Your Position, Strength, And Strategy In Texas Holdem
We’d be willing to bet over 80% of the folks playing at the biggest poker rooms don’t realize how important their table position is.
If you play at PokerStars, FullTiltPoker, or SportsBook, you’ll often see flop percentages hovering over 50%. A lot of those high percentages are due to fish who get pulled into the flop because savvy players are exploiting their position. If you’re not sure what position is and why it should influence your holdem strategy, don’t worry. We’re going to cover that today.
Let’s get you up to speed so the next time you log into your poker account, you’ll have your guard up. Before we start, take a second to get acquainted with the following table:
Early Position Strategy
Position is based on where you’re sitting in relation to the button. If you’re in the early position, you’re at a disadvantage. Every person to your left has more information than you. They’re reacting to what you and others before them do.
Don’t go in with a marginal hand. If you have a high pocket pair (Aces, for example), you’re safe. But, don’t push with a weak suited connector hoping to flop your set. Remember, in a full game, there are at least 7 players after you. If you get squeezed, you’ll just hemorrhage chips.
Middle Position Strategy
Being in the middle position is better than being in the early position. But, not that much better. You don’t have to play as tightly going into the flop as you would when your Under The Gun (Carol’s position from the above table). That said, there are still several players acting after you. If they’re aggressive and know how to use their late position, they can easily pull you into the flop and take your chips.
Things aren’t clear cut when you’re in the middle position. Watch the other players. Be wary of the aggressive ones in late positions. But, if you notice a few players limping into the pot before you, call on a low pair or suited connectors. If they fold to you, raise. Your odds just increased.
Late Position Strategy
This is where you can make money. Not only are you positioned to know more than nearly every player at the table, but you can steal blinds much easier. Stealing blinds is practically impossible when you’re Under The Gun. It’s tough even when you’re playing the middle position. When you’re late, you’re acting on what everyone else does.
If every player before you simply calls the blind, raise. Even if you’re not holding anything. If the table isn’t overly-aggressive, you’ll weed out several players when they fold. Plus, those who don’t fold will be under your thumb for future betting rounds.
Exploiting your position and the positions of your opponents can take a lot of players by surprise. Like we mentioned, most of the players at PokerStars, FullTiltPoker, and SportsBook don’t seem to appreciate the power of position.
If you want to practice your position strategy at Texas Holdem, visit PokerStars. They draw a lot of new players, so the hunting grounds are full of easy game. Plus, remember that PokerStars has one of the easiest to clear bonuses around (100% match up to $50).
Visit PokerStars and start using your position against the fish.
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