Your POSITION Of Power In Holdem

In Hold'em poker, the importance of your position in relation to the dealer can not be stressed enough. The reason for learning position is that the later your position is the more information you will have about the other players. If you are in the last, or dealer position, you have the most information of all the other players, because they all have to act before you have to make a decision.

There are hands that you would throw away, without a second thought, in one position and raise with in another. The problem is learning which position is best for each action.

The first point that you must learn is where the positions are at the table.

  • Early position: any one of the first four places to the left of the dealer button;
  • Middle position: any one of the next three places to the left of the dealer; and
  • Late position: any one of the next two or three positions including the dealer position.

The starting hand requirements for each position are quite different

  • Early position: You want to play only premium hands such as high pairs, high suited connectors, or high cards. This is because you don't know what is going to happen after you have bet or called. For this reason only cards that can stand a raise should be played.

  • Middle position: You still need quality hands. Because the chances of raises are less, you can play more marginal cards. In this position you can start to play drawing hands and medium pairs.

  • Late position: You can play lower pairs and smaller drawing hands, if the conditions are right.

Play before the flop

  • Early position: Play only high pairs such as AA, KK, QQ, and JJ. Play high cards such as AK, AQ, AJ, KQ, and KJ suited or unsuited. With AA, KK, QQ, AK, and AQ you need to raise or reraise to drive out drawing hands that may beat you later.

  • Middle position: In this location you can start to play weaker hands like medium pairs such as 10's thru 7's and drawing hands such as A10, K10, QJ, Q10, Q9, J10, and J9, suited or unsuited.

  • Late position: Here you can play small pairs and suited high cards such as Ax, Kx, Qx, even Jx if there hasn't been a raise before you. If there has been a raise, before the action gets to you, you should fold all of these hands. High cards (AK, AQ) should be played without raising, in this position, because you aren't likely to drive anyone out and they are still drawing hands after all.

Play after the flop

When you have seen the flop, you have seen over 70% of your hand. This means that you must decide whether to bet your hand or to fold.

  • Early position: If you do not have a strong hand, and you are pretty sure that the other players will call, it is best to check and see what the others are going to do. If you have top pair, it is best to bet or raise to take away the drawing odds (covered in another article) for those players on a draw. Also this is the time to consider a check raise if you are sure someone will bet and you have a very strong hand.

  • Middle position: Here you should think about being more aggressive with your marginal hands, if no one has bet before you. A bet here may drive out hands that could beat you later on or may already have you beat. Again bet your top pairs and made hands. This is not a position to go for a check raise as you may end up giving someone a free card.

  • Late position: This is where you want to play your middle pairs and semi bluffs aggressively. If no one has bet or raised before you, the chances are that no one has a hand they are that proud of, and you may be able to take the pot right now.

By the time you have reached the turn and the river you should know how strong your hand is in relation to the other players. With a little study and experience you will know how to play your hand. For the most part, try studying your opponents and act in ways they don't expect.

In the beginning try to concentrate on what position you are in at all times. As you gain more experience at the tables, you will find that knowing your position will become automatic and you won't even have to think about it.

Good Luck

Authored by: Robert Myer, Webmaster of Beginner's Online Poker Guide, as well as a poker player for over 20 years.

In The News:


Casino gambling dilema's and morals
Corsavoo.com, France - 16 hours ago
That is the wrong attitude and the wrong mindset when entering a casino. Wether that be online or at a brick and mortar venue. Casino gambling should always ...
Gambling at Inter casino and Online Casino Corsavoo.com
all 2 news articles

Casino payout stirs little interest
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, PA - 6 hours ago
The state Gaming Act mandates casino gambling operators provide money -- $5 million a year -- to pay overtime to local police to stop illegal gambling with ...

EOG.com

Atlantic City eyes new casino far from others
The Associated Press - Sep 4, 2008
Now in an effort to survive withering competition from Pennsylvania and New York slots parlors, the city is considering expanding casino gambling into areas ...
Atlantic City Expanding Gambling Area With Penn National Casino Casino Gambling Web
Emptying the notebook ... Pittsburgh Post Gazette
all 93 news articles

Opponents say casino issue could affect Eastern Shawnee
LimaOhio.com, OH - 11 hours ago
"The only way this helps us directly is that, if this passes, it shows that attitudes are shifting and seeing that (casino gambling) is all around us and ...

