The pros and cons listed above make it clear that your preflop strategy is greatly limited by the position you are in. However, after failure, you can use your positional advantage to maximize your profits to a much greater extent of Poker Table.
- Knowing that you will make most of your profits against weaker players, try to sit directly to their left. This will ensure that for the majority of the hand, you will have a positional advantage over them, both preflop and postflop.
- If you are the last to act with a hand like second pair or lower, you might normally consider calling a single continuation bet, with the intention of reassessing it on the turn. However, if you see a bet followed by two close plays, you can use this information to safely fold. Being the first to act after placing a bet will put you in an undesirable situation where you have to guess what the other players will do. If you call with a weak pair and two other players also call, it is very unlikely that you will have the best hand.
- Understanding how table position and poker chipset affects strategy is important when making a draw. A draw is less profitable the longer you are in position and you should factor this into your decision making when using pre-roll odds and implied odds, as you may be forced to fold card before seeing the remaining cards.
How does Strategy Affect Profits?
If you play the same range of cards in both positions, you will see your stack of cards slowly (or quickly) disappear before you. This is because the two strategies you should use in each position are very different. If you play your BTN strategy from UTG, you will lose most of the hands you play, because all of your opponents will play hard against your wide range.
On the other hand, if you play your UTG strategy from BTN, you won’t steal often enough, so your stack will slowly die after being blinded. The bottom line is that each position is unique and therefore a different strategy must be applied.
What is Hijack?
The player sitting immediately to the right of the cutoff point and the second person to the right of the dealer button is called the Hijack. This is a great position to play your cards. Players in this position have the opportunity to steal the blind money before the top positions.
The game starts with the first player in “early position” and ends with the player in “late position”; players who play next to the early position but before the late position are said to be in the “middle position”.
- Initial position (EP): The first move in the game is always made by the player sitting in the first position. This is position 1 to the left of BB, which is the Big Blind. The position immediately assigned to Big Blind to act first is called “Under the Gun” (UTG). At a 9-player poker table, the player sitting right next to UTG is called UTG+1, also known as Early Position. So this order is also called UTG+2 when the player is sitting right next to UTG+1.
- Intermediate position (MP): This position allows you to act against some players but not all. You act before late positions but always after early positions.
- Late position or (LP): This position allows you to act when everyone has moved on the table. This is also one of the best positions on the table. You are lucky if you sit in the late position.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are positions in poker?
In poker, position refers to the seating order or arrangement around the table at which players sit. They are classified into early, late and middle positions depending on the action.
What is Hijack in poker?
A position at the poker table two seats to the right of the dealer button is a diversion. This is the seat to the right of the Cut position.
What is the best position in poker?
The most desirable position in Texas Holdem poker is to sit “on the button” or in the dealer’s position for reasons of action at the end of each betting round.
Why is position important in poker?
Position plays an important role in your gaming strategy when playing Texas Holdem. Playing the right position will increase your chances of winning the hand against your opponent at the table. You should always play fewer hands when you are out of position.
