the two kids walks around the room and taps one kid. Once touched, that kid puts his or her thumb up.
- The two go back to the front of the room and say, “heads up, 7up!” (yes, even though there aren’t seven)
- Each of the two kids who was tapped gets one guess to see who tapped them.
- If they guess it correctly, they get to change places with the person who touched them, and now get to be in front of the room for subsequent rounds of the games (until someone else switches with them).
Although it’s less challenging than playing with 14+ people, it’s still fun because the kids get to win and switch places more often.
You can get creative and add other things to the game, such as:
- Instead of tapping the kids with their heads down, the kids who are “it” place an object (could be a toy or anything else) and then the kids who are selected have to give the object back to the correct person.
- This is more fun than just trying to guess the person because you get to watch their facial expressions as you decide who to give the toy to, which may tip you off as to who tapped you! (you know, let the kids practice their poker faces at an early age)
Still looking for more? Here’s another variation of the game that involves math.
It’s time to play!
Well, that’s all you need to know about how to play heads up 7up. As you can see, it’s a easy game to learn and doesn’t require much to get started.
And it sure beats letting your kids spend all day playing around on a mobile device.
As we said above, you can get creative and add your own unique twists to the game to make it more fun and interesting.
What variations of the game have you tried? Or do you just enjoy playing the “classic” way? Share in the comments below! 🙂
Heads Up Poker can be referred to the type of poker that is either played between two players only or it can also occur at tournaments and single table games after the elimination of every other players. Alternatively, heads up poker may be performed on purpose, either in a cash game format, or as an SnG, where only two players play against each other, and the winner takes away all previously agreed amount of money.
While it is obvious that many players often chose to play in a group of 5-6 players, it is also true that many poker players make the best of money by playing the “Heads Up Poker”. One of the main reasons why playing Heads Up is more popular is because of the potential it provides the players to be able to earn more as compared to a game of multi-players.

The game also makes use of the 'button blind' structure where every player posts an ante, and the player seated at the button position is the only one who posts a blind.
In other poker games, the players usually have to deal with several other players and most of the time it becomes quite difficult to play with a mixture of skilled and non-skilled poker players. Whereas, in Heads Up Poker, the player have to deal with only one opponent which makes it easier to decide whether they want to stay in the game or walk away from that game and select a new opponent.
How To Play Heads Up
The advantages of playing Heads Up Poker is that you get to play aggressively since you only have one opponent to deal with. Here, your skills play a major role in winning the game rather than the cards you are dealt with. In order to be successful, the players have to be very refined at their poker skills.
In multi-player game, the players usually do not find it comfortable to play with smaller pairs, but in Heads Up, if you are dealt with a pair then you have the highest chance of winning and as such you can play aggressively in such cases.
Heads Up Poker are mostly stressful and hard to predict if you are a novice player and your opponent might easily get to learn your play and hence lower your chances of winning the game.
How To Play Heads Up 7-up
In the early stages of Heads Up Poker, the player will have to try to understand their opponent’s play in the first few hands. If your opponent folds often to any raise then your chances of winning more are high since it is clear that your opponent isn’t so familiar with the strategies of the game. You will easily be able to tell when he/she has a good card since they will most likely try to raise more when the card is in their favor. That way you won’t have to lose much and continue with the game.
The player should focus on adjusting their strategy and beating their opponent. Many professional players chose to play Heads Up Poker because of the higher chances of win-rate that the game provides to the players. If you are new to Heads Up Poker then you would first want to practice at home with your friends or family, that way you will be able to get more acquainted with the game and hence understand the strategies of the game.
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