The impact of position

Position at the table has a huge impact on decision-making. When you act later in a hand, you have more information about your opponents' actions, which can help you make better choices and avoid costly mistakes.

Thats why its so jarring to watch players who talk about poker theory open limp with players sitting out.

Which is like saying, "No I want to play my horrible hand out of position with no initiative, all while trying to pick up the least amount of dead money as possible."

As we get into position, our hand range increases. So does our aggression. But what we see most often are fish limping from UTG. And that's with big hands. They're practically begging to lose the hand.

I've heard this for decades andcan only repeat what I said before. If someone raises pre-flop and continuation bets, what do you do?

The other day I called a raise with A-J; the flop came AJQ and he bet again. I ended up folding on the turn; I think the other player folded after the river. The board paired queens and there was a flush out there. The raiser showed a pair of kings. It was a great bluff but how did position help anyone here?

Joujou113 said:

Position at the table has a huge impact on decision-making. When you act later in a hand, you have more information about your opponents' actions, which can help you make better choices and avoid costly mistakes.

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Yes, position is indeed a very important factor, one of the main ones. You need to be able to use position, but at the same time, you shouldn't give position decisive importance.

FoxMS said:

Yes, position is indeed a very important factor, one of the main ones. You need to be able to use position, but at the same time, you shouldn't give position decisive importance.

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In other words, position matters unless it doesn't. Thanks for clearing that one up.

I completely agree. Position is one of the biggest advantages in poker. Acting last gives you so much more information, making it easier to control the pot, put pressure on opponents, and avoid expensive mistakes.

thedarkman said:

In other words, position matters unless it doesn't. Thanks for clearing that one up.

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Sorry. I'm using a translator, so maybe my comment was a bit confusing to you. What I meant was that position shouldn't be the deciding factor in making decisions. Position is important, but it shouldn't be the deciding factor.

thedarkman said:

I've heard this for decades andcan only repeat what I said before. If someone raises pre-flop and continuation bets, what do you do?

The other day I called a raise with A-J; the flop came AJQ and he bet again. I ended up folding on the turn; I think the other player folded after the river. The board paired queens and there was a flush out there. The raiser showed a pair of kings. It was a great bluff but how did position help anyone here?

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I think being in position here actually helped you. He was out of position betting into you and you got that information out of him so you folded and he showed a bluff and you didn’t loose anymore money in the hand. Had you been out of position with AJ on an AJQ flop, you might have bet first, then if he raises as a bluff you loose whatever you bet into him. Position is great because you get to see what they are up to and then you can decide what you want to do, check if they check into you and see a free card, or raise as a bluff if they bet into you. Out of position it’s just harder.

Position is MASSIVE. We just have WAY more options to play when we are the aggressor in position. There are so many more ways to win the pot when we get to see Villains' actions first.