The Importance of Position

Your position in Texas Holdem is the order in which you must act on each round of betting. This ordering is determined by the location of the dealer button (if you’re not sure what that is yet, you should really walk through the “Rules of Texas Holdem” tutorial and play a few hands before you read this tutorial).

At a full table, position is generally classified into three groups: early, middle, and late. While there are no hard and fast rules for the dividing lines between these groups, early is generally referred to as the first 2-3 seats to the left of the big blind. Middle is generally the next 3-4 seats, with late position being the button and the seat to the right of the button.

The later your position for a particular hand, the more information you can gather about your opponents before having to act. For example, let’s say you are considering playing a mediocre hand, but are in early position. You have no idea yet what your opponents behind are going do. You decide to play your mediocre holding and put out the minimum bet. The person to your left raises your bet significantly, and the person to his left re-raises all in. Now, obviously you’re folding your mediocre hand here. Because you had to act first, you had no way of knowing what was going to happen behind you. Had you been in a later position (behind the player who went all in), you could have laid your hand down without losing any money.

Your position also affects you tremendously after the flop. Being forced to act before your other opponents gives your opponents extra information, while forcing you to make a decision first. Conversely, when you act after an opponent, your opponents are in the hot seat, and you’re the one with the extra information. This is a huge advantage, and one that is often overlooked and underused by players of all skill levels. Any top pro will tell you that position is a major factor for them in deciding whether or not to play a particular hand.

As a general rule, you should be playing more hands in position and fewer hands out of position. Translated, this means play only your best cards from early position, semi-premium hands from middle, and be the most loose in late position.

Keep these general guidelines in mind when considering a hand pre-flop, and you will find yourself with a lot fewer tough decisions post-flop.