Governor Patrick Says No To Tribal Casino Talk
Casino Gambling Web, FL - 16 hours ago
Governor Duval Patrick had his casino gambling proposal shot down by the legislature in Massachusetts shortly after he took office. ...
Patrick rejects casino proposal Boston Globe
Gov. Deval Patrick won’t start casino talks with tribe Boston Herald
Patrick says casino talks with tribe premature WHDH-TV
all 16 news articles

Gaming commission issues violation notice
Newsday, NY - Sep 3, 2008
BUFFALO, NY - The National Indian Gaming Commission has issued a notice of violation against the temporary Seneca Buffalo Creek casino following a federal ...
Casino's good fortune in limbo WIVB
Seneca Nation Appeals NIGC Shutdown Notice GamblingCompliance.com
Judge issues mixed ruling in Buffalo casino case News from Indian Country
Casino Gambling Web - Salamanca Pressall 36 news articles

Tribal Online Casino Drawing The Attention Of State Regulators
Casino Gambling Web, FL - 7 hours ago
The state of California is intent on being a leader in the field of casino gambling. They have expanded their casino offerings and are continuing to ...

Get a Deep Insight into the World Wireless Gaming Market
PR-USA.net (press release), Bulgaria - 6 hours ago
... Genre Classification II-10 Action/Combat II-10 Adventure II-10 Arcade/Parlor II-10 Casino/Gambling II-10 Puzzles II-10 Sports II-10 Trivia II-10 3. ...

KNSS

Harrah's can move forward with casino
Kansas.com, KS - Sep 5, 2008
13, 2009, and to refrain from owning or managing a casino in Kansas until Jan. 13, 2010. Harrah's has argued that gambling in the state was expanded by the ...
Judge rules in tribal casino case Hays Daily News
all 23 news articles

Gambling panel plans to review Sycuan game
San Diego Union Tribune, United States - Sep 6, 2008
Background: About 217 gambling machines at the Sycuan casino are based on bingo but can be played with a single touch of a button. ...
casino gambling - Google News

A NO B.S. Explanation of Spread Betting For Newbies

Note: The goal of this article is to give you... Read More

Protect Yourself by Understanding Casino Bonuses

The majority of casinos attract new business by offering players... Read More

4 Poker Tips the Pros Wont Tell You

In the past few years, professional poker playing has exploded... Read More

Gambling Myths 101

Myths and rumors come with every gambling game. However undesirable,... Read More

Ten Easy Tips For Improving Your Online Poker Game

When you play poker online, you have options available that... Read More

The Secrets of Laying the Four and Ten

Pssst...! Wanna know a secret?How about the secrets of laying... Read More

The Secrets of Cold Tables

The CrapshooterThe Secrets of Cold TablesPssst...! Wanna know a secret?How... Read More

2005 World Series of Poker -- Final Tournament Report

Now that the 2005 World Series of Poker has finished,... Read More

Dos and Donts of a Successful Soccer-punter

Bet only what you can afford. Define a bankroll at... Read More

Online Poker --- Is It Safe? --- Is It for Me?

Online Poker RoomsRapidly Growing in PopularityPlaying online poker is fast... Read More

Online Casino Free Cash Bonus Means Sometimes No Money At All

Giving away online casino bonuses by casino operators seems to... Read More

Expected Value in Texas Holdem Poker

A successful Texas hold em player is one who maximizes... Read More

Las Vegas Whales

What Las Vegas jargon names "whales" is in fact the... Read More

Roulette System: Discover Why You always Fail At Roulette Game

Online Roulette System: Discover Why You always Fail At Roulette... Read More

Top 5 Reasons - Should You be Gambling Online?

Why is online gambling the latest craze to hit the... Read More

Avoiding Tilt While Playing Online Poker

As many experts have said, poker is a game that... Read More

Asian Handicaps Explained

The most common way to bet on football in the... Read More

Poker

Americans play Poker in many places such as in casino... Read More

Is Advertising Online Gambling Illegal in the State of Washington?

I wished to create a website to advertise Online Gambling... Read More

Evaluating Starting Hands In No-Limit Holdem Tournaments

There are three main factors that influence how you should... Read More

Bookmaking Basics

The role of a 'bookie', the common name of the... Read More

Buying A Thoroughbred: Is It For You?

Buying a thoroughbred can transform a man. Horseracing is the... Read More

Internet Poker - 13 Rules to Follow

Add bad poker players to your buddy listPlaying poker is... Read More

Land Casinos Vs. Online Casinos

Since the emergence of a few online casinos in 1996,... Read More

Semi Bluffing

Bluffing is an important part of most poker player's games.... Read More