In Texas Hold'em, a player's table position is one of the most important elements of developing a winning game. A player's position in Hold'em is where he/she is seated relative to the player on the "button". Your position is vital when deciding how (or if) you should play a hand. Despite it's importance, position strategies are surprisingly underutilized by most novice Hold'em players.
In Texas Hold'em, there are essentially four positions. They are the blinds (BB and SB), early position (EP), middle position (MP), and late position (LP). I gave the blinds their own category because the strategy for playing them is a little different. Understand that the tips below are general, in that they do not account for other game play circumstances. In general, though, following them will help your Hold'em game quite a bit. Let's look at how your table position affect you game:
Early position in Texas Hold'em is the two seats just left of the blinds. Those players are the first to act pre-flop and most of the other players act after them post flop.The problem with EP is that if you play too loose here, you will find yourself stuck in a pot against a premium hand and you can easily loose a bunch of chips. Play really tight here. Play only premium hole cards (AA, KK, QQ, AK, AQ). Your goal here is to take the pot down early if you can. Raise with high pocket pairs (aces, kings and queens). Limp with you AK or AQ. If someone in late position raises after you limped your AK, go ahead and re-raise them. If they call you, you can bet into them after the flop and try to win the pot there. If they re-raise your re-raise, you are likely either dominated, or at best facing a coin-flip.
The two seats to the left of the EP players is considered middle position. In Hold'em, middle position should be played with most of the same strategy as EP. You can play a few hands in MP that you wouldn't touch in EP, but be careful! If you find yourself in a hand with JJ and the flop comes AhQh6s, it's time to toss your hand. Watch out for the EP players. A pre-flop raise or limp from someone in early position could mean you are up against a monster.
Late position defines the last two players to act. The Button is the last player to act before the blinds pre-flop and the last to act on all the subsequent rounds. In Hold'em, the button gets to dictate the action. You can open your game way up to include just about any two cards that have a good chance of connecting on the flop. You still need to be mindful of the action in front of you, but if there is none, you can raise with all kinds of hands like KQ suited, A-10 suited, 99, etc. If it is folded to you on the button (or in the cut-off, for that matter) you should be raising at least 75% of the time, no matter what cards you have. Since you get to see the other players act before you do, anyone who calls your raise will be at a disadvantage post flop.
The blinds can be really really tough to play correctly, and a lot of novice players don't. As a rule of thumb, I would say to take down the pot pre-flop or drop your hand like a rock. It's true that you have odds to call many raises from the big blind, but the disadvantage of your position post flop is not usually worth the effort (or the chips). Unless you have a monster, I say let it go.
There are some very basic strategies for playing Texas Hold'em according to your position. Hold'em is a game of patience and discipline. Be patient, pay attention to your table position and it will definitely help you to become a winning Hold'em player.
In Texas Hold'em, there are essentially four positions. They are the blinds (BB and SB), early position (EP), middle position (MP), and late position (LP). I gave the blinds their own category because the strategy for playing them is a little different. Understand that the tips below are general, in that they do not account for other game play circumstances. In general, though, following them will help your Hold'em game quite a bit. Let's look at how your table position affect you game:
Early position in Texas Hold'em is the two seats just left of the blinds. Those players are the first to act pre-flop and most of the other players act after them post flop.The problem with EP is that if you play too loose here, you will find yourself stuck in a pot against a premium hand and you can easily loose a bunch of chips. Play really tight here. Play only premium hole cards (AA, KK, QQ, AK, AQ). Your goal here is to take the pot down early if you can. Raise with high pocket pairs (aces, kings and queens). Limp with you AK or AQ. If someone in late position raises after you limped your AK, go ahead and re-raise them. If they call you, you can bet into them after the flop and try to win the pot there. If they re-raise your re-raise, you are likely either dominated, or at best facing a coin-flip.
The two seats to the left of the EP players is considered middle position. In Hold'em, middle position should be played with most of the same strategy as EP. You can play a few hands in MP that you wouldn't touch in EP, but be careful! If you find yourself in a hand with JJ and the flop comes AhQh6s, it's time to toss your hand. Watch out for the EP players. A pre-flop raise or limp from someone in early position could mean you are up against a monster.
Late position defines the last two players to act. The Button is the last player to act before the blinds pre-flop and the last to act on all the subsequent rounds. In Hold'em, the button gets to dictate the action. You can open your game way up to include just about any two cards that have a good chance of connecting on the flop. You still need to be mindful of the action in front of you, but if there is none, you can raise with all kinds of hands like KQ suited, A-10 suited, 99, etc. If it is folded to you on the button (or in the cut-off, for that matter) you should be raising at least 75% of the time, no matter what cards you have. Since you get to see the other players act before you do, anyone who calls your raise will be at a disadvantage post flop.
The blinds can be really really tough to play correctly, and a lot of novice players don't. As a rule of thumb, I would say to take down the pot pre-flop or drop your hand like a rock. It's true that you have odds to call many raises from the big blind, but the disadvantage of your position post flop is not usually worth the effort (or the chips). Unless you have a monster, I say let it go.
There are some very basic strategies for playing Texas Hold'em according to your position. Hold'em is a game of patience and discipline. Be patient, pay attention to your table position and it will definitely help you to become a winning Hold'em player.
About the Author:
Before you play another tournament, make sure you check out Steve's Poker Strategies site for more great poker winning tips.
No comments:
Post a Comment