Money Flows Clockwise

In Texas hold'em there are four positions: early, middle, late and the blinds (small and big). In a ten-handed game, early position consists of the three chairs left of the big blind; the next three players sit in middle position; the next two players, known as cut-off and the button, are in late position; and lastly we have small and big blind.

The closer to the button you sit (clockwise,) the better position you are in. There is an old poker quote saying that "money tends to flow clockwise," which means that you win money from the players to your right and lose to the ones on your left. And usually that is true.

But why is it that way? Poker is a game of incomplete information and the more information you can gather, the better chance you have making correct decisions. If you sit in early position, you have to decide what to do before your opponents, which is a huge disadvantage.

Say that you are first to act in a hand and look down on As-Jh. This could be a raising hand, as we said in the previous article covering starting hands, but it could also be a hand belonging in the muck. Let's pretend that you decide to raise three times the big blind. A player in middle position doubles your raise and the button moves all-in.

Now your hand is dead and you are forced to fold. But if you would have been on the button and two players raised and re-raised before you, you could have quietly folded without wasting any money.

On the other hand, if everybody folds to you on the button and you have the same As-Jh, you definitely hold a raising hand. You have received information from seven of the players, who all folded, and chances are that you sit on a stronger hand than the two remaining players in the blinds.

 

A Bad Position Stays with You throughout the Hand

If you sit in early position before the flop (or in the blinds), you have to make your decisions early on all other streets. One can say that you suffer from positional disadvantage pre-flop to river, something that also must be taken into consideration.

Hand Example #1

Let's take the same hand as an example: You have As-Jh in early position and raise three times the big blind, the button and the big blind call and the flop comes: 2s-6c-Kh. Now you are first to speak.

This is a very bluffable flop. It is not connected, so there are no obvious straight draws, and there are no possible flush draws on the table. If you bet, an opponent would need a king to call, maybe a pocket pair between 7 and Q or possibly a 6. I'm not saying that you shouldn't bet out here to pick up the pot, but I would rather be in the following position.

Hand Example #2

Everybody has folded to you on the button and you raise three times the big blind with As-Jh. The blinds call, and the flop comes: 2s-6c-Kh. It is checked to you.

Now you are in a much better position. Your opponent has provided you with information (read: weakness) and chances are that you will take down the pot with a single bet. And even if someone calls you are still dictating the tempo in the hand.

Say that big blind calls and a queen falls on the turn. If big blind checks the turn, you can check as well to see a "free card" and possibly catch a straight. You could also decide to fire again on the turn if you think that you will get rid of, say, a pair of eights. Whatever you decide to do, you do it with the maximum amount of information about your opponents.

The bottom line is clear: later is better!

 

When you are in position, you can choose to do a well-timed bluff. In this video, Todd Brunson is making a truly sick play - a must-see for poker lovers!

Position and Starting Hands

When we not only look at the strength of a certain starting hand, but also evaluate the position, it's easier to say whether a hand is playable or not.

Early position

From early position you should almost only play the premium starting hands - big pairs, A-K, A-Q and possibly A-J. If you regularly play against the same opponents, you might have to mix up your game and add some other holdings to your arsenal to avoid becoming too predictable. However, these are the hands you should stick to when playing your standard, ABC game. You simply don't want to get too fancy from early position.

Middle Position

In middle position you can add some starting hands. Besides the ones mentioned above you can also raise it up with A-T, K-Q, K-Js, J-Ts, Q-Ts, and smallish pairs. You can also sparingly mix up your game with the unsuited versions of the hands mentioned as well as T-9s, J-9s and 9-8s.

As always, these are not rules you always have to follow. If your opponents know that you play the same way all the time, you will become an easy target. So raising with, say, 6-4s first-in from middle position doesn't have to be a bad thing and this is something you see the best poker professionals do all the time. However, these pros have superb post flop skills, which allow them to play more speculative holdings.

As a beginner I strongly advice you to play good or at least decent hands from middle position.

Late Position

From late position you can turn on the creativity. Raise with all pairs, all suited connectors (except perhaps 3-2s and 5-4s,) and all hands containing an ace. If the players sitting in the blinds are habitual folders and play predictably on the flop, you can raise with basically anything besides the absolute weakest hands.

Remember that you act late on the flop, turn and river, so you will always have the last word, which is what you look for in poker.

Gavin Smith talks about position

 

The Blinds

When you sit in the blinds you are forced to put money into the pot before any cards are dealt. In consequence, it is almost impossible to be a winner in the long run from small and big blind.

Many players tend to play too many hands from the blinds because they feel that they get a discount on seeing the flop. This is a mistake. It's true that you get to see the flop cheaper than your opponents, taking into consideration that you can't avoid paying blinds. But try to remember what we have said about position.

The blinds always have to act first on the flop, turn and river - and acting first is bad. One can say that you receive a discount just because you are offered a damaged product. What do you do when you flop middle pair or a flush draw? Do you bet out, risking to get raised, or do you check-call? These questions are tough to answer and are the reason why you should avoid playing too many hands from the blinds.

If the price is right, and many players have entered the pot, you could play hands that do well against many opponents - small pairs and suited connectors - as well as the good starting hands mentioned in the section about early and perhaps middle position.

But if a player in late position is deploying the strategy described above - raising with a very wide range of hands - you must put your foot down. You can not tolerate that someone is stealing your blinds all the time, and consequently, you must play back with not only the best hands.

Let me just plant a seed a bout this concept for now and we will discuss blind stealing and how to protect yourself against it later on.

Just remember: position, position, position.