Position
Poker is a game about making the right
decisions. The person who over time makes the right decisions will get the
money. To be able to make the correct decision you need information from which
you can derive your decisions. If you are in late position you have more
information than you would if you sat in early postion acting first on every
round. By being late you can see how the other players act before you. This is
why position is so important. It gives you information about how the other
players act.
To learn how to use this information in the right way can be quite complicated. In this chapter we will give you an introduction to position and how it affects your game play. Naturally we also recommend further studies of this very important aspect of poker.
A poker table with 10 people seated at the
table can be divided into three different positions, early, middle and late.
Early position starts with the small blind directly after the dealer button.
Early position
Chair 1 also known as the small blind. This
player has to make a small blind (forced) bet as well as acting first on every
round from the flop and onwards.
Chair 2 also known as the big blind. Has to
make a big blind (forced) bet as well as acating early on every
round.
Chair 3 also called under the gun. The
player in this seat must act first after the holecards have been dealt. In this
case he must play very tightly (i.e very good starting hands) that can stand a
raise behind him. If a player raises in this seat he is probably playing AA, KK
or AK.
Chair 4. This is also considered early
position. There are still several players left to act.
In early position you have to play tightly
i.e fewer starting hands. This is because there are many players to act after
you. Imagine you limp in with a mediocre holding and someone raises the pot. Now
you either forced to play a poor hand out of position or throw away the money
you put in the pot.
Middle position
In middle position you still have to play fairly
tightly. You can still get into trouble so you want a hand you that can call a
raise with without cringing to much.
Late position
Chair 8-9 are called late position. When a player sits in late position
he or she has more information about what has happened in the hand. This
information can in turn be used to steal pots but one can also fold if any other
players show strength. Normally one can play more starting hands in this
position.
Chair 10 also known as the button. The button is the best position at the
table. Here you have the most information and here you can play the most liberal
starting hands. In this position you can steal pots much easier than in any
other position.
To have postion on another
player.
If you have position on another player in a particular hand he or she
will always act before you. This also means you have an advantage. Since you
know what the other players does before you on every round you can act on this
information.
How to use position. Two important concepts.
When it comes to position there are two concepts one should consider. The
first is where you would like to sit. Which players would you like in front or
behind you? Generally speaking you would like to have the aggressive players in
front of you. In this way you can see how they act before you have to.
Aggressive players tend to raise a lot so you want to see the raises coming
rather then calling them (after you already put money in the pot). Passive
players you would like to have in front of you. Passive players will often fold
to your bets and do not often raise. As such they won’t often raise you of a
hand and many times they will fold when you bet. If you discover that you’re
positioned wrongly, but you still enjoy the action, take the time to leave the
table and then reseat to get a better position. Good position is a key component
in making the most out of every poker hand.
The other concept is to sometimes, when in middle or late position, raise
the pot even with a mediocre holding. This will hopefully make everyone else
fold behind you and if you get called you can still pick up the pot on the flop
if it looks favorable. Many pros use this concept. It gives them control over
the hand and allows them to see everyone’s actions on the later rounds.
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