Online Poker Guide - Texas HOldem Strategies
Texas Holdem Strategies: Table Position
Texas Hold’em Poker is a very simple game to understand, with most players picking up the rules and basic idea of the game very quickly. However, once you have found your feet in Texas Hold’em, you may wish to take the next step by applying some basic strategy to your game.
It’s important, when you’re just starting out in Texas Holdem Poker, not to over complicate things with regards to your strategy. It’s very easy to become engrossed in the many advanced strategy articles on the Internet or to try and copy some of the advanced plays shown in video clips and on TV. Let’s take a look at some of the “bread and butter” strategies you should be using when playing Texas Hold’em.
Texas Holdem Poker Table Position
Your position on the table, in relation to the first and last person betting, should influence the type of hands you are playing. If you are the first person to bet, known as ‘under the gun’, then you are in an early position in the hand. In that position you should be playing the top premium hands only. That is because, generally, you will have a lot of players behind you to act and if faced with a raise or a re-raise you could find yourself with a tricky decision with a less than premium hand. Attractive looking hands that you should probably fold from ‘under the gun’ include: King/Jack, Ace/Jack, Ace/Ten and any unsuited connecting cards such as Six/Seven, Nine/Ten, Jack/Queen etc.
As your position in a hand becomes later, then you can become more ‘creative’ with the type of hands that you play. For example: An ‘under the gun’ fold such as Ace/Ten becomes very playable from late position in an un-raised pot.
The above is a very general strategy idea of ‘position’ and, as with many aspects of poker, it won’t always be the most effective way to play. In poker the term ‘it depends’ crops up a lot and the same holds true when we talk about position. In a very tight game (where players are folding frequently before the flop) you might wish to take advantage of that by betting and raising a wider range of starting hands. In a loose game (where the play is much wilder with lots of bets and raises) then you might want to play very premium hands only (QQ, KK, AA).
So stay observant and use your position to your advantage in Texas Hold’em. As your game progresses you will discover positional bluffs and other way to use your position in a hand to gain the maximum advantage.
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Online Poker Guide: Table Positions
Know the table positions in Texas Holdem to improve your game by knowing the key terms:
Button: The dealer and the last to act in a betting round.Small Blind: The first and smallest of the mandatory pre-game bets.Immediately left of the button. Blind Blind: The second and largest of the mandatory pre-game bets. Sits immediately to the left of the small blind and two places from from the Button. Cut Off: The penultimate player to act and immediately to the right of the Button.
