Position is one of the most important concepts in Texas Hold’em. Being in position gives you much more freedom and flexibility in pretty much every scenario there is.
You get to act last, which means you control the size of the pot. When your opponent checks, you can bet with your strong hands and bluffs (if you believe you can get them to fold) and check back with your medium-strength poker hands to realize your equity.
You’ll have much more information about your opponent’s range on each betting street, which can significantly help you make better decisions. This is further amplified when playing against someone whose tendencies you’re familiar with.
So, in this article, we’ll talk about why you should be looking to play more hands in position, both before and after the flop.
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Power of Position Before the Flop
Let’s first start with a few preflop examples to demonstrate the power of position and how different our strategies playing in and out of position may be.
Facing a UTG raise on an 8-handed table, there is a big difference between our range in lojack and on the button. From lojack, we have to fold a lot, knowing the UTG is opening with strong hands, but on the button, we get to play 11.5% – which is about 50% more.
So, as our position gets later, we get to play with more hands, with the button being the absolutely best position, which translates into the widest preflop range.
Let’s look at another example, where the HJ raises, the CO calls, and then the BTN 3-bets. Facing this 3-bet, the HJ gets to call with only 20 combinations of hands. The CO, on the other hand, can call with 30 combinations. They have the position and don’t have to worry about facing a potential raise after they call.
If we look at the same example, but the button folds and the big blind 3-bets, both players get to call with substantially wider ranges, as they will both have a position on the big blind 3-bettor.
Playing in Position After the Flop
Being in position after the flop is essential as it allows you to realize your equity. Out of position, you’ll have a hard time realizing your full equity in many spots.
For example, you face a raise in the big blind and call before the flop. You flop a bottom pair, the opponent c-bets, and you call. If they continue betting on the turn/river, you’ll struggle to call them down unless you improve.
So, simply put, out of position, you have to fold hands that will be winning some portion of the time.
In position, on the other hand, you get to make much better decisions and assessments about your opponent’s hand range. They’ll also have to be more cautious first to act, checking more often, which will allow you to check back and get your weaker hands to a showdown.
Out of position, you’ll be over-folding, which means you won’t be able to reach your minimum defense frequency. In position, it’s much easier to get to the right MDF percentage.
Let’s look at an example, comparing playing on the flop in position vs. out of position.
The lojack raises, and you call. The flop comes K♠10♠3♥, and they c-bet for 25% of the pot.
If you call from the button, you’ll be able to call much more with hands like suited aces with flush draws and backdoor flush draws. Playing these same hands from the big blind, you’ll mostly be either raising or folding.
Similarly, some weaker hands, like pocket fives, get to call at a higher percentage when you are defending in position for all the reasons we covered earlier.
Individually, these percentages may not seem like a big deal, but they add up across your entire hand range and over tens and hundreds of thousands of hands you play.
So, make it a point to try and play as many hands as possible in position – it may be an old concept that “everyone knows about,” but position is power in Texas Hold’em, and that’s one concept that’s just not going to change, so lean into it!
