Keeping Position at a Poker Table
It is an arguable consideration to say that a poker player's position in relation to the dealer button is just as important as the poker cards that they hold. In general, the later a player acts on a poker hand, the more information they will have obtained through the players before them that will help them make the best decision of action. Poker in general is a game of information, and since most of it is hidden, and the more information someone is able to gather gives them a serious edge over the opposition at the poker table. For example, the poker player on the button and last to act in the poker hand is able to see every other player's actions before they act. Supposing that the person on the button at the Flop sees a bet, a raise, and re-raise before it gets to their turn can safely assume most premium of poker hands.
The person that has to act first in a poker hand will have no idea of what actions the following players behind them may take, and as such are in a potentially precarious situation even with very strong hands. In poker, knowledge is power and understanding and utilizing position properly is absolutely imperative in determining whether or not you will ultimately be a winning player.
Having the early position at a poker table usually refers to the first three players to act after the blinds, assuming a full poker table. These are the weakest positions because they are the first players to act each round. While beginners like this position, because they can make a small bet and then decide later to either call or fold any later bets. However, this also means that the poker player will have the least amount of information in the particular poker hand. This is the reason that many experts suggest that a person should only play strong to very strong poker hands in the early position because it is best to be proactive rather than reactive, and to start off the hand in lead; or withstand potential bets and raises from the players that follow. By limiting the amount of action that someone plays in early position, they are lessening the risk of throwing money into the hands of the other poker players at the poker table. However, with a stronger poker hand, a poker player is able to inform other players that their poker hands can survive a raise from a player who acts after. In fact, some say that a player should always raise these poker hands in Early Position to take the lead at the poker table and use the strong play to, in turn, get further information from any opponents when they act.
Middle Position is usually defined as the next three players after the three Early Position players. In Middle Position, players can typically play more hands than in Early Position, as they have seen the actions of some of the players at the table and have much more information. If there is little action prior to the player in the middle position, they should consider raising with a stronger hand from the Middle Position and calling with any mediocre poker cards. If there is a bet in made just before a person's turn, they should re-raise only with strong hands and simply call with any average poker hands.
Late position is usually defined as the last two or three players before the blinds. In Late Position, a player has much more information through the observation of other players' actions. For example, if five players call in front of the late position players, drawing hands can become very playable, as opposed to Early or even Middle Position where those very same hands may still not be worth the trouble and expense of seeing the Flop. A lot of times players will raise when the rest of the poker table has checked or folded.
