Why does having the initiative matter?

[KingGordy]

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having a strong hand preflop that isn't so strong postflop sucks when villain has the betting lead and position.

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position makes good physical sense.

betting lead does not. please explain why betting lead matters (I took this to mean he bet most recently, which is what I meant by initiative).

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It matters because other people treat it like it matters. Even if it's not physically real or whatever, people are going to play differently postflop depending on whether or not they have the initiative, and they are going to respond to your actions differently depending on whether or not you had the initiative.