Seat Position So Important in Online Poker

Author: Simon Dexter

Littlewoodspoker.com offers tremendous excitement and the site has plenty of helpful hints to help get the best out of online poker.

One fundamental which cannot be over emphasised is that seat position is possibly the most important factor that any Texas Hold ’Em player must understand if they are to be successful.

Position is used to describe where a player sits in relation to the dealer and defines whether you will be first or last to act in a round of betting.

It is surprising how many ‘newbie players’ fail to grasp this most basic of concepts straightaway. Although most eventually work it out, they wasted opportunities and most probably money by not considering the importance of this factor in the first place.

It is not difficult, and although the following is not set in stone it is generally considered a good guide for the beginner to online poker. More advanced players learn how to mix up their game depending on what types of opponents are at the table.
Early Position

In a game of ten players, the first five seats are considered to be in early position, with the first player to act often described as being ‘under the gun’. Playing from these seats is a serious disadvantage to anybody. There are few clues as to the strength of your opponents’ hands and any play you make will alert others as to the strength of yours.

Add to the fact that you then have to play first at the beginning of each subsequent round and this disadvantage is increased considerably.

Many players restrict themselves to only playing certain strong hands from these seats – typically AA, KK, QQ, JJ or suited high cards AK, AQ, KQ, AJ, KJ, QJ, J10. Some will also play unsuited high cards AK, AQ, KQ.
Middle Position

Players sat at 6, 7 or 8 are described as being in ‘middle position’. Having seen some of the early action they are in a better position to gauge how the hand is progressing. With others to follow, a cautious position needs to be adopted but players can play slightly weaker hands than those in an early position. Suited high cards such as A10, K10 and Q10 may be played along with lower unsuited cards like AJ, A10, KJ, K10. More middle of the road pairs such as 10-10, 9-9 and 8-8 are seen as reasonable hands when sat in this position.

It is possible from a middle position to force some later players to fold and leave yourself in a more desirable position.
Late Position

It is the late positions - 9 or 10 - that are exploited by the shrewdest of those who play Texas Hold ’Em seriously. A looser style can be adopted and the prospect of bluffing is opened up. Having seen the relative strengths of the opponent’s hands, more options are available

For example, if you have K-9 in a late position and the flop is K-4-2, it is possible you have the best hand. However, if someone raises before it is your turn to act they most likely hold decent cards themselves and you can make a considered judgement on whether or not your hand is beaten. If you think your ‘kicker’ (the nine you have being worse than your opponent’s card if (s)he is also holding a king) will not stand up, then you are able to fold your hand for free.

You can take more risks from a late position pre-flop and being the last to play is seen as one of the most important factors by those who play Texas Hold ’Em professionally.

Tags: newbie players, Texas Hold ’Em, under the gun

This entry was posted on Monday, January 1st, 2007 at 12:30 pm and is filed under Poker Strategy.