Regardless of whether playing tournament poker or grinding it out on the cash tables, understanding the importance of position is an essential concept that every poker player should know. The later we are to act in a hand, the more we know about the other players holdings. The more we know about what the other players hold, the more likely we will be able to make profitable poker decisions. Utilizing relative and absolute position in poker is imperative to the long-term success of a winning poker player. Failing to understand position properly can be the difference between being a winning and losing player as even someone as skilled as Phil Ivey would find it hard to win if he had to play every hand out of position.
Cutoff – (CO) – To the right of the Button, the second-best position at the table. Hijack – (HJ) – To the right of the Cutoff, called ‘Middle Position’ (MP) on a 6max table. Lojack – (LJ) – To the right of the Hijack, called ‘Under the Gun’ (UTG) on a 6max table.
In a 10-player Texas Holdem poker game, your poker position may be early position (EP), middle position(MP), or late position (LP). ' Early Position ' means the first four seats left of the dealer. These poker positins are considered the worst seats at a poker table.
Poker players, for the most part, are acutely aware of the value of position but many squander it unless they believe they have a worthy hand to play. Position should be used as a weapon and only squandered when it appears hopeless to become involved. Position is a strong factor and when you possess it, all things become easier.
When I speak of absolute position in poker, I am referring to where one is sitting at the poker table, relative to the button or the dealer. In a poker hand, absolute position remains unchanged. If we are on the button, we remain on the button. The blinds are the blinds throughout the hold em hand and so on…
The poker table works in a clockwise manner. The person to the immediate left of the dealer is the first to receive cards while the person to the right of the dealer is the last to receives cards. The two individuals to the immediate left of the dealer are known as the blinds. They are forced to place bets, with the small blind typically placing a half bet, and the big blind placing one big bet on the table. As As they have essentially both made forced bets, they are the last to act in a betting round before the flop comes.
They benefit in a sense, as they get to observe how everyone else views their hand before making their own decision. For weaker players however, this benefit works against them, as they already have money on the table and therefore, often feel compelled to call a raise. This logic is of course flawed. In poker, we prefer to make informed decisions, leaving the guesswork to the rookies. The blinds are the first to act after the flop. They will act before everyone else for the remainder of the hand and will not have the luxury of first seeing everyone else’s actions once the flop comes. Over time, calling too much from the small blind or indeed from the big blind will show a big loss even for the best players in the world.
First To Act In Poker
The earlier position we are at the table, the better our hand should be and the higher our standards must be. With that in mind, when we are under the gun or under the gun+1 (first and second positions respectively), we should be raising a much stronger range of hands, generally pairs and AQ/AK. As we get into later position, we can relax our raising standards, as there are less players left to act behind us, thus the chances of a strong hand being out are much lower.
For example, imagine we are playing .25/.50 no limit Texas Hold em online. We are second to act preflop and are dealt 8-7 of hearts. While I love this hand from later position, when employing a tight aggressive strategy, we should generally fold the hand, as there are too many players left to act behind us. These players have absolute position on us, acting later than we do. They can make it really expensive if we limp into the hand. Additionally, should we choose to raise, we face the chance of being 3bet and if reraised we would have to bin our hand. Because we do not have any information on the strength of several hands at the table, we are best off folding the hand.
Playing From Late Position
When playing from the cutoff or on the button (referred to as late position), we have the luxury of seeing everyone play before us. In a sense, we have been granted the opportunity to watch the game play out from an outsider’s perspective before we are asked to join the game in progress. We are able to process the information before acting. As a result, we make better, more informed and thus more profitable decisions when acting last in a hand. For these reasons and more, playing from the button is the most profitable position in poker.
When playing poker, we want to play far more hands in late position than we do in early position. This gives us the opportunity to act last on every street and also enables us to manipulate the size of the pot as we like. Conversely, playing out of position forces us to act first on every street, often leaving us with tough decisions and not being able to control the size of the pot. Thus, it is alway recommended to play extremely tight when in the blinds and early position. This is because by playing a tighter (stronger) range out of position, we can somewhat counteract our positional disadvantage.
Let’s take the same 8-7 suited that we played from early position at and play it from the button. We can now watch most everyone else act first. We observe two weaker players limping into the pot. These players typically raise with quality hands and often try to limp for cheap flops with their lesser holdings. They are not terribly tricky in their play. We interpret their limping into the pot as weakness. Remember, we have absolute position on them, which is a massive advantage in this poker hand. Putting in a standard raise here is completely fine, as we can isolate the bad players and play the rest of the hand in position. What will happen in the majority of cases is the blinds fold, one of the two limpers call. The flop is dealt and the limper checks because the flop missed him. We put out a continuation bet, causing the player to fold. This is a very simple example of using position to your advantage in poker.
Relative Position in Poker
In poker, relative position is expressed as where you sit, in relation to the preflop raiser player. If the big blind bets out on the flop, when sitting under the gun, I am first to act in relation to the player taking the lead.
