Position in poker refers to the order in which players are seated around the table and the related poker strategy implications. Players who act first are in “early position”; players who act later are in “late position”. A player “has position” on opponents acting before him and is “out of position” to opponents acting after him. Because players act in clockwise order, a player “has position” on opponents seated to his right, except when the opponent has the button and certain cases in the first betting round of games with blinds.
The primary advantage held by a player in late position is that he will have more information with which to make better decisions than players in early position, who will have to act first, without the benefit of this extra information. Also, as earlier opponents fold, the probability of a hand being the best goes up as the number of opponents goes down. The blinds are the least desirable position because you’re forced to contribute to the pot and you must act first on all betting rounds after the flop. Although the big blind has a big advantage on the first round of betting, it is on average the biggest money losing position.
Starting Hands
If you are in the “early” position, the types of hands you must try to play are restricted to high cards or good hands, since you have no way of knowing what the other players in the group are holding.
If you are playing the “middle” position, you’ll have players waiting behind you and others that have already played. The chance of a raise is slightly less in this position and there are already several players in the pot so you will get better odds playing weaker hands.
The advantage of being in the “late” position is that you get a chance to see almost every play so far, and will be able to read how other players feel about their hands by the way they have checked, bet, raised or re-raised.
Unsuited Cards
Suited Cards
