MATTHEW ROBINSON

Weblog: Giving insight into online poker

Playing position well the key to making money

WOULD you knowingly make a decision based on little or no information?

Racing Post Poker: test your skills

  PICTURE: Racing Post Poker  

You would have to be extremely confident of the outcome. Would a footballer prefer to take on one defender or four? With the number of defenders diminishing, chances of success obviously increase. Position around the table is something all players should familiarise themselves with and respect.

Broken down in to three categories; early, middle and late position, each changes the way you should play your hands.

It is no coincidence that the biggest losing position on a poker table is the big blind. This is because the big blind acts first in all rounds of betting from the flop onwards. By having the least information about their opponents' intentions, the big blind is normally forced to fold anything bar the very best of hands.

Conversely, being in late position gives you a massive advantage. Logically, as players in earlier positions fold, your hand value increases.

Hands that were previously folded become not only playable but worthy of entering the pot with a raise. This raise will more often than not be enough to win the pot and collect the blinds; something that in tournament poker becomes a huge tool in your armoury.

By bearing in mind that position equals information, you will be able to make well informed decisions.

Position is one of the most important concepts to grasp. Practice playing a positional game and results will follow.