Co Position In Poker
Just like with players holding early position from an absolute standpoint, one must proceed with caution when in early position from a relative standpoint. If the cutoff bets out, even though I am on the button I know there are four people left to act. I cannot always call with the confidence I would like. There are four other people who may put in a costly raise behind me yet to act.
To demonstrate this concept, let’s play this hand from the button at a standard $1-$2 no limit table. We have pocket fives. 4 players limp into the pot, and the player acting immediately before us (the player before the button is in the cutoff position) raises to $10. If you remember from a minute ago, we have the best absolute position, because we are on the button. However, the player acting right before us raised. He is the “player with the lead.” We act; then the four players who limped into the pot are left to act – as are the blinds. Because there’s so many players left to act behind us, we are concerned that they might either reraise when we call, or too many of the players may fold, thus not really giving us the most ideal of pot odds or conditions to play (we like playing small pocket pairs in multi-way pots). Because of this uncertainty, we fold.
This concept is known as poor realtive position as although we have position on the raising player, our positional advantage is lost due to the fact that there are so many players left to act after us.
Relative Position When Playing From Late Position
If the raiser is to my immediate left, I hold the most favorable position, relative to the acting player. As a result, I can benefit from everyone else acting before me, and thus I am able to make the most informed decision of all. Let’s replay the same hand from a $1-2 NL game. This time, imagine the small blind raises preflop.
We have pocket fives on the button, 3 players limp into the pot, as does the cutoff player. We also limp, in hopes of seeing a cheap flop. The small blind raises to $10. 4 players call the small blinds preflop raise. It is our turn to act. The price, in relation to the pot is right, so we decide we can play. In this instance, we will obviously call and take the cheap flop as playing a small pair in position in a multiway single raised pot is exactly what you want with small pairs. We also have the have the luxury of both relative and absolute position in this hand getting to see everyone else’s action before we decide what to do.
Using Relative Position to your Advantage
Often, one can use relative position to their advantage. If there is a player who likes to take the lead when he is checked to, it makes sense to check to him so that he will bet and you can act accordingly (raise, fold, or call). At an aggressive table, the check is useful in gaining relative position. By checking, you are coaxing the later acting aggressor to take the lead presenting you with the opportunity to check raise or check call depending on the situation.
Using Absolute and Relative Position
Over time, properly embracing the concept of relative position can ice a live table, as players acting later than you (absolutely speaking) will begin fearing a check raise. As a result, they are playing scared and forfeiting their advantage of late position play. In turn, this allows you to come in with weaker hands than you would normally play. Additionally, you will establish control of the table when you use relative position to your advantage.
Putting It All Together
When holding absolute position, play aggressively. This is the position at the table at which every poker player makes the most money, so we should be calling and raising with a much higher frequency when playing in later positions. Call with more suited connectors, 3bet lighter and steal the blinds more often. Learning to use position correctly is a crucial skill. if you can master the art of position, there’s no doubt you will be well on your way to becoming a successful player!
This lesson assumes that you have a solid grasp of all the fundamental concepts involved in poker. Of these concepts, understanding position is arguably the most important because you are able to make decisions after you’ve gathered information from your opponent(s). As you progress and develop as a poker player, some of the largest gains in improving your game will come from increasing confidence playing position. It’s easy to play your strong hands, but it’s the ability to use position and play poker regardless of the strength of your hand which separates the good poker players from the great ones.
Keep in mind that in any poker game, you must play the tendencies of your opponents first. Making a move in position is irrelevant if the person you are playing with isn’t capable of putting you on a hand. Having said that, the concepts addressed in this lesson assume your opponent is at least capable of second level thinking – which is to say that in addition to his own cards, he’s also thinking about what you were dealt.
Pre-Flop Concepts
We’ll start by looking at some poker strategies and tactics that can be employed pre-flop by using the power of position. Be aware that one or two of the strategies that follow are more focused on tournament poker than cash games due to the increased emphasis on pre-flop action.
Buying Position
Irrespective of the poker variant or format, it’s common knowledge that leaning toward the side of aggression is more profitable in the long-run. One way to use aggression is to buy position. Let’s say one or two players have limped in ahead of you and you hold a hand like AJ, KQ or 77 in middle position. Depending on stack sizes and your reads you can certainly make an argument for calling, folding or raising. However, by calling you will often induce others to limp behind you, giving up position, and now you are forced to play based solely on whether you connect on the flop or not. By raising, you can force the players behind you to fold and you have now bought position after the flop.
Re-Stealing in Position
Many players re-steal from the blinds after someone in late position raises. This is most common in tournament poker. Players frequently re-steal from the blinds because they assume the late position player is stealing and cannot stand a re-raise. However, re-stealing has become more common from the blinds and people’s games are adjusting to steal from earlier positions such as the hi-jack and middle position so they give the appearance of having a bigger hand. This is where having position comes in. By re-raising from the button or cut-off position, it looks like a very strong hand. It puts significant pressure on the blinds and they will often fold a hand as strong as AQ and mid pocket-pairs. In addition, it also tells the original raiser that you have a real hand. Again, this goes back to reading your opponents. Don’t re-steal against the tightest player at the table or someone whose raise has committed them to the hand. Pick your spots versus opponents who are aggressive, have a wide range pre-flop and are capable of folding to a re-raise.
