When you sit down at a virtual table in an online poker room, the chances are you will be lining up against four or five people around the felt.
Now, if you’re new to the wonderful world of online poker you might think that it doesn't matter where you sit at the table.
After all, the cards are random and what matters is the way you play them. Right?
Wrong.
No matter where you are sitting at the table, your position is crucial.
A classic rookie mistake
It is a classic rookie mistake to just play the cards each hand as you see fit, regardless of where you are sitting.
In reality, you should be considering your position at all stages of the game - from when you make your first bet right through to the showdown.
Under the button
Going clockwise from the dealer's perspective, if you are acting ‘under the button’ (i.e you are, effectively, the dealer), you're in a strong position.
That's because you're the last person to act in each betting round so you can see what your rivals have done before you. You've got an especially big advantage over the small blind and big blind as they have to make a bet regardless of the cards they are dealt.
In the blinds
If you have a great hand in the blinds, of course, you have the option of raising pre-flop once everyone has bet - which cancels out the initial blind should they fold against your strong bet.
The big blind position leaks the most money out of all at the table. You are giving up pot money for a potentially poor hand, but don’t let that stop you betting if your cards are good.
Compare this to being under the button where you can fold if the cards aren't up to much.
Under the gun
If your turn is after the blinds, you’re “under the gun.” You are the first player who can act having seen your cards. More often than not, you’ll give up and fold straight away or you’ll match the previous big blind bet and call.
Occasionally whoever is under the gun may raise, putting the middle position players in an awkward spot, because if they call the raise then the late position players can raise further.
The middle position players are effectively getting squeezed, which brings us onto late position play.
Late position play
If you're in a late position, chances are there have been one or two bets already by the time it's your turn. If you have a strong hand in one of these later positions, you can look to dominate the play with a raise which could sweep up the money if nobody has raised before you.
Not only that, if you don’t have a particularly strong hand and there are not many calls or raises before you, you can look to bluff the pot with a raise late in the action.
Of course, a bluff might backfire if the small blind or big blind carry impressive cards and call or raise after you. However if you have won some hands already, your bluff could well come off.
The worst position at the table
The worst place to be at a poker table is acting after a very aggressive player who constantly raises in an effort to increase the pot size and bully weaker players.
If you do not make a stand early on with a good hand against a player like this, then you could have a horrible time if you are prone to frustration and lose your focus with irrational bets.
So, you see, playing position is crucial in poker if you want to build your stack over time. Always take it into account when deciding how to bet!
In the next part of our poker journey, we'll look at When you should bet.
