Playing Your Position

Your position at the table is defined by where you are in relation to the other players in the hand. The strongest position at the table is the player who is on the button. This is because the player on the button would be the last to act after the flop, turn, and river. Being last to act in each round of betting gives the player the advantage by allowing them to see what each player does before making a decision whether to check, bet, call, or raise.

Position is a key element in playing winning poker. Position is often overlooked by inexperienced players. Too often, players who are new to the game are more concerned with the strength of their cards rather than the strength of their position. Where you are in relation to the other players who have acted and who are left to act can make a huge impact on a player's chipstack.


Let's take a look at what playing out of position can do. Let's say that you're under the gun. You peek at your cards and see Big Slick, AK of Spades. You're feeling good about the hand, so you open the pot for a raise. Everyone folds around to the button, who makes the call with who knows what. The flop comes down 4d 5d Jc, no help to your AK. Now what? You've likely already lost some money into this pot with the pre-flop raise. Your only real chance now to take down this pot is to follow through with a continuation bet. Since you know that aggressive poker is winning poker, you follow through, and your opponent calls. The turn drops another blank, lending no assistance to your AK. And now you've got another "now what?" Does he have a big pocket pair and you're just about drawing dead? Did he flop a set? Or is he holding a 67 or a couple of diamonds, and he's only on a draw. If you are to bet, it's going to have to be a hefty one, big enough to take away the pot odds if he is on a draw. Then again, you could simply be throwing alot of dead money into the pot if he's got you beat.

Now let's take a similar situation, but this time you're on the button. A player raises from middle position with who knows what, and you call from the button with AK of Spades. This time the flop lands 7s 10s, Qc. From here you've got a variety of options depending on how you opponent acts. If he checks, you can check along behind him and peel a free card, hoping to hit your straight, your flush, or maybe an A or a K. You could also stick out a semi-bluff, which may win you the pot right there. If he calls with that dangerous of a board texture, he's likely on some sort of a draw himself or not very confident about the strength of his hand. If instead he leads with a bet, you can simply call for the draw. With so many outs, you'd be getting the odds for most any price. Or you may opt to raise, another semi-bluff that could win you the pot right there, or set you up for a big payoff if you do hit one of your outs.

You don't necessarily need to be on the button to have the best position. If you're in the BB, and the entire table folds around to you and the small blind, you now have superior position, as you will be last to act on subsequent rounds of betting.

Below are a couple of illustrations of table position for the visual learners.
SB=Small Blind
BB=Big Blind
E= Early position
M= Middle position
L= Late Position

Position at 9-man tables:




Position at 6-man tables:




Generally speaking, the worse your position at the table is, the tighter you want to play. The better your position, the broader range of starting hands you can play.

From early position, you typically want to play only premium hands and maybe a few others depending on table circumstances. This position is where you want to avoid playing drawing hands. When you come in from early position, you have no idea what kind of a raise, re-raise, or all in you may be facing before the flop. Even if you do make it to the flop for a reasonable price you could still wind up losing alot of chips chasing a draw if you do hit one.

From middle position, your starting hand selection can begin to widen up a bit. While you'll have position on the players who act before you, you'll want to be careful not to play too loose from here, as you still have a few players left to act after you. If they fold you'll be in great position, but if they do come in, you be playing against them from a potentially troublesome position.

From late position, and especially the button, you can play a pretty wide variety of hands without posing too much danger to your chipstack. Being one of the last to act before the flop, you can get a general idea of the strength of the hands at the table based on who came in, from where, and whether they limped in or came in with a raise. This can help you determine how much you're really willing to invest in your hand before you put any money into the pot. By raising or re-raising from this position, players will take a serious look at their hands before deciding whether or not they want to continue against you. Being out of position, often these players will simply give up the pot right then and there. If they are crazy enough to tangle with you out of position, you'll still have an arsenal of weapons to use against him after the board comes down, even if you don't hit the board.

nice indroduction again lol....

most of the time.... i don't play my positon

yeah im also bad at playing my position on a regular basis>
need to work on it!

position doesnt always count when your playing online with people who go all in with a 72 offsuit.

NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL A DONK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!