Implied Odds + Outplaying Your Opponent
Another benefit of having position is being able to get into pots with hands that have heavy implied odds against a pre-flop raiser. These might be suited middle connectors, small pocket pairs or low suited connectors like . In these cases, you are calling a raise in position because it gives you multiple ways to win the pot. If you hit your hand, it will likely be well disguised and you can win a big pot. But more importantly, it also gives you the chance to outplay your opponent if you do miss your hand because you can make your play based on observing their actions first.
Freezing
Freezing isn’t necessarily a poker play; it is simply another benefit of having position. By calling your opponents raise when you are in position it can freeze them in the hand. Their intention was to steal the blinds and now that you’ve called, they are going to proceed with caution. Calling the raise from an opponent who often raises in middle or late position can have both short term and long term benefits. In the short-term, they may put the brakes on and allow you to take down the pot post-flop. The long-term implication of this is that it sets a tone at the table that if they come in raising, they will have a fight on their hands, thus deterring them from stealing.
Squeeze Play
A squeeze play occurs when an aggressive player opens the pot, someone calls them in position and another player (often in the blinds) re-raises. A squeeze play is most effective when the original raiser has a loose range, the caller tends to be passive and the stack sizes involved do not commit the other players. The re-raise puts pressure on the original raiser because he’s not sure what the middle player is going to do and you are effectively “squeezing” the middle player. If the middle player had a very strong hand, he would have re-raised in the first place. Caution: squeeze plays should be used sparingly and rarely at low buy-ins. In low buy-in poker games, the middle player will call very often because they feel committed to the hand and feel the need to “look you up”. Make sure you have a good read on both players to maximize the effectiveness of this poker play.
Inducing a Squeeze Play
In certain situations, you can use position pre-flop to trap your opponents into thinking you are not strong. Ever since “Harrington on Hold’em” described the squeeze play people have added this into their poker arsenal. Because of this, you can use position to trap aggressive players in the blinds by calling a raise with a big pair such as KK or AA, inducing the player to re-raise over top. Use this play with caution, however, as the big blind will be getting good odds to enter the pot.
Post-Flop Concepts
We’ll now look at some of the key concepts of using position post-flop. These strategies and tactis are suitable for both tournament poker and cash games.
Floating
Floating refers to calling a flop or turn bet when in position in order to take the pot down on the next street, and is used in three primary situations:
Pot Control
Bluffing
Trapping
Let’s start with pot control. Suppose you call a raise in position with a mid-pocket pair such as 88 and the flop comes A64. Your opponent may or may not have an Ace, but they are betting the flop regardless. By calling here, many opponents will shut down on the turn for fear that you have an Ace. You can certainly raise here to see where you stand, but depending on your stack size, calling may be better so that you control the size of the pot.
Using the float play to bluff can be effective when you know that you are up against an aggressive player who almost always makes a continuation bet. You can call the flop with a wide variety of hands in order to read how your opponent reacts on the turn. Floating for this purpose becomes even more powerful if there is an obvious draw on the board, since you can represent the hand if it hits.
Co Poker Positions
This same tactic can also be used to set a trap. Let’s say you flop a set or some other strong hand and you are up against an aggressive player who is capable of firing on the turn. While raising the flop might sometimes be the better play depending on your opponent; just calling the flop can make your opponent think you are weak (i.e. floating with a mid pocket pair) and cause them to bet the turn strongly.
Raising Continuation Bets
Just as you might float versus an opponent who you think might be making a continuation bet, you can also mix up your game and raise the flop as well. In this case, the assumption is that we have also missed the flop and are bluffing in hopes of getting our opponent to fold. Having position affords you the ability to read if your opponent is making a continuation bet based on his bet sizing and the texture of the flop.
Raising Probe Bets
You can also use the power of position against a player who bets out from the blinds. A player will often catch a piece of the flop or have called a raise from the blinds with a pocket pair and will place a small bet on the flop to “see where they are at”. Position affords you the ability to tell them exactly where they are – behind (or at least this is what we want them to think). This play is most effective if you originally raised pre-flop because you are continuing to represent a strong hand.
Conclusion
There are many ways to use position to your advantage. Poker players, for the most part, are acutely aware of the value of position but many squander it unless they believe they have a worthy hand to play. Position should be used as a weapon and only squandered when it appears hopeless to become involved. Position is a strong factor and when you possess it, all things become easier.
The concepts explained in this lesson are really just the tip of the iceberg. The only way to improve at poker is to trust your instincts and put yourself in situations where you can use position to your advantage. Once you have successfully made plays by using your position (and not relying on the strength of your cards) your confidence will grow and your ability to outplay your opponents will skyrocket.
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By Donovan Panone
Donovan started playing poker in 2004 and is an experienced tournament and cash game player who has a passion for teaching and helping others improve their game.