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How to maximize playing position at the online poker tables

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New to online poker? It might be tempting to play a lot of hands. In fact, that pair of sevens might seem pretty decent at first glance, but what you do with that hand entirely depends on where you’re sitting at the table.

Remember, in Texas Hold’em, the dealer button moves around the table before each hand is dealt. That means each player takes a turn being the first to act. And each player takes a turn being the last to act. And let’s not forget the middle.

In online poker, there are essentially three poker positions you should know about—early, middle, and late position.

In early position, you’re the first to act. With no one having called, checked, or raise, you have no idea what the pot is going to look like, how many players are going to jump in, and whether your cards are going to get raised out of the hand should you decide to jump in.

In middle position, a few players have made their decisions, but there are other players to worry about after you decided how to play your hand. And in late position, you’re the last player to act.

Why is all this important? Well, in poker, information is key. The more info you have, the better your decisions will be. Since you can’t see other players’ hole cards, you have to rely on how they bet and react to other bets.

Playing in late position is ideal because you have way more information to work with. A hand that you thought was stellar might no longer look so great after a bunch of players have hobbled into the hand. What’s more, if you’re sitting on a great hand, playing late affords you the luxury of betting tactfully so that you don’t scare other players off.

Pay attention to position when you’re multi-tabling
When you play in a land-based casino, you can only play at one table at once. That’s not a rule. It’s a law of physics. It’s impossible to be in two places at once, unless you’ve mastered cloning (in which case there’s no point playing poker because you can probably make a killing selling your cloning machine).

But online? You can play in multiple tournaments and at multiple cash tables simultaneously. Hardcore online poker grinders are famous for it. And even newbies get a kick out of virtually being in more than two places at once.

Of course, not every online poker site allows you to play at the same number of tables. Some have limits, some don’t. It might be worth checking out a good comparison site like this one to find out which poker room to play at before you sign up.

If you’re not used to playing at several tables, there’s a bit of a danger. Your position doesn’t always stay in sync. You could be on the button at one table and under the gun at another. That can totally alter your playing style and poker strategy, so make sure you always pay attention to what position you’re in when it’s your turn to act.

With all of that said, there’s a huge advantage to playing at multiple tables. If you only want to play hands in late position, playing multiple tables at once means that you could essentially constantly play a hand in the same position over and over again. At a live table, you’d have to throw away lots of hands. Online, you’d do the same, but if you have several games going at once, you’ll find yourself playing in late position more often than not as you bounce around from table to table.

If position seems a bit confusing, just use this simple rule. If you’re in early position, make sure your hand is ridiculously good before you commit. If you’re in late position, feel free to play with drawing hands without worrying too much about what will happen before the flop.



Online Poker Series: How to maximize playing position at the online poker tables | Video Game Blog, Video Games Reviews & News
Join: 2006/12/07 Messages: 29893
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Manne wrote:

New to online poker? It might be tempting to play a lot of hands. In fact, that pair of sevens might seem pretty decent at first glance, but what you do with that hand entirely depends on where you’re sitting at the table.

Remember, in Texas Hold’em, the dealer button moves around the table before each hand is dealt. That means each player takes a turn being the first to act. And each player takes a turn being the last to act. And let’s not forget the middle.

In online poker, there are essentially three poker positions you should know about—early, middle, and late position.

In early position, you’re the first to act. With no one having called, checked, or raise, you have no idea what the pot is going to look like, how many players are going to jump in, and whether your cards are going to get raised out of the hand should you decide to jump in.

In middle position, a few players have made their decisions, but there are other players to worry about after you decided how to play your hand. And in late position, you’re the last player to act.

Why is all this important? Well, in poker, information is key. The more info you have, the better your decisions will be. Since you can’t see other players’ hole cards, you have to rely on how they bet and react to other bets.

Playing in late position is ideal because you have way more information to work with. A hand that you thought was stellar might no longer look so great after a bunch of players have hobbled into the hand. What’s more, if you’re sitting on a great hand, playing late affords you the luxury of betting tactfully so that you don’t scare other players off.

Pay attention to position when you’re multi-tabling
When you play in a land-based casino, you can only play at one table at once. That’s not a rule. It’s a law of physics. It’s impossible to be in two places at once, unless you’ve mastered cloning (in which case there’s no point playing poker because you can probably make a killing selling your cloning machine).

But online? You can play in multiple tournaments and at multiple cash tables simultaneously. Hardcore online poker grinders are famous for it. And even newbies get a kick out of virtually being in more than two places at once.

Of course, not every online poker site allows you to play at the same number of tables. Some have limits, some don’t. It might be worth checking out a good comparison site like this one to find out which poker room to play at before you sign up.

If you’re not used to playing at several tables, there’s a bit of a danger. Your position doesn’t always stay in sync. You could be on the button at one table and under the gun at another. That can totally alter your playing style and poker strategy, so make sure you always pay attention to what position you’re in when it’s your turn to act.

With all of that said, there’s a huge advantage to playing at multiple tables. If you only want to play hands in late position, playing multiple tables at once means that you could essentially constantly play a hand in the same position over and over again. At a live table, you’d have to throw away lots of hands. Online, you’d do the same, but if you have several games going at once, you’ll find yourself playing in late position more often than not as you bounce around from table to table.

If position seems a bit confusing, just use this simple rule. If you’re in early position, make sure your hand is ridiculously good before you commit. If you’re in late position, feel free to play with drawing hands without worrying too much about what will happen before the flop.



Online Poker Series: How to maximize playing position at the online poker tables | Video Game Blog, Video Games Reviews & News

It's old post but there good tips in it
Thx
Join: 2013/08/28 Messages: 19
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Adam B wrote:

It's old post but there good tips in it
Thx

To maximize your online playing position in poker is by playing online poker game with best table position. At the poker table the seating position should be crucial aspect of gaining an advantage for fellow players.
Join: 2014/07/25 Messages: 22
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RichardBeasley wrote:

To maximize your online playing position in poker is by playing online poker game with best table position. At the poker table the seating position should be crucial aspect of gaining an advantage for fellow players.

I too think that playing position is important if you are playing online poker. Late position is better than earlier position with the button having the best position because he gets to act last on all the rounds of betting that occur after the flop.
Join: 2014/11/11 Messages: 102
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EdwardLMitchell wrote:

I too think that playing position is important if you are playing online poker. Late position is better than earlier position with the button having the best position because he gets to act last on all the rounds of betting that occur after the flop.

The information is really vital for a newbie player like me. I haven’t tried much of poker games and played only quite few times. I would surely going to follow the strategies mentioned in this post and would look forward to play more of such games.
Join: 2015/06/02 Messages: 19
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Casey Robbins wrote:

The information is really vital for a newbie player like me. I haven’t tried much of poker games and played only quite few times. I would surely going to follow the strategies mentioned in this post and would look forward to play more of such games.

Nice information!
Join: 2006/12/11 Messages: 1758
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