Position is your seat at the poker table, real life or poker online "virtual" relative to your opponents. Be it free poker games or a money event, it shows when you will make your move in the current poker hand. In a full ring game (9-12 players), in any given round of betting:
(1) Early position involves the initial three or four players to act.
(2) Middle position features the following player after early position to the player before late position.
(3) Late position is the last three or four players to move. 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?
Depending on your position there are certain advantages and disadvantages. The majority of players prefer playing late position. Briefly, it is because you are given more information to work with 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) don't like giving up their button (dealer button) unless they've got 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 early position, in a nine-handed game, suppose you have got Q-J, a marginal hand, under the gun (the first person to act preflop).
Do you raise? There are still eight players once you to act, and there will be a higher chance that they'll have better hands than you. (A-x will have you beat). So fold.
In middle position, you can call one raise, or you can raise; you are indifferent.
From the button, you raise if nobody has acted prior to you (you can steal the blinds this way). Or call if someone raised small (since you have position).
From the blinds, you call (since it is discounted) but you have to be careful with postflop play since you are out of position postflop. Or you may also reraise a raise if you believe the raiser was weak (raising with junk is prevalent in good players in late position who would like to steal the blinds habitually).
Position also matters a lot when playing with players who have a fixed style.
- It is a good idea to act before a rock in order to bluff him easier.
- It is better to act after a loose-aggressive chip flinger 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 when you have a hand and then expect a call.
As for the really good players, your ideal position should be outside the poker table. Don't get involved in games 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 a more strategic level so I won't expand on it here except to say, choose your games wisely. Suffice it to say, be honest with yourself and do not play over your skill level when playing in games you'd really like to win! Yes, get into hard challenges with better players but only as part of a deliberate training plan with money you can afford to lose (invest) or play such sharks on free poker online tables such as at NoPayPOKER where you will find some very good players who are there for fun.
Have a look at the free poker games tools series from D M Vadnais for far more depth on the areas such as choosing your battles and climbing skill levels. If you are a beginner get started with the how to play poker for beginners 101 course and if ready to move on check out Building a Bankroll which aims to propel to to advanced intermediate level (where you will start to win a lot of cash should you wish)
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