Table Position – Why Is Position So Important To Profitable Poker?
Position Is A Vitally Important Factor In Any Winning Poker Strategy – Find Out How To Use Poker Position To Your Advantage Here.
Experienced poker players try to play the majority of their hands ‘in position’, which means last to act on the flop, turn and river betting rounds. A huge advantage can be gained by doing this, as you get to make your decisions throughout the hand after your opponents have acted. This article explains why position is a key component of profitable poker play. We start before the flop, looking at how acting late gives you a profitable advantage. Next we compare a mid-strength hand after the flop from 2 different table positions to demonstrate how effective position can be. Finally we look at the difference between absolute position and relative position, explaining how to avoid the ‘sandwich effect’ while playing.
Position In Poker Games – Position Before The Flop
At a full table of 9 players the first 3 players to act before the flop are considered to be in ‘early position’. These players have to decide whether to play their hands before knowing whether any of their opponents will raise, re-raise or limp. This makes it dangerous to play mid-strength or speculative hands. Mid position players in the next 2 spaces do see some opponents act, however some caution is still required – for example should a raise be called when there are still 5 players who might re-raise.
Before the flop the player on the button and 2 blinds are the last few players to act. Here you get to see how many of your opponents have entered the pot and whether there has been a raise or re-raise ahead. This information allows you to make an easy decision on whether and how to play your hand – information that players in early position did not have.
Position In Poker Games – Position After The Flop, An Example Hand
After the flop the player in the small blind (or next active player clockwise) will act first, and the player on or closest to the dealer button will act last. This makes the dealer button the best position of all over the flop, turn and river betting rounds. Our example hand demonstrates why position is such a powerful factor:
Imagine you are dealt a pair of sevens before the flop, and 3 players see a flop of 6-9-King… once you are first to act after the flop and once you are last. The time when you act first you need to make a decision on how to play before seeing how your opponents ct. You might still have the best hand, or might be way behind a higher pair or paired king. What is more, if you do not bet then one or more of your opponents will see this is weakness and bet – and you will not know whether this is a bluff or not.
Contrast this with acting last, now your opponents have the difficult decisions. Let us give one of them a pair of 10’s and the other King-Queen, now we are likely to see a raise and call (or re-raise) and can get away from our pair before parting with any more money. If your opponents check then you can be fairly sure you have the best hand and make a move at the pot. Now imagine a 3rd seven on the flop, your position enables you to build a pot when you have a monster holding, something which is more difficult when first to act without scaring away opponents with mid-strength holdings.
Think of it this way – over time every poker player gets dealt the same proportion of good and bad hands. If your skill level is somehow exactly equal to that of your opponents – but you play more of your hands from late position than they do, you will be the big winner at the end of the month or year – it is that important!
Position In Poker Games – Position Relative To The Raiser
Once you have implemented the strategy of playing more hands from later position it is time move on to another position strategy – awareness of your position relative to the player who raised before the flop.
Key here is the fact that poker players naturally tend to check a hand to the player who raised last before the flop. If someone has a strong holding they check trying to trap, and if weak they may check with the intention of giving up to further aggression. The problem comes when you are to the immediate left of the player who raised. When the players ‘check to the raiser’ and this player bets, you are effectively sandwiched between this bet and the rest of the players in the hand… so rather than enjoying acting last you may be effectively 2nd of 4 players.
Spotting potential relative position traps in advance is easy once you have understood why this makes your post-flop play difficult. When there are players in the pot and a raise to your immediate right you should make a quick decision as to whether you hold the right kind of hand (and indeed strength of hand) to risk having bad ‘relative position’ after the flop.
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