Playing Position in NL Hold Em
Early Position demands discipline and guts
Early position can be a scary spot on the table, but with the right combination of guts and strategy you can pull a profit.
Where you are sitting at the poker table will determine how you play your cards as much as the cards themselves. This article focuses on some of the ways to play early position and maximize your profits. Early position is usually the first two to three players to the left of the big blind. They are the first to act after the blinds, so the decisions they make can influence the whole table.
Disipline is a key skill
One of the key skills you need to develop to be successful playing early position is discipline. Even at the best of times you start with very few good hands, but in early position you need to tighten up what starting hands you are willing to play. Playing a pair of aces down to a pair of tens is safe for most players. Although you will be tempted to call or raise with Ace King or Ace Queen, you are relying on the flop to even have a chance of beating the lowest pair.
Early position is the first to bet, and this gives you a chance to set the mood at the table. You can either call the big blind or raise. If you call, you have now committed chips to the pot and you have to react to whatever the other players at the table do during the round. This means you need to be willing to commit more, or all of your chips if someone raises your call.
Raise instead of calling
You can put the rest of the table on the defensive by raising. If you have a good hand raise 3 to 5 times the big blind. This forces the other players in middle and late position to make a tough call and only players with strong hands will call. Take note that this also works well if you want to bluff and try to steal the blinds, but in early position you will usually get at least one caller, so if you are going to bluff, try and have cards that have at least a chance of improving on the flop.
Another situation you will run into in early position is when you call the big blind and someone else raises. If this happens consider re-raising, because this will represent a stronger hand to the other players. Good players will see a call as a sign that you are hoping for the flop to improve your hand, and will try and bet you out of the hand in the next round.
Early position isn't the easiest place to play from but if you play it properly you can make money. Play it safe and only play premium hands, and overbet rather than call. You may only pick up a few extra chips but that's better than losing your stack on the river.
