Poker is a game of chance, luck, skill and incomplete information. The more information you have in a game poker, the better informed your decisions will be, and hence your game play. The position you are seated at a poker table will directly influence your game strategy and style of play. On the bright side, this is one of the easiest pieces of poker strategy to learn, and can be picked up by following some general rules.
If you are seated in an early position (the blinds and the following player), then you will not hold information about the hand before you act. On the contrary if you are in one of the last players to act, you have seen all the players before you act, and can calculate their actions into your decision-making and thus play from a position of strength.
Assuming a full table, there will be 9 players seated, a dealer, and two blinds as shown below.
These players are said to be in the weakest position because they are the ones that act first. Playing from this position you will have top act on minimal information. From this position you should only play strong hands, which you have the utmost confidence in.
Most successful poker players employ some form of poker hand selection strategy. Such a selection poker strategy takes into account table position, and aims to minimise the risk playing from an early position you will need to have a strong hand to lead out, withstand potential bets, and raises. If playing a strong hand in early position you should typically raise to lead the betting at the table.
In early position you should usually limit your starting hands to AA, KK, QQ, JJ, 1010, 99, AK, AQ, and AJ.
Middle position as said above, refers to the following three positions on the table. The positions have slightly more position than those seated before them, however still need to act cautious. Players in these positions can play slightly more hands than those in early position. If you are the first to bet or have several small bets before you, consider leading out with a large bet or raise if your hand is strong.
Poker hands that you can add to your selection include 88, 77, 66, KQ, KJ, QJ, J10.
Late position players are usually recognised as the last few players to act in a hand. When playing from a late position, a player has much more information available to them about the other players and the hand so far.
Example: if there are two bets, a raise and a call before your turn, you should fold all but the best of hands.
From a later position you have been able to see the other player's confidence in their hands; from this you can deduce many things. While you can play more hands than the other positions, you should still exercise caution; typically hands you can add to your selection are; 66, 55, A10, K10, 109, 98.
There are several power poker strategies, which will allow you to control the betting when playing in the late positions. If all players check, and you are holding something, be it a high card, or a small pair, you can force a small bet, forcing all players who have something to call, and pushing those who either have nothing or are chasing out of the game. Alternatively if someone raises you know they were slow playing. By using this strategy you can control the table and pull more information out of the other players, without divulging much about your own hands strength.
