Why is position so important in poker?

Often you hear people preaching about the importance of position, and the reason behind this are lost on many people. Position (definable quite simply as the position you must act in in relation to the rest of your table) is crucial for several reasons.

Firstly, if you are "on the button" (last to act after the flop and last to act apart from the blinds preflop) or in late position (one or two places before the button at a full table), you will have more of an idea if your hand is good in relation to other player's hands preflop. If, for example, you are playing No-Limit Holdem and hold Ace-Jack suited and everyone has folded to you on the button, you can be reasonably confident that your Ace-Jack suited is the best hand out, as you are only up against two random hands. Contrastingly, if you are in late position with the same hand, and the pot has already been raised and reraised, you can fold without a second thought, as the bettor and/or the raiser will almost always have a better starting hand than you. When you are in early position, you do not have this information available, and the likelihood that you will either folding the best starting hand dealt to the table or raise into someone with a premium hand is greatly increased. From early position, a hand like 22 or 33 is often unplayable, but in late position with a lot of people limping into the pot (calling the big blind but not raising), small pairs can be played for the huge value you will get if you hit a set. Poker is a game of information, and the more information you have before you are forced to make a decision, the more likely you are to make the right decision.

Position is also crucial when it comes to preflop blind stealing, for much the same reason. If you are raising into two players, the likelihood of one of these players having a hand which they can or will call or raise you with is much lower than if you are raising into eight players.

After the flop, position doesn't become any less important. When you are in position, you have the advantage of acting after your opponent and thus being able to see whether he checks or bets (and how much he bets) before you have to act. If a passive player bets into you and you just have middle pair, you invariably have an easy fold, whereas if you were acting first you may well be tempted to bet, and would ultimately lose more chips on the hand - either by getting slowplayed or by being raised on the flop and not being able to call. In heads-up Holdem you will see many good players raising on the button with almost any two starting cards, primarily because they want to contest larger pots when they have the advantage of position on their opponent.

When considering where to sit at a poker table, position is important too. You want tighter and weaker players to your left, so blind stealing is as easy as possible. Strong, aggressive players are better seated on your right, so you almost always have position on them and can use this to your advantage more often, as they will be involved in more pots.

Position is more important in No-Limit Holdem than Limit Holdem, for the simple reason that a far wider range of plays are possible in No Limit. In more mechanical games like Omaha, position is less important, but should never be totally ignored.

This article was written by Nick Kisberg of Cardschat.com Poker Forums, home of the best guide to online poker games. Cardschat.com features numerous reviews of poker sites such as Party Poker, as well as listing the best online poker bonuses.