Poker Strategy

Part 2: Special Positional Play
Where you are situated at a poker table will greatly influence your decision making process. There are 4 specific positions that need special consideration, they are: The Button, The Small Blind, The Big Blind and Under-The-Gun.

The Button: is the seat where dealer button is, it's also sometimes called "The Cut Off". This is arguably the most powerful position in the ring and some players will call with any two cards from there! The power of the button is that you are late to bet in the pre-flop betting round and then last to bet on all subsequent rounds. When on the button you can steal the blinds pre-flop if it has been folded around to you (a bet of 3-4 times the big blind should suffice) or you can flat call with a weak hand if it has been called in a few places ahead of you.

The Small Blind: is to the immediate left of the button. In many ways, this is a bad position to be in. You have put some chips into the pot but you are not last to bet on the pre-flop betting round and you will be first to bet on every round afterwards. That said, you have the advantage of seeing a lot of the betting pre-flop before it gets to you. If you like the flop you will be the first to get your raise in which can make a big difference. You shouldn't be afraid to muck a terrible hand in the small blind but alternatively if no-one has raised it before you, you can make up the difference with a hand you might otherwise throw away.

The Big Blind: is to the immediate left of the small blind. This is the position everyone hates! You are forced into the pot with a random hand. Yours are the chips that everyone wants to steal and even if you get to see a flop, you will probably be playing a weak hand. Raises from the BB are to be feared. If you consider it from his point of view, if the pot is unraised pre-flop when it gets to him, all he has to do it check and he'll get to see a free flop. By choosing to raise, he's not only putting more of his chips into the pot but also giving everyone who called an opportunity to re-raise him! Why would he do such a thing without a good hand?? He may of course be stealing but it's not against the rules of the game for Big Blind to actually have a big hand! If you are in the BB and its called around to you, be wary of raising the pot on a medium hand, anyone who is trapping with AA, KK etc. will get another chance to raise it again. Regardless you are costing yourself more then you should be paying to see a flop!

Under The Gun: This position is also called "The Irish Position" because of the aggressive raising habit of Irish players in early positions and is just after the big blind. You should either play the strongest hands from this position or represent the strongest hands on a steal!

Under the gun, you will be first to bet on the pre-flop round and third to bet on all subsequent rounds, a combination which makes it a bad position to play from with a medium or marginal hand. My rule of thumb for this position (and indeed all of early position and medium position) is that I will only call with hands that can also call a reasonable subsequent raise.