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Power of Position in Online Poker

• 09.06.2025 9:02 am
• headhunter
• 0 Comments

The power of position in poker is something that shouldn't be taken lightly. Position in flop games such as Texas Hold 'Em and Omaha are especially important because in four rounds of betting you will bet in the same spot. It will never change.

Here's a good rule to follow: play tighter the closer you are to the dealer button.

The reason for this is simple. When you have position in a game, in tournaments or cash games, you are last to act or at least one of the last. This is a huge advantage because you have more information than anyone else on the table. If you are first to act, you have very limited knowledge every time it is your turn to bet. You don't know the intention of the people behind you and when someone is aggressive behind you, depending on your knowledge of this player, won't know if he is raising because he has a hand or is trying to push you off of yours.

One of the most underrated advantages to newcomers in poker is the power of position. A novice will look at his hole cards, see suited connectors and will call a raise in early position. But the moment you lose that pot to a bluff, you have just learned a huge lesson on how important position is in poker.

If you have position, you can bluff easier, you can pick up more pots and you can protect your hands better. Because of this you want to have better hands in earlier positions to avoid aggressive players in late position taking your chips.

Let's show an example of how position works. You raise from early position with A-K and then get min-raised on the button? It folds to you, you think about it and call the raise. The flop comes down 2-7-9. In this situation it is a lot harder to pretend you have a big hand like Aces or Kings. However, you bet and get raised, what are you supposed to do? Notice the power the raiser has simply because of his position on the table. Another example is when two people have the same marginal hand. The first person checks, the other person bets out and he wins the pot uncontested. Position. It's always position.

When playing poker, you have to use your position to your advantage. You can play looser hands in later position because of the extra information you will get. In addition, it is so much harder to play pure drawing hands in early position. Sometimes when you pick up a draw in early position, you need to check the hand and you won't learn if you have odds to call until later in the hand, after it has passed your turn.

By using position, you can also pick up more pots. You can take shots at pots you have completely missed in late position. This is a good opportunity to add to your chips stack. Don't underestimate the power of position, your opponents won't.