Position is key


31 Jan , 2010 - Posted by Dan Brown in Poker Strategies

Ask any successful poker player what the most valuable thing is at the table and I guaranteed each and every one of them will give the same answer – “position”.

Position is your place at the table in relation to the dealer button, which in turn dictates when you have to act during a hand. At a ten-handed table the three players to the left of the blinds would be counted as being in early position, the three next to those would be middle position and the last two would be in late position.

So why is position so important? Ten-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner, Doyle Brunson once famously said he could beat the majority of his opponents heads-up, even if they were dealt a pair of aces every hand as long as he had position on them.

Poker is a game played with incomplete information, meaning players have to make their decisions based what they know at any one time. The more information they have, the easier it is to make the correct decision and one of the ways information is gathered is to observe whether a player calls or raises.

Being seated in one of the latter positions at the table allows you to win pots you probably would not have if you were seated anywhere else. If you are sat on the button and everyone folds their hand around to you, you stand a large chance of stealing the blinds by raising with a wide range of poker hands. You can also make a bet or raise when the community cards have been dealt if your opponents have shown weakness. You can even represent a hand stronger than the one you actually hold as you get to act after everyone else has.

Conversely, you can also save yourself chips by folding out hands you would otherwise have played. Imagine for example you are seated immediately to the left of the blinds, known as being under-the-gun and are dealt a pair of fours. You decide to limp but by the time the action gets back to you there has been a call, a raise and a re-raise. You now fold you small pair, without seeing a flop and after investing money into the pot.

Now imagine the same scenario but this time you find yourself in late position. Again, there is a call under-the-gun, another call, a raise and a re-raise. Now you can safely fold your lowly pair of fours, knowing you are almost certainly a massive underdog. This time you have not put any money into the pot. Saving the odd bet here and there can be the difference between a winning session and a losing one.

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