Significance of Position in Poker
So what is the significance of position in poker? Does it play a role in online poker? These are questions that must be answered.
The position of the player can play a huge role in how you play your hand in an online poker game. The position of the player decides when the player will get to place his bet. Players who get to bet after the others have placed their bet or made their call are said to be in a late position, while those who have to bet before the others are said to be in an early position. Interestingly, this betting order can affect the game a lot and will also play an important role in deciding which hands are strong enough to play with and which ones are not. Below is an assessment of how the position of the player affects the game of poker.
- Texas Hold’em Positions – The beauty of this game lies in its simplicity and this is why understanding the position significance in Hold’em is very easy. The player who is in the last position gets the maximum advantage, while the player in the early position is at a disadvantage. Having to make a decision before anyone else often forces a player to back up only his very strong hands. The late position player, having the advantage of seeing the bet of the rest of the table, is able to bet on comparatively weaker hands too after making an educated guess at the other players’ hands based on their actions.
- Stud High / Low – In this case the position of the player is never constant. The rules of the poker game state that the highest showing card/hand will be the player to act first from the fourth street onwards. This is why while one player with a king will be the first to act in the fourth round, a player who shows an ace or a pair will be the first to bet in the fifth round. Players on the left will definitely have an advantage over the player on the right hand side. Players who are able to play their game more aggressively are often able to force other players to move first right through the game.
- Omaha High / Low– Here the late position comes with its fair share of disadvantages as well. Bluffing is a complete impossibility for a player who is in the last position. The advantage of being able to bluff lies with the middle position player but this does not mean that this position is not without problems either. This game of poker is all about sharing pots and this is why the middle position player can often be at a disadvantage. If the middle position has a nut hand and the early position player makes a higher bet, then it can get very difficult for the middle position play to win the hand.
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As you can see the position of the player is very important in poker, however, each variation of the game will change the significance on that position. This is but a fleeting glimpse into the world of poker, if you want to find out more about playing poker online then visit our poker site.
In summary then, while Texas Hold’em has the simple last position is best rule, this is not the same for Omaha High Low. If you are a pro at one variation of poker, this does not mean that you will excel at the others too. Make sure you learn about the position importance of the game of poker that you are playing.
