Position at the table

In Texas Holdem, a player’s position is a very important aspect of the game, which is frequently underestimated by novice players and always employed by the pros. Term “position” refers to the strategic consequences of a player’s position at the table, which is divided into three general zones: early, middle and late positions.

A player occupying a seat in the early position needs a stronger hand to raise or bet, than those, sitting in late positions, because if there are five players yet to act behind a player sitting in early position, there is a bigger chance that one of the subsequent players will have a stronger hand than if there were just a couple of players to act. Generally, a late position is an advantage, because a player can see how his earlier opponents act, which provides him with important information regarding their cards, while they have no idea about his hand. Position is one of the most vital key aspects of Texas Holdem. That’s why you need to understand the importance of this element and learn to benefit from your position at the table. In Texas Holdem, the importance of a player’s position goes far beyond ring games. In poker tournaments, where each player has a limited amount of chips, intelligent players use this commonly held knowledge as an advantage, because a raise with any couple of cards can steal the blinds, if done against passive opponents in the right time.

When to raise?

In Texas Holdem Poker, raising, unlike calling, has a potential extra way to win, because your opponents may fold and from a strategic perspective, an opening bet can be considered a raise.

The following is a list of general reasons for raising given by winning poker pros:

• You raise, when you have a strong hand and want to attract more money into the pot – raising to increase pot value.

• You raise, when you have a very strong hand and want to drive out your opponents, who, in other case, can improve their hands during next betting rounds.

• You raise, if you have a poor, or a drawing hand and want to mislead your opponents. A player that has a stronger hand may fold, misled by your raise.

• You raise, if you have a drawing hand and want to get a free card, because your opponent may check you during the next betting round, giving you a chance to get a free card and thus improve your current hand.

• You raise, if you have an uncertain hand and want to check the potential strength of your opponents, if you are called. You can use opening bets in later betting rounds in order to evaluate your opponents’ hands by being raised or called by them. Sometimes this can immediately win you the pot, because your opponents may fold.

• You raise, if you thing you have the second best hand and try to drive out worse players, who can improve their hands during next betting round, which can increase the expected value of your hand, giving you a better probability of success, if you will improve your hand during next betting rounds.

• You raise, if the previous player with a drawing hand bets before you, in order to make opponents behind you fold, even if they have better hands. This method is frequently referred to as “isolation play”.

When to call?

Winning Texas Holdem pros benefit from each action done during the game. No action must be done just to be done. Texas Holdem is a highly intellectual game, where, just like in chess, each move is filled with both obvious and hidden sense.
The following is a list of reasons to call a bet or raise.

• You call, if you have a drawing hand and want to see more cards in order to receive the correct pot odds.

• You call, when you have adequate pot odds to call, but lose equity on chips, contributed by you to the pot.

• You call, if you want to avoid a re-raise, because calling disables the raiser the option of re-raising.

• You call, if you have a very strong hand and want to conceal your power in early betting rounds in order to attract more money into the pot in later betting rounds.

• You call, if you want to manipulate pot odds by offering the players yet to act behind you more favorable pot odds, so they will also call. This technique, called smooth calling, may encourage other players in later positions to overcall, thus contributing to the pot. In Limit Texas Holdem, building the pot in early betting rounds can induce other players to call future bets during subsequent betting rounds, because of the better pot odds they’ll receive.

• You call, if you want to set up a bluff on one of later betting rounds.

By Ronald Norris  http://www.roomreview.net/texas-holdem-strategy/

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