I don't understand position. Please help.

[runout_mick]

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Later position = more information = easier decisions = +EV.
Position is probably MORE important than the cards you get dealt in Texas Hold'em.

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Good response.

In a nutshell, you lose less when behind and make more when ahead, if you have position in the hand.

Information=$.

[RapidEvolution]

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Hello all. I do not understand the importance of position. For instance. Suppose I am on the button and I raise preflop and get three callers. The flop comes, the others check and then I raise. Surely I letting myself open to people who hit big on the flop and check raise since they know I raised pre-flop and see me as the agressor?

Also I just don't generally get the concept of position. Can some people give me concrete examples of how position helps me.

Thanks all. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

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In this particular situation, yes you're leaving yourself open to someone trapping with a monster, but that's only dangerous if you BOTH hit the flop, but they hit it harder. The other scenarios are more likely.

Neither of you hit: you cbet and he holds.

You hit and he doesn't: he checks, you bet for value, he folds.

He hits and you miss: You call (if you're getting good odds to a draw) or fold (keeping losses to a minimum)

Remember that in ALL of these situations your position gives you information that your opponent doesn't have (what the other person has already done). Having more info is the heart of what makes position SEXY. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[TeeNaGeWaSteLAnD]

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Later position = more information = easier decisions = +EV.
Position is probably MORE important than the cards you get dealt in Texas Hold'em.

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[Bad Beat Maker]

http://www.pr0crast.com/2+2.NL.Anthology.v1.htm

[Ironic]

I've studied each of your posts and I think I finally understand the basic idea. Thanks guys.

And bad beat maker, that is an excellent link!

[Chicago RED]

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http://www.pr0crast.com/2+2.NL.Anthology.v1.htm

[/ QUOTE ]What a great link.

[Spy_Lord]

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On a VERY superficial level, generally you want to be putting raising, putting money in the pot, with the best hand. In a full ring game, if you are first to act, you have nine other hands that could be better than yours. If you are on the button, you only have two hands you have to be better than. Take AJo, for instance. Only about 7.5% of all hands are better than AJo. If you are first to act, there are nine hands each of which has a 7.5% chance of being better than you. 9 X 7.5% = 67.5%, so the likelihood that you are raising when there is still a better hand to act is high. However, if you have AJo on the button, it is folded to you, now there are only two hands left to act. 2 X 7.5% = 15%, so you are highly likely to be raising with the best hand. Hence AJo = not so good UTG, but very good on the button.

The great thing about poker is that is just the very beginning of the analysis of position. Read and learn.

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Your points are correct but your calculations are not. To see why it's not as simple as multiplying (Hands Left) by (Probability Hand Is Better Than Yours), consider the situation if you were playing a 15 handed game. Then the probability someone has a better hand than yours according to that calculation would be 112.5%, which is of course ridiculous.

A better (but perhaps not perfect) way to calculate the probabilities is to assume that probability each hand is better than yours is independent (which is of course not an accurate assumption, but it will do). Then you can apply the binomial distribution to work out P(at least one hand is better than yours). This is equal to 1 - (1-0.075)^(number of hands left), so if you had 9 hands to play after yours, the probability at least one is better is 1-(1-0.075)^9, which is approximately 50.4%. If instead there were only two hands to play after yours, then it comes out to only about 14.4%.

This pretty much ties in with the figures you got anyway, but it wouldn't do for more hands (or indeed a probability like 20% or 30%).