Position
The most overlooked factor in learning to play any variation of poker is position. New players should simply learn that each and every hand they must focus first on their position at the table. By “first” we mean before you look at your cards. One trick taught by many poker instructors is to key yourself to the dealer. Each time the dealer shuffles you ask yourself: “What is my position for this upcoming hand? Where are the blinds; am I in early, middle or late position?”
The simply reason for considering position is to know where you are going to be in the betting rotation. Early position means you must act before many other players in the hand. The button is the best position, acting last on each betting round, except the first round where the blinds have the last word. The blinds, of course, lose that first round advantage in later rounds when they must act first. There are more advanced lessons to be considered when looking at position and we will take a look at those in future posts. Also remember in games played without a blind structure, position may shift with each new round of cards dealt.
The key point for beginning poker players is that your position is critically important in each hand you play. Some professionals will tell you that position is even more important to them than the cards they are dealt. With that in mind, remember the old real estate adage about the three most important elements is a real estate purchase: “Location, location and location.” For poker hand we change that to: “Position, position and position.” Ask yourself: “Where am I in this hand?” Do that even before you look at your cards. Make it a ritual on each and every hand of poker you play and you will be way ahead of players who do not make consideration of position as important in their game as it actually is in the play of every hand of poker.
-This is Beginner’s Poker Blog Post #14
