Poker Positioning Strategies
There's a board game that originated from the Philippines called
Game of the Generals. Only two players can play the game and the
winner is usually the one who has the better strategy when it
comes to positioning key players of the game.
The flag is the most vulnerable and must therefore be protected
at all costs. The spy is the highest ranking official in the
game and can ironically be defeated by the lowest ranking
officer, the private. It depends on where you position all your
players in order for you to win the game.
It's almost exactly the same process when it comes to winning a
game of poker.
Positioning is a very important aspect of poker and
unfortunately, it's also an aspect that most new poker players
tend to overlook. First time poker players tend to believe, you
see, that everything depends on their cards alone. I assure you
that it's not. In poker, everything matters and expert poker
players are aware of this. That's why for them, positioning is
quite an important factor because a good position in a game of
poker, especially when it's something like the Texas Hold'Em
version, can give you an advantage over your fellow players.
The Starting Positions
It's always difficult to be in one of the starting positions
because you're ultimately forced to reveal your hand in the
first few rounds without having any idea on what types of hands
your opponents are holding. The key to surviving the next few
rounds is gauging what type of opponents you're facing and see
if it's possible to bluff your way through. It's also a good
sign if you're facing a few opponents and you're holding large
suited cards in your hands.
The Middle Position
This may not be the best position to have in poker but it's
certainly a shade better than having an early position in the
game. With the middle position, you have better chances of
calculating the odds of winning and being able to get the cards
you need. If you've been given a slot in the middle position,
simply try your best to hang on and do stick with small suited
cards.
The Last or Late Position
Alas, this is the best position that you can have when playing
poker, especially when there are around ten players or so which
is often the case in Texas Hold'Em Poker. If you're still not
that good in playing poker, being in the last position will then
give you the upper hand. As others before you will reveal their
cards first, use this to your advantage and just calculate the
odds as best as you can.