Free Online Poker Guide To Basic Poker Table Position Play Strategy
Position is your seat in a poker table relative to other players. Be it free online poker or cash it is your position which will indicate when you will act in a poker hand. In a full ring game (9-12 players), in any given round of betting:
(1) Early position consists of the first three or four players to act.
(2) Middle position consists of the next player after early position to the player before late position.
(3) Late position consists of the last three or four players to act. Preflop, the dealer, the small blind, and the big blind are last to act, in that order.
Postflop, the small blind and the big blind are first to act, and the dealer is last to act.
Why does position matter?
Why do most players prefer playing most hands in late position? Briefly, it is because you are given more information in late position.
If you are in late position, the actions of the players in early position are added information to you. But the player in early position do not have the benefit of information derived from your actions.
This is why most players (especially good players) do not like giving up their button (dealer button) unless they have absolute trash. They call a small raise with any decent hand like 9-7 or A-5 (but not extraordinarily big raises, of course).
In a nine-handed game, suppose you have Q-J, a marginal hand, under the gun (the first person to act preflop). Will you raise? There are still eight players after you to act, and there will be a higher chance that they will have better hands than you. (A-x will have you beat). So fold.
In middle position, you may call one raise, or you can raise; you are indifferent.
From the button, you raise if no one has acted before you (you can steal the blinds this way). Or call if someone raised small (because you have position).
From the blinds, you call (because it is discounted) but you have to be careful with postflop play because you are out of position postflop. Or you can even reraise a raise if you feel the raiser was weak (raising with junk is prevalent in good players in late position who want to steal the blinds habitually).
Position also matters when playing with players with a fixed style.
- It is desirable to act before a rock so you can bluff him more easily.
- It is preferable to act after a loose-aggressive chip sprinkler so you can raise him if you hit the Flop hard or if you have A-A, then expect a rereaise and then you can move all-in.
- Against a calling station, it doesn't matter where you sit - just bet if you have a hand and then expect a call.
As for playing against really good players, your ideal position should be not playing at all! Don't tangle with them. If you can't avoid it, then play in an unpredictable fashion, and take advantage of the times you are acting after him.
This point moves us away from table position in to the more strategic level of choosing your games wisely. I won't expand on it here except to say, don't play above your skill level except when deliberately practising with money you have set aside to lose, or better still on free poker games table where you can crash and burn with impunity and learn at the same time.
Position is your seat in a poker table relative to other players. Be it free online poker or cash it is your position which will indicate when you will act in a poker hand. In a full ring game (9-12 players), in any given round of betting:
(1) Early position consists of the first three or four players to act.
(2) Middle position consists of the next player after early position to the player before late position.
(3) Late position consists of the last three or four players to act. Preflop, the dealer, the small blind, and the big blind are last to act, in that order.
Postflop, the small blind and the big blind are first to act, and the dealer is last to act.
Why does position matter?
Why do most players prefer playing most hands in late position? Briefly, it is because you are given more information in late position.
If you are in late position, the actions of the players in early position are added information to you. But the player in early position do not have the benefit of information derived from your actions.
This is why most players (especially good players) do not like giving up their button (dealer button) unless they have absolute trash. They call a small raise with any decent hand like 9-7 or A-5 (but not extraordinarily big raises, of course).
In a nine-handed game, suppose you have Q-J, a marginal hand, under the gun (the first person to act preflop). Will you raise? There are still eight players after you to act, and there will be a higher chance that they will have better hands than you. (A-x will have you beat). So fold.
In middle position, you may call one raise, or you can raise; you are indifferent.
From the button, you raise if no one has acted before you (you can steal the blinds this way). Or call if someone raised small (because you have position).
From the blinds, you call (because it is discounted) but you have to be careful with postflop play because you are out of position postflop. Or you can even reraise a raise if you feel the raiser was weak (raising with junk is prevalent in good players in late position who want to steal the blinds habitually).
Position also matters when playing with players with a fixed style.
- It is desirable to act before a rock so you can bluff him more easily.
- It is preferable to act after a loose-aggressive chip sprinkler so you can raise him if you hit the Flop hard or if you have A-A, then expect a rereaise and then you can move all-in.
- Against a calling station, it doesn't matter where you sit - just bet if you have a hand and then expect a call.
As for playing against really good players, your ideal position should be not playing at all! Don't tangle with them. If you can't avoid it, then play in an unpredictable fashion, and take advantage of the times you are acting after him.
This point moves us away from table position in to the more strategic level of choosing your games wisely. I won't expand on it here except to say, don't play above your skill level except when deliberately practising with money you have set aside to lose, or better still on free poker games table where you can crash and burn with impunity and learn at the same time.
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