Position in Poker
Position in poker is an often-underrated strategy among new players and novices alike. The importance of position in poker cannot be overstated. In games like Texas Hold’em, Omaha, 2-7 Triple Draw, and 5 Card Draw you always know what position you are in at the table, because of the dealer button that rotates. In games like 7 Card Stud and Razz however, the person who acts first and last, may change on every street. But no matter which game you’re playing it’s better to act last and it’s worse to act first.
Poker Positions – Poker Table Position Explained
The first step to mastering this concept is to commit to memory the different poker positions at the table and understand how they relate to one another. Some positions have different names that veteran players use to describe them when talking about strategy or playing a hand. To get started learning poker positions, review the following chart from a Texas Hold’em poker game on Pokerstars.
Following is a list of poker positions and poker position names with a description of each.
Early Position in Poker (EP)
In early position, you’re going to be one of the first people to act during every round of betting. Therefore, your starting hand requirements should be stricter from upfront.
Small Blind – In the small blind position, you’re directly to the left of the dealer. You are forced to post half of the blind with the option of completing it should no one raise. This is the trickiest position to play at the table. What makes this position difficult to play is that often it only costs another half blind to play, which can be tempting with any two cards. Then, you have the disadvantage of acting first on every round of betting after the flop. For those reasons, you should practice a lot of discipline from the small blind when you’re new to poker.
Big Blind – In the big blind position, you’ve already put in the blind before you see your cards, so if no one has raised, you can check and see a “free flop”. If there is a raise, don’t be quick to “defend your blind”. In other words, don’t feel committed to calling another bet just because you already have money in the pot. Base your decision on whether or not you would play the cards in early position if you did not have money in the pot already. The blinds are everyone’s least profitable positions in poker. Don’t compound it by calling raises without quality hands.
Under-the-Gun – Often abbreviated UTG, this is the position to the left of the big blind. This is the first position at the poker table where you get a choice of whether to play or not.
UTG+1 – This stands for under-the-gun plus one and represents two positions left of the dealer. Middle
Middle Position in Poker (MP)
Middle position doesn’t get a lot of attention since it’s not the worst position, nor is it the best position in poker. There are no fancy poker position names to remember. Middle positions are simply abbreviated MP1 and MP2.
Late Position in Poker (LP)
Late position is the best position in poker. Late position is where you want to play the majority of your hands. Here are the different late position names in order.
Hijack Position – This is the position two places to the right of the button. It’s called the hijack position because it can be used to hijack the blind steal play from the cutoff and the button.
Cut Off Position – This position is one to the right of the dealer button. It’s the second-best position available in poker. It’s also sometimes referred to as the cut off seat.
The Button – Having the dealer button is poker is the absolute best position at the table. You want to play the majority of your hands from the button, because of the advantage of acting last on each round of betting.
Having Position and Being Out of Position in Poker
When you have to act before other players, you are “out of position”. Conversely, when you act after your opponents, you “have position” on them.
Poker Position Strategy – Playing Position in Poker
There are two main ways you can play position in poker to gain an edge.
- You can use your position to outplay your opponent.
- You can play more hands in position to gain extra bets.
Using position to outplay your opponents
This is when you use the information you have on your opponents against them to pick up the pot. One way you could do that is to bet whenever your opponents check. Since you’re opponents showed weakness by checking, you are often able to pick up the pot by simply betting. This should be used sparingly against multiple opponents and at low limits.
A second way is to use the call bluff against a single opponent who raised before the flop. If it’s heads up after the flop, most aggressive opponents will go ahead and make a continuation bet to represent a strong hand.
If you sense weakness in your opponent, you can call a bet on the flop and see if your opponent checks the turn. If he does, oftentimes you can bet and win the pot. The best time to use this positional play is when you have some sort of draw or marginal hand such as an inside straight draw or bottom pair. Then, the times you bet and get called on the turn, you will still have outs when you’re behind.
A third way you can use position to outplay your opponents is with a 3-bet preflop. That is, raising an opponent who has raised in front of you. This works well against tight players. Many times, you can pick up the pot before the flop. And since most hands miss most flops, many times your opponent will check and fold to your bet on the flop.
Playing more hands in position
So now you know how you can sometimes win pots that you wouldn’t have otherwise by using your positional advantage. Most of the time however, the best hand wins. So, you’re going to want to use that positional advantage to gain extra bets. You do this by value betting your good hands, saving bets when behind, checking behind, and raising for value.
In poker, your #1 goal is to win the most money, not the most pots. So, you want to use position to make sure the pots you win are larger than average, and the pots you lose are smaller than average.
In the next section, you’ll learn the value of poker hands by position, plus how to play poker hands based on your position.
