Why is Position Important in Poker?

Poker is a game that involves a lot of strategy. New players only think about their cards and not much else. Experienced players, meanwhile, know that there are lots of other factors to consider. OneThere are occasions when we here at ReadyBetGo want to bring you interesting facts about the gambling industry  When something catches our eye, we will publish it for your enjoyment. 
  of the most important is position.

This article will guide you through the basics of position and why it’s crucial if you want to improve your game.

• What is position in poker?

In poker, the dealer button and blinds move around the table after every hand, so that players take turns in each certain position. The dealer will circulate the positions when playing at a casino, whereas when playing poker online, this will be done automatically.

Positions can be broken down into early, middle, and late positions. Here are the positions on a full-ring, nine-handed table:

• Under the gun (UTG)
• UTG + 1
• UTG + 2
• Lowjack
• Hijack
• Cutoff
• Button
• Small blind
• Big blind

Both the small and big blinds, along with the UTG player, UTG+1 and UTG+2 players are in early positions. The lowjack and hijack are middle positions, while the cutoff and button are considered late positions.

The later your position, the bigger your advantage in poker. And we’re about to find out why.

• What is the advantage of being in late position?

Players in early positions have a lot of players behind them still to act when they make a move preflop. Opponents can easily call or raise. Postflop, those in early position will have to decide what to do without any further information about their opponent’s hand.

When in late position, such as on the button, you can see exactly what most of the other players do before deciding how to act. You get more information, both preflop and postflop, and therefore have a lot more options when it comes to betting.

• Preflop advantage

Imagine being under the gun. If you make a raise then you still have eight other players who could have a stronger hand or could make a raise and put you under pressure. From this early position, you’ll need a very strong hand to continue.

Now imagine being on the button. If the action folds around to you, then there are only two more players left to act – the small blind and big blind. You have a good chance to steal the pot and if you are called then you have the post-flop advantage as you’ll be able to act last (more on that soon).

If other players call or raise before you, then you’ll be able to see what they do and act accordingly, whether that means folding your hand, calling to see a flop, or making a raise. The extra information you have can be used to make better decisions.

• Postflop advantage

Being in a late position means that you will always usually bet the last post flop. If you’re on the button, this guarantees that you’ll always be the last player to act. This is a huge advantage. Again, it’s about information and how you use it.

Here’s how having a position gives you an advantage post-flop:

• Knowledge – You get to see what your opponents do first, before you take any further action. This allows you to start to narrow down their hand range. You can also weigh up the size of their bets and consider pot odds when making your calls.

• Pot control – If you’re in position, you’ll have the option to take more free cards when checked to and flat call bets to keep the pot small. This is useful if you have draws or medium-strength hands that will do well at showdown.

• Value – On the other hand, it’s much easier to get value when you are in position. You’ll always have the option to bet or raise. With the extra information, you’ll be able to carefully consider how best to get value.

• Bluffing – Being in position also presents more opportunities to bluff. You’ll be able to see more clearly when opponents are weak or seem unwilling to put chips in the middle and exploit this with bluff bets.

You can see that being in position is helpful no matter what situation you are in. If you have a strong hand you can get more value, with a weak hand you’ll find more bluffs, and when you’re unsure you can use pot control to give yourself a good price.

• Position defines what hands you should play

Position is so important in poker that it pretty much defines what hands you should play. Of course, there are other factors like stack sizes and opponent’s tendencies, but there’s a vast difference between the hands you should play in early position compared to late position.

To illustrate, when under the gun, you should typically open raise only around 10 percent of hands – which represents mostly premiums like strong pairs and broadways. When on the button, you can open raise around 70-80 percent of hands, even more against tighter opponents.

The advantage that position provides is so strong that you’ll be playing many more hands from the button and other late positions.