Position
is a factor that is
greatly underestimated by
many beginner poker
players. Having position can mean the difference between winning or losing a hand and can have a big influence on how much you win during your poker sessions. Before playing a
hand in Texas Holdem
you should always be
aware of your position
relative to the button.
The
seats nearest to the left
of the button are called
early position or EP for
short.
The
seats nearest to the
right of the button are
called late position or
LP for short.
As
you can guess, the seats
in between these will be
called Middle Position or
MP.
The
seats in Red are Early Position
The
seats in Blue are Middle Position
The
seats in Green are Late Position
The red seats are less favorable
than any other seats at
the table because on any
given round in the
current hand, you are
likely to be one of the
first to act. This means
that in early position
you should be more
selective about the hands
you play, because you
will have less
information on your
opponents at each stage
of the hand because you
are first to act. So
you will need to be
playing your cards and
not the man when in EP.
The blue seats have positional
advantage over the red,
but the seats in green
have position over them.
This means you can afford
to play a few more hands
in these positions as you
do not have as many
people left to act behind
you. However, if all of
the players in the red
seats folded, that will
mean that you will be the
first to act on each
round. So bear that in
mind when deciding
whether or not to play
your hand.
The green seats will prove to be
one of the best seats in
this particular hand.
There is a high chance
that you will be last to,
or one of the last to act
on each round. This is
where you can loosen up
your starting hands even
further but not so much
as to hinder your game.
Just remember, just
because you have
position, does not mean
that you should play poor
starting hands.
The yellow seat is the best seat in
the hand, because on
every round except for
before the flop, you will
be last to act no matter
what.
So what’s the use
of position?
If you have position
over someone, it means
that you are acting after them on each round. This
means you can use the
information they give you
by the way they check or
the amount they bet to
inform your decision on
what to do.
For
example; if you have
position over your
opponent and he checks,
this could be a sign of
weakness. So you could
use this information to
bet out and take the pot
because
they have shown weakness.
Another
example is if there are
many opponents in the
pot, and you hold a
mediocre hand like middle
pair on the flop. If
there is a lot of betting
and raising before the
action gets to you, you
can be sure that you hand
is not that strong and
fold it. If you were in
early position you may
have bet out to see where
you stood in the hand,
and if you were raised
this would have cost you
the amount you bet for
that information. Whereas
when in late position you
can see where you stand
for free.
The
‘cut-off’ is the
position just before the
button. This would be the
second best place to be
in a hold’em game
because if the button
decides not to play, then
you will be the last to
act on each hand. The
button and cut-off are
very useful positions for
stealing the blinds as
there are less players to
act behind you, which
makes it less likely that
they are holding a good
enough hand to call a
raise with.
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