Texas Hold’em poker position

Texas Hold’em poker position is a term that indicates the place of the player on the poker table. In no other game is the player's position as important as in Texas Hold'em poker. Basically, it is best to be in the late position, so you can see the other player's bets and play actions. This allows you to gather information from the other players. Some hands are better against more players and others against fewer opponents. Seeing what the other players are doing is a big advantage for you. The lack of information can cost you chips.

The early position indicates players seated in the three seats to the left of the dealer. This is the least preferred position in the game. There are many players left to act, so you lack information. Only play the best starting hands in these positions.

The middle position refers to the players seated after early position players and before late position players. This is a good place to play small pairs against many opponents. You hope to hit three of a kind and win a big pot. Remember, the odds are about 8 to 1 to hit the trips, so fold if the flop doesn’t give you trips, or a straight or flush draw.

The late positions are the dealer and the two players to his right. This is the most preferred position in Texas Hold’em poker. The dealer is the best position because everyone has acted and you have the most information. If someone bets or raises from first or middle position, then you must credit them for a good hand and play strong hands against them. You can play many hands in late position if no raise has played, and suited connectors are a good hand to play against many opponents here.

Reasons why it’s better to be in late position:
The earlier your position is the larger risk you have when you call before the flop. This is because there is a bigger chance you will get raises from other players. If you know about the raises, as players in late position know, you have the option not to call, and can prevent the mistake made from early position. In early position players sometimes call instead of fold. Let's say you are in early position and call $5. After you call, two more players raise. If you had known they were going to raise you probably would have folded and your $5 would have been saved. The same goes for the opposite option, when you fold instead of calling. If you would have known that no raises would have come, then you might have played your hand.

For lower hands, you can lessen the number of unwanted bets made if you are in the late positions. This is because if you check first then your opponents will bet almost definitely because they will know you have a bad hand. But if they are in early position and they check, then you can also check their bet. You know how many callers there are in late position. Sometimes playing a hand is determined by the number of callers on the table. When you are in early position you cannot know that number. Playing Texas Hold'em poker for a long time will give you the skill to recognize what the number of callers means to your hand and next play action.

In late position you have more information about the other player's starting hands, and can better decide what to do with your hand according to the previous playing moves. If everyone calls and no one raises, then you have the option of raising and trying to steal others bets or just calling or checking to get another card to better your hand.

Texas Hold’em poker position is most important for higher stake games. If you are playing games with no-limit or a large limit such as $100, the importance of the position is larger because every raise and bet is a lot of money. It is better to be in a later position in Texas Hold'em poker, but more important is to know the advantages of a later position, so you can utilize the position better.

Remember, the later the position, the more information that you have and can use. If you ignore the information, then you will lose over the course of time.