| As with other casino games like scratch card games, in poker you’re nothing without position. It doesn’t matter how skilled you are, if you continually play pots out of position you’ll lose money. The main reason for this is that you don’t have the benefit of seeing what your opponents are going to do.
Indeed, because you’ll be the first person to make a move when out of position, you’re essentially guessing how your opponents will act.
Moreover, when you’re the first to act when playing with the likes of casino online, you put yourself in a vulnerable position that your opponents can take advantage of. For example, if you simply called a pre-flop raise from the big blind with K Q then checked on a flop of A-3-9, your opponent could easily bet with any two cards and force you to fold.
The example above is a clear illustration of the main benefit of being in position: options. Indeed, when you have the positional advantage over your opponent, you can dictate the action in a number of ways.
If, for instance, you have a strong hand then you can choose to either call if they bet or check if they check. Doing this will enable you to disguise the strength of your hand. Conversely, if you don’t have a strong hand, you have the option to raise if your opponent leads out or bet if they check to you. Both of these moves will put pressure on your opponent and you’ll find that they will realise they’re in a tough position and fold.
This article is a simple outline of the power of playing in position. There are certainly more instances we could outline that would demonstrate the benefits of staying on the right side of the action; however it can all be summarised in the following way: position at the poker table not only gives you the option to manipulate, but avoid the position of being the one who’s getting manipulated. |
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