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Table Position

Table position is an important concept to grasp in the game of poker. After learning table position, you will know when to play certain hands and when throw hands away. Playing good table position is something to always keep in mind while playing poker due to the fact you don’t want to put yourself in a risky situation where you could end up losing your stack of chips to better players with bigger hands. In this strategic guide, you’re going to learn the importance of playing in position and you will recognize where to use this theory while playing poker.

Playing Early Position

Playing in early position is the worst possible position to start at while playing poker. It’s a poor position to start in simply because you are one of the first four players to act (on a 10-max table). The first player to act to the left of the button (dealer) is considered to be UTG (under the gun) and they are most likely to only play top hands. This player is responsible for making the first bet or calling the initial big blind at the start of a hand in Texas Holdem. The disadvantage to early position is the fact that the other players at the table will react to your every move. This could lead you into disastrous situations in which you might find yourself calling a big raise with a mediocre hand. The best way to prevent disasters from happening is by folding more hands pre-flop, unless your hand is considered to be one of the best ranks. Many players will only play a few select hands when it comes to playing early position.

These hands are also known as the top starting hands in poker:

Ace-Ace
King-King
Queen-Queen
Ace-King
Jack-Jack
Ace-Queen
King-Queen
Ace-Jack
King-Jack
Ace-Ten

Playing Middle Position

In poker, middle position is defined as the 4^th player to the left of the dealer button and onward till the 6th (on a 10-max table). This position is not a good position to play in, but not necessarily a bad position either. The reason it is a decent position to play is the fact you get the extra knowledge of the actions the players in early position took. Someone in early position might raise, indicating a strong hand, so you might fold a mediocre hand like J10s on your turn to act in middle position.

Middle position is often regarded as “squeeze play” meaning you are forced to make a lot of black and white decisions based on the information from early position while you consider the possible future actions of late position.

An example of squeeze play: You call a player’s bet in early position. The player after you raises in late position while the player in early position simply re-raises you through a semi-bluff or great hand which forces you to commit chips on your mediocre hand. Usually this type of play ends with you folding your hand and losing the chips you called in the middle position the first time. Avoid squeeze play as much as possible by sticking to bigger hands, but not necessarily just the top 10 hands.

Playing Late Position

Late position is always known as the best position in poker. You are able to control the current round of betting by calling, folding or raising the bet behind you. The last player in the hand is called the button, which is ultimately the best position to play poker in.

You are in control and can steal player’s blinds while you are in late position. For example, if someone checks or bets a small amount to you in late position, you can raise or re-raise them in hopes they will fold. They will typically fold if their hand is mediocre or worse.

Additionally to raising, you are also able to play your mediocre hands cheaper by being last to act in late position. This is good if everyone checks towards you and you’re holding J10s.

If you are drawing a hand in poker (like a flush or a straight), it’s alright to semi-bluff in late position. You raise the previous bet from early position or middle position to a greater amount in hopes they will fold their hand due to your position. They will likely respect your re-raise and check the hand down. As they check your hand down, you can bet or check them. Betting again may cause a checking player to fold while checking down your hand will give you a free card, which might help you make your hand. Then you can bet again on the river to hopefully win the hand. In the example, you made only one investment by betting in late position which put fear into your opponent. He or she likely had a mediocre hand or didn’t hit their draw and checked to you, setting him or herself up to fold by the turn.

Summary

In this article, you’ve learned about the three positions in poker: early position, middle position and late position. You’ve also learned how to apply these strategies on a 10-man table in Texas Holdem.

All in all, it’s important to remember to play accordingly to your position at all times. In the early position, play stronger hands. In later position, play a wider range of decent hands if no one has raised. It won’t cost you too much.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 5th, 2009 at 6:51 am and is filed under Poker Guides. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.