How Not to Go Broke Playing Texas Holdem Poker by Using Your Position to Your Advantage
Positioning is EVERYTHING in Texas Holdem poker. You get to see what your opponents do first before having to act. This allows you to make informed decisions about what you want to do, based on the behavior and betting from the other players at the table.
The best position at the poker table is the dealer position, otherwise known as the button. Why is it the best position? It's the best position because you get to act LAST after the Flop. As mentioned above, this gives you the chance to see what your opponents are doing before you have to make a decision.
A mistake that a lot of players make is playing their cards the same way, regardless of their position. They play Pocket Aces from early position the exact same way that they play them from the blinds. What they don't understand is that starting hands in Texas Holdem will have a different value based on your position at the poker table. This holds true for ALL starting hands and ALL table positions.
Once you understand positioning, and the massive advantage that it gives you, you can begin applying strategies to improve your position, which will set you up to win more pots. One such strategy that you can begin using immediately is a technique that I call Stealing the Button.
Stealing the Button
Stealing the button is a strategy that allows you all of the same benefits as if you were on the button. You simply leverage your late position when you're not actually on the button. Remember, being on the button, or stealing the button, gives you an enormous advantage because it means you're last to act post-flop.
You're probably thinking..."Just get to it. How do you steal the button?". Simply make a reasonably pre-flop raise when you're in late position. This will usually force the player on the button to fold. Having done this, now you'll be last to act after the Flop.
Sounds simple, right? It is VERY simple, but it's also very powerful. Not only do you get to act last, giving you a huge positional advantage, but you've got the opportunity to take the pot down with your raise. To top it all off, you've now got control of the hand because of your pre-flop raise.
I will discuss the details of this strategy in another article. Trying to give you an overview of this play wouldn't do you any justice, and may end up getting you in trouble instead of giving you an advantage.
How To Take Advantage Of Your Position
The basic strategy to using position while playing Texas Holdem is you want to play more starting hands from a later position. Conversely, that means you need to tighten your hand selection when you are in early position.
When you're in early position, you'll be playing fewer hands, and playing them less aggressively. This is even more important when you are directly to the left of the big blind, otherwise known as "under the gun".
You also want to play your hands more aggressively from late position. The majority of your bluffs should come from good positioning also. The reason being is, like I've mentioned, you'll have the best read on players at the table from late position.
The best position at the poker table is the dealer position, otherwise known as the button. Why is it the best position? It's the best position because you get to act LAST after the Flop. As mentioned above, this gives you the chance to see what your opponents are doing before you have to make a decision.
A mistake that a lot of players make is playing their cards the same way, regardless of their position. They play Pocket Aces from early position the exact same way that they play them from the blinds. What they don't understand is that starting hands in Texas Holdem will have a different value based on your position at the poker table. This holds true for ALL starting hands and ALL table positions.
Once you understand positioning, and the massive advantage that it gives you, you can begin applying strategies to improve your position, which will set you up to win more pots. One such strategy that you can begin using immediately is a technique that I call Stealing the Button.
Stealing the Button
Stealing the button is a strategy that allows you all of the same benefits as if you were on the button. You simply leverage your late position when you're not actually on the button. Remember, being on the button, or stealing the button, gives you an enormous advantage because it means you're last to act post-flop.
You're probably thinking..."Just get to it. How do you steal the button?". Simply make a reasonably pre-flop raise when you're in late position. This will usually force the player on the button to fold. Having done this, now you'll be last to act after the Flop.
Sounds simple, right? It is VERY simple, but it's also very powerful. Not only do you get to act last, giving you a huge positional advantage, but you've got the opportunity to take the pot down with your raise. To top it all off, you've now got control of the hand because of your pre-flop raise.
I will discuss the details of this strategy in another article. Trying to give you an overview of this play wouldn't do you any justice, and may end up getting you in trouble instead of giving you an advantage.
How To Take Advantage Of Your Position
The basic strategy to using position while playing Texas Holdem is you want to play more starting hands from a later position. Conversely, that means you need to tighten your hand selection when you are in early position.
When you're in early position, you'll be playing fewer hands, and playing them less aggressively. This is even more important when you are directly to the left of the big blind, otherwise known as "under the gun".
You also want to play your hands more aggressively from late position. The majority of your bluffs should come from good positioning also. The reason being is, like I've mentioned, you'll have the best read on players at the table from late position.
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