Position in Poker: Advantages and appropriate strategies

Learn positions in poker

Position in Poker is a very important factor that affects how you will act in the Turn or River round. If the seat is convenient, it will definitely be a huge advantage for you to have more information to make a decision after knowing what your opponent has done. If you want to play well no matter where you sit, join A8 POKER to learn some specific strategies related to each position on the poker table below.

Overview of positions in Poker

Learn positions in poker
Learn positions in poker

Position in Poker is a factor that is often underestimated or not paid much attention by players when playing poker. However, in some cases it is even more important than your two trump cards, making the difference between winning and losing. Such as:

Early position – The first position group of the table

This is the position in Poker that will have to act first in the Flop round, including Small Blinds and Big Blinds. Because they are the players at the top of the table, they are at a disadvantage without any information about their opponents. This position only prevails over UTG (under the gun) in the PreFlop round, which is to make the final move. 

When in two positions in EP, you must own trump pairs like AA, KK, QQ, or AK to hope to “miss Flop” to create a strong hand in your hand.

Early Position in Poker is the two players to the left of the Dealer
Early Position in Poker is the two players to the left of the Dealer

Under the gun – Location to the left of Big Blind

The next position on the poker table is “under the gun” or UTG for short, the first person to act after the cards are initially dealt. This is also not a favorable “seat”, however, players at UTG can still deceive their opponents by “Raise” to make them scared and retreat. Because people often assume that if UTG increases their bets, they have very strong hands, so if the cards are not good, avoid them to limit risks.

Middle position – The position behind UTG in poker

One or two seats to the left of UTG belong to the “Middle Position”, people who can participate in playing many hands on the poker table. If you play in MP and are lucky enough to hold a nice deck, you should enter the pot with a raise. Because, this is the most ideal way to eliminate other players sitting behind you and enjoy a positional advantage after the cards are turned over.

However, you should still carefully observe your opponent’s moves and the community cards that are revealed next. Normally, you will have to choose between two decisions: “Call” from EP or “Reraise” from Late Position. Of course, playing the MP position even though the advantage is greater but the cards are too trash will make it very difficult to participate in the game and win the general pot.

Playing in a position where MP is more dominant than EP
Playing in a position where MP is more dominant than EP

Late position – Late position has the most advantage

Cut Off (CO) or Button (BTN) are the best positions in poker, located right to the Dealer. Mostly, players in LP expand their action advantage by more than 30%, thanks to going last and getting information from all opponents. If a player is good, with a good position, they can predict the strength and weakness of the opponent’s hands to make a decision to follow or fold. 

If your opponent checks or bets a small amount on the flop, they definitely don’t have a strong hand. At that time, you can increase your bet with almost any hand to “steal the blind”.

Of course, be aware of the blind players’ tendencies, as they can make a Reraise to deceive you right at the Flop. It’s best to call the bet and enjoy a positional advantage after the flop in a chip-accumulating hand.

LP brings many advantages to poker players
LP brings many advantages to poker players

Optimal strategy for each position in Poker

Everyone wants to play in a good position, but not always have that advantage at the poker table. Therefore, you need to know how to act flexibly to find winning opportunities, no matter what position in Poker you are in. Specifically:

  • When playing in the early position: You should focus on forming strong hands (from 10 to Ace) or linking cards of the same suit. Avoid abusing Bluff, instead pay attention to every small move on the table to promptly adjust your strategy appropriately.
  • For the middle MP position: Here, you need to monitor the actions of the players in the EP position before you. If they continuously raise their bets, it proves that they have a strong hand, so be careful and play very tightly. At the same time, monitor the actions of the players in the late position and take advantage of the opportunity to steal the blinds.
  • Players in the last position: Being the last to act means you have more information about your opponents after turning up the community card. If you have a good hand, put pressure on your opponent more often, or make bluffs and semi-bluffs that make it difficult for them to “call” without very strong cards.
How to play position in poker effectively
How to play position in poker effectively

Conclusion

Position in Poker plays an extremely important role at the table, when acting first is often more disadvantageous and has many potential risks. This comes from the lack of information about your opponent’s cards, making it difficult to make the right decision. However, A8 POKER hopes that you can make the most of any position, after following our sharing above.

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