Poker Position

It is well known that in poker, it is best to have position on your opponent. Position means that for the duration of the hand, your opponents must act before you, allowing you to see their actions and take them into account, while your opponents must act effectively “in the dark” because they don’t yet know what you are going to do. Almost every Texas Hold ‘em strategy guide talks about the importance of positional advantage, and with good reason; If you can try and play the majority of your pots in position, you will have an advantage over the other players on the table. A competent player can sometimes take reduce or eliminate his opponents advantage, by using aggression to counteract his opponents positional advantage.

Poker Out Of Position:

As an example, lets’ consider typical No-Limit Texas Hold ‘em hand. In this instance, let us say that you are in the big blind with 8c-9c. The player on the button raises to three times the big blind (which is pretty standard) and you call call. Most players in your position would check the flop 100% of the time here. This is called “checking to the aggressor” and is perhaps the most over-used move in the poker world, particularly in tournament play where it is often not the best way to play the hand. By checking, you give the initiative to the button raiser. He will often bet whether or not he has a hand (called a C-Bet or Continuation bet), putting you in a difficult situation if you didn’t hit a piece of the flop.
In this sort of a situation, it’s often a good idea to look at the flop and ask yourself, “Is this flop likely to have hit my opponents hand?” If you can decide on a probable answer to that question, you can decide how best to proceed in the hand.

Flop Texture Out of Position:

If the flop comes with 3 high cards such as Ad-Qh-7c, it’s often best to just check and fold to a bet, particularly if your opponent raised from early position, as most players who raise do so with big cards likely to connect with that flop. However, if the flop is Td-5c-2c, then it is much less likely that your opponent’s hand improved. In texas Hold’em, the chances of two unpaired hole cards making a pair on the flop is only about 1 time in 3. That means that 2 thirds of the time your opponent will miss a flop like this completely.
I the texture of the flop indicates that your opponent may not have connected, you can take the initiative and make a bet. A bet of about 50% of the pot is usually a good size. On this flop, you actually have a flush draw, so betting is a good idea for several reasons: You might win the pot straight away if your opponent only has 2 high cards or a low pair, Or your opponent might call, but fold to another bet on the turn. You might even make your flush and win a big pot off an opponent who was calling with a hand such as A-T. If you are able to get any reads on your opponent, they can help dictate whether you are better off betting again (a semi-bluff) or if you should just check-fold your hand.

Betting when Out of Position:

Taking shots when out of position can be a very profitable strategy, particularly in tournaments where every pot is important. Playing aggressively is always going to be a good strategy, and most people will give your out of position bets a lot of respect, simply because they are used to players out of position checking to the aggressor. Players in tournaments particularly will often give up on weak or medium strength hands, because they know that losing all their chips means that are out of the tournament. Players in cash games will often be more inclined to call with weak hands, as they can always put more money on the table if they bust out.

Let aggression be your friend, and take the initiative, even when out of position. In this way, you can win plenty of pots that would have otherwise gone to play player in position.