Playing in Position

Playing hands in Position is a big factor in what determines a winning player and a losing player. Whether it is playing tournaments or cash games playing pots in position is something that determines the amount of money or chips won throughout the course of a session. If you can keep it in your mind to play more hands from the button or cutoff you will find yourself being more successful, and applying pressure. If you can force your opponents to make tougher decisions and put them through constant duress you will find yourself with the upper hand.

Playing hands in position in a tournament is different than a cash game because you are playing with chips instead of actual poker bonus money. Nonetheless you will want to keep the same concept in both. When coming in from the button you never want to limp in to the pot unless there are 3 or 4 limpers in front of you. Even if there are limpers though most of the time you want to put a raise in to try and get some folds. If you can apply pressure from the button that is the main goal and something you always want to keep in mind. If the table folds around to you before the flop you should almost every time open the pot up for a raise of roughly three times the big blind. The reason for this is that a lot of the time you will get folds from better hands, and be collecting fold equity. If you do happen to see flops from the button you are still in good shape and shouldn’t worry. You can easily make a flop continuation bet and win the hand.

If you are playing the flop or turn with multiple players from the button you should change your strategy and not just fire at the pot because you can be trapped in some spots. If a pot gets to the turn you should try and figure out what hands your opponents could have. If you feel like you are beat or if you have a draw then a lot of the time they will be giving you a free card to try and make your hand. You should take the free card more times than not rather than make a big turn bet. If you do happen to make a big bet on the turn you can price yourself in to calling with a losing hand or you could be throwing your money away and be forced to fold. The best way to play is by making a bet on the flop because you have a better chance of them folding on the flop rather than the turn. If a pot sees its way to the river card it is important now to be able to put your opponent on a range of hands. Not only a range of hands that you can beat, but also hands that he can lay down to a bet. If you start to pick up on how your opponents in the small and big blind play you can see what your opponent could have. At this point in a hand if you know what your opponent’s range of hands could be will give you the distinct advantage. Sometimes you will be better off to check the river and other times it is correct to make a bet. If you happen to make a big hand on the river you can make a value bet, and a good portion of the time get paid off for it.