Poker Position
This means you are going to be the FIRST to act before the flop. Here's why: Let's say you're dealt a QJ offsuit. You're one of those players who loves just about any combination of cards... So of course, this QJ is looking very good right now. You decide to call the big blind of $2.Drew is next to act. He makes it $10 to play and one other player calls his bet. The action is back to you and your QJ. You think, what's $8 more, and call the bet. The flop hits Q,7,4 and you're first to act. Now what do you do? You've just hit the top pair on the board but are afraid to bet because you have to put Drew on a strong hand with his pre-flop raise.
He fires out a $20 bet... just as you thought he would. You're already in for $10 so you decide to see the turn card... which is a 9. You see where this story is going? You end up becoming pot committed and bet your stack only to see Drew throw over AQ.
Now, let's look at the time when you will LOVE the first position. Here's the scenario: Just as you thought, Drew makes it $15 to play. Three other players call the bet and the action is back to you. Drew is a manic and can't stand to be raised. So he pushes his entire stack into the middle with AJ... and you take all his chips.
You decided to limp in instead of raising. You did this because you wanted to let your opponents create the action before you made your attack.
While Drew was raising and the others were calling, they had completely forgot about you, which is EXACTLY what you wanted. Playing the first position can be frustrating at times. You simply have
...And you'll start dragging in more pots, night after night after night.
Learning the strategic aspects of the game of Texas Hold`Em will improve playing ability and increase enjoyment of the game. If you are interested in learning more about any aspect of Texas Holdem Poker, whether it is articles about basic poker hands or advanced Texas Holdem strategy that you are looking, pokerellas.com is the place to find it.
Free poker resource page, providing poker strategies and tips to become a successful poker player!
|