The value of position part 1: Pre-Flop

There is so much written about position in poker and how you should always try to have position on your opponents, but very few people have broken down the actual value of position, and explained it to poker laypeople. In this two-part series I will attempt to explain the importance of position both pre-flop and post-flop.

The Value of Pre-Flop Position

Having position pre-flop gives you two advantages in the hand.

• Advantage #1 - Less opponents

The first advantage is when it is folded to you and you are in Late Position -The Hijack, The Cutoff, or The Button-which allows you to ’steal’ the blinds. Furthermore, the later your position the more advantageous the situation becomes. Think of it this way; if you are playing in a 10-handed poker game and 5 players have folded you have just trimmed your potential opposition from nine to five. If you are on the button and it is folded to you the unknown information in the hand has gone from 18 cards to 4!

The one aspect of this that players often overlook is how much a single position can be, I.e. the cutoff to the button. Not only does the button guarantee you position throughout the hand, but it also eliminates a full 1/3 of your potential opponents -in the cutoff you have three players to deal with, in the button this drops to two. Each step you take closer to the button is worth exponentially more than the previous spot.

• Advantage #2 - More Information

The second advantage to having position is when there has been action in front of you and you hold a speculative hand like a small pair or a suited connector. In these cases you will know if you are receiving the right price to play your hand, where a player in early position will not have this information.

The beauty of position is with speculative hands is three-fold:

First you will have a very precise idea of what your effective pot odds will be, so whether the action is four limps, or a raise and two calls you can easily determine your pot odds for the hand. Compare this to when you open with a pair of Seven’s from early position and have no idea what the action may be behind you.

Secondly, you are less likely to face another raise since there are fewer opponents left to act. So similarly to Advantage #1 from above with each spot you move closer to the button it becomes far less likely that your remaining opponents will wake up with a hand, and if the blinds do re-raise this usually signifies a powerhouse hand.

Finally, you will have position post-flop… Which will be discussed in part 2 of this series!