Instructional Guide To Poker Positions
Position, sometimes it matters more than size.
Often a players position matters more than the cards they hold and sometimes even more than the cards on the board. The most coveted position is the button or dealer’s spot. This is the last position to be on the last three rounds and the third to last position to act when the hole cards are dealt. Tremendous advantage is gained by watching the other players look at their hole cards and act before the button even has to check their cards.
The button is a great place to steal blinds with a big raise. Also, a modest raise of one or two times the blind from the button is a good way to set up a bluff if a scare card like an ace or king rolls off on the flop. Speculative hands like low pairs and drawing hands are good for semi bluffs here.
The worst positions to play for many are the early positions. Generally speaking strong hands like QQ, KK, AA, and AK are the only ones you want to pick a fight from early position with. Sometimes not even then depending on the character of the game. Proper use of your table image allows for some creativity.
Tight players can bluff and loose cannons can limp in with monsters and set traps. All in all early position is worth learning to play well. Being able to play well from early adds to your profit since some players abandon all but the strongest hands here. Learn your competition and act accordingly.
If an aggressive player is in the small blind a good player in front of them will limp in or check a strong hand to trap and isolate them. A player in the small blind having a tight table image may be able to take down a pot before the flop with a decent raise of three to four times the big blind if no one has raised in front of them.
Often the small blind will lead out with a bet after the flop regardless of whether it hit them or not. In a tight game where the whole table does not see every pot this might be enough to win. This is sometimes called a feeler bet, letting the actor know who is in the mood to gamble and who isn’t.
The big blind is a unique position, being the last to act before the flop. This give opportunities for tight players to bluff. If the pot has not been raised the big blind may see a flop basically for free since their bet is already placed before the deal. After the flop the big blind is second to act on every round so most noise made here is done before the flop.
The early positions are generally considered to be the first three after the big blind at an eleven player game. These positions are places where suited connectors, suited aces, middle pairs and suited paint are usually best played slowly. Big pairs and Ace King usually call for a large raise of at least four times the blind to keep the drawing hands out of the pot.
The middle position allows betters to get some idea of the intentions of the early position but they still have to act before the players in late position. Here middle pairs can be played and this is not a bad spot for connectors and low pairs if you can see the flop on the cheap. This is not the place to make a large raise with middle pairs and a poor time to bluff with aggressive players behind you unless your table image is water tight.
The late positions are the button and the two spots to the right of the button. Acting late in every hand this is not a bad place to be. With the right table image it is sometimes possible to steal the button and isolate an early raiser if your hand and knowledge of the raiser warrants such. For example, the first player to act is notorious for raising with any paint or any ace.
First spot opens with a raise twice the big blind basically telling you he has ace-trash or some unpaired paint. A player to the right of the button may be able to induce the button to fold with a large re-raise thereby becoming the last player to act. Of course all of these suggestions are general guidelines. You must vary your play to keep from becoming predictable.
In general, the earlier you have to act the weaker your position is. The better you learn to play your position the more profit you will see. Play well.
