The Power Of Position In Texas Hold'em
Many people I think understand in theory what position means at
a poker table, but I don't think many people use position as
part of their decision making process. This is very important as
it will greatly effect the way hands play out. First let me
explain what position means in texas hold'em. Position is simply
the location you are sitting at the table in relationship to the
dealer. Starting from the dealer and going clockwise around the
table. Listed in order they are small blind, big blind, first
position, second position, third position, fourth position,
fifth position, sixth position, seventh position, and eighth
position. Now the person in eighth position at a ten person
table would have the dealer button, also known as "on the
button". Basically I suggest breaking this down into four
categories. 1. In The Blinds 2. Early Position 3. Middle
Position 4. Late Position These are dynamic positions. What I
mean by that is your position depends on if people fold their
hand. For example you may be the big blind but everyone folds
except for the small blind. This makes you late position.
The advantage in having a late position is that you get to see
the actions of others before you have to make a decision as to
what to do. This can be a huge advantage often times over looked
by new players. Now because your playing style would be dictated
by what you would do in these positions in different
circumstances I will not use specifics as much as the general
concepts involved.
First lets examine the "1. In The Blinds" position. First of
all it is not advantageous to be in this position as you will be
acting early in every subsequent round. Also you have had to
contribute to the pot up front and so already have some interest
in it. At the start of the hand you will get to act late or even
last. Use this to your advantage. Knowing you will be acting
early in every subsequent round means don't call the lower or
middle strength starting hands unless the blinds are low and you
just want to see if something special happens on the flop for
you, and then be quick to fold it when it doesn't. A mistake I
see many newer players make is checking and then calling small
bets from this position, or betting the minimum then calling
small raises. Now unless you have made a strong hand at the flop
you are likely committing yourself more and more to a pot that
won't be yours. New players look at it like betting a little
then calling a little won't hurt them so that they can see if
they get their card on the turn, and then the river. The problem
is that each little bit adds up. Also the more you put in the
pot the more of an interest you have in it. If you put $20 in
last round perhaps $30 this round will be small enough to call.
You have to remember that in no-limit hold'em your chips are
leverage as well as your stake in the tournament. Each little
bit not only gets you closer to the door, but reduces your
strength as well. If you have a large stack people are less
likely to call simply because you can put them all-in if you
choose to.
Now as for the breaking down into what positional category for
the most part I would suggest this. Generally think of it as
early position and late position. If you are in a middle
position than consider yourself early position unless your
planning on making a bet to force hands out. In which case it
would be likely that some after you would fold and so possibly
putting you in late position. Unless a large number of people
get in on a hand for the most part there will be early and late
positions after the initial round.
I suggest adjusting your starting hand requirements according
to your position. For example playing the top 40 or 80 starting
hands from late position, but only playing the top 24 from early
position. Also I suggest being prepaired to fold a suspect hand
if your acting earlier in position. Put a "feeler bet" out to
gauge the level of your opponents hand.
Keeping your position in mind while deciding as to what play to
make will make you a much better poker player. It will allow you
to save money that might have been lost as well as extracting
money more skillfully. Either way it is sure to improve your
game.
Good luck at the tables.