POSITIONS AT THE POKER TABLE
Position, meaning your seat at the table, determines the order in which you act. If you act early in the hand, you are in an “early position.” The term “late position” means that on the turn and river, the action will come to you in the last (dealer position, “button”) or second-to-last (“cutoff”) position. If on the preflop the blinds act last, they act first on the flop, turn, and river – in subsequent rounds of betting.
Playing in late position is often simply referred to as “playing in position,” and if you are the first to act, you are “out of position” or “without position.”
WHY IS THE LAST POSITION SO IMPORTANT?
The main advantage of playing in position is that you can see the actions of all the other players who are sitting before you and make decisions based on the information obtained. If you are lucky, you can make a bet and win the pot even on the preflop or on the flop. If you have far from the best cards or a good pair with a bad kicker, and there have been many bets in front of you, you can simply fold your cards, and at the same time not lose anything. The poker school for beginners knows that many players do not understand the importance of position, yet position is a key advantage in poker.
COMBINATION OF POSITION AND AGGRESSION
The last position and an aggressive style are a deadly combination, especially in No-Limit Hold’em. When you are in position, you have a huge scope for action:
1. Raise the bet with multiple callers before you when you have bad cards.
2. Call someone’s raise preflop and play aggressively on the flop.
3. Make a reraise preflop.
4. Raise on the flop.
OUT-OF-POSITION PLAY
There are pros and cons to being the first to act. The main drawback is that you won’t have an idea of your opponents’ strength. You’ll have to watch the actions of other players, or you’ll have to make bets and gauge the reactions of others. Nowadays, there are too many aggressive players, making it very difficult to understand opponents’ hands. The conclusion might seem to be that playing out of position isn’t worth it, but that’s not necessarily true. It all depends on who you’re playing against. For example, against one or two players who only bet when they have good cards, you can win with a bluff. Thinking you have the better hand, they’re more likely to fold than try to outplay you on the turn and river.
PREFLOP
Let’s consider an example where two players in middle position call (match the big blind), and you are in a late position with A ♠ 10 ♠. With such cards, it’s perfectly fine to play in this situation. You can play by raising or calling, but in our example, we decided to just call. You match the big blind, the small blind also matches the bet to the size of the big blind. The player on the big blind checks. Thus, there are still five players in the game.
FLOP
The dealer reveals the flop: 8♣ 9♦ 10♦, and the pot is 100$. The small blind checks in poker,and the player from the big blind position bets the full pot (100$). The next player calls, and the player after him raises to 400$.
Since you are playing in position, you can see what other players will do and, if necessary, fold your cards. You have a good pair and the best kicker. But what might opponents have? With this flop, there are many combinations that can beat you. There is a possibility of two pairs, a set, or even a straight. You may hope that the drawn Ace will give you two pairs, but if it’s the A♦, someone may end up with a flush. Being in position, the best action would be to fold your cards, minimizing your chip loss. If you were the first to act, you would have to make a bet, thus spending your chips to figure out what cards others have. Our example vividly illustrates the value of playing in position.
