TOP #17 - Position

[wallenborn]

In all poker games, it is far better to be last to act, primarily because it is generally easier to decide what to do after you have seen what your opponents have done. Logically, then, the worst position is to be first since you must act before you know what any of your opponents are going to do.


Advantages of Last Position

[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] If it is checked to you, you can decide whether you want to take the free card with a weak or mediocre hand, or bet a big hand.
[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] If there is action before you act, you can decide, based on what your opponents do, whether to fold, call with a mediocre hand without having to fear a raise, or raise with a big hand.
[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] With a big hand in early position, your bet might only get called, and if you try a checkraise, you risk your opponents checking behind.


Advantages of First Position

There are a few situations where it's advantageous to be first.
[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] Only in early position you can checkraise.
[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] With a lock in early position, you might get three bets in by betting and reraising.
[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] Finally, raising in early position helps driving out players to reduce the field.


Older threads:

TOP #1 - Beyond Beginning Poker
TOP #2 - Mathematical Expectation and Hourly Rate
TOP #3 - The Fundamental Theorem of Poker
TOP #4 - The Ante Structure
TOP #5 - Pot Odds
TOP #6 - Effective Odds
TOP #7 - Implied Odds and Reverse Implied Odds
TOP #8 - The Value of Deception
TOP #9 - Win the Big Pots Right Away
TOP #10 - The Free Card
TOP #11 - The Semi-Bluff
TOP #12 - Defense Against the Semi-Bluff
TOP #13 - Raising
TOP #14 - Check-Raising
TOP #15 - Slowplaying
TOP #16 - Loose and Tight Play

[wallenborn]

In position, we play looser. Do we also play more aggressively?

I often read: "I had position, so i smooth called", or "I'd have to play the rest of the hand oop, so i don't mind taking the pot down with a raise right now"

And the opposite is also common: "I didn't want to build a big pot oop, so i just called to reevaluate on the turn." or "In position, i can apply maximum pressure here"

Does it depend on what we want to accomplish? We raise for fold equity oop, and for value in position?

[LearningCurve]

[ QUOTE ]
In position, we play looser. Do we also play more aggressively?

[/ QUOTE ]

If we don't play more aggressively much of the time when we are ip then we are giving up an excellent advantage. However, even choosing not to bet can be viewed as aggressively controlling the pot size. I guess it all depends upon what you are trying to achieve with any given hand.

[wallenborn]

[ QUOTE ]
I guess it all depends upon what you are trying to achieve with any given hand.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think so, too. Maybe we should encourage our oppositons' natural mistakes. Against weak-tight opposition, that would mean oop aggression to make them fold even more reliably than usual. Against aggro-donks otoh, we should be more aggressive in position.