In this free poker tournaments training lesson we’re going to look at the best ways to take advantage of being in late position. Late position is when you are the dealer in a hand, also known as being on the button, it is, for sure, the best position to have in in Texas Hold Em poker.
It is best due to the fact that you act last in all but the opening betting round meaning that all the other players have played their hand before you which gives you maximum evidence upon which to base your decision of whether you fold, check, call, raise or re-raise.
When you are in late position as there is no raise behind you are able to call with any pocket pair between 2 and 7, and you can raise with 8′s or higher. Any 2 big cards can be called, but keep in mind that if you play hands such as K and J you will need a good flop right away since AK or AJ on the table will trash your hand.
In addition you can play any suited connectors as low as 4. Suited cards with a 1 card gap in between like 9c and Jc can be played but I advise that you do not remain in the and if you are lower than 7,5 suited. Remember, always play cards such as A and 5 suited delicately by realizing if A does flop then the kicker may not be effective.
However, when you are in last position, and there has been a raise or maybe a re-raise before you, then it’s essential to evaluate your cards correctly; don’t purely stay in because of your position.
The most important part of the late position is where you can attempt to bully from it, and this can be genuinely an effective technique but it must be used selectively. This is because if you get flagged as consistently bullying with marginal hands the other players will change their play and looks to set you up.
Plus, if you button bully all the time it does become a losing strategy in the long run. The players of today are too skilled and too experienced not to see a player do this sort of thing over and over. Using the power of late position can be really a valuable tool but only when done wisely.
The key to success in poker be it casinom play or online poker is not to play predictably, if you do then all but the poorest opponents will whip you every time. This applies to all parts of your game and is very easy to apply to your positional play.
If you do get into habits in certain positions, especially if you play with a regular group then they will note it and make you pay for what is essentially laziness. So learn what your options are in the different positions and really make an effort to vary what you do and when you do it and in doing so keep the other players off balance.
The best way to learn how to play poker positions is to play free online poker games before trying your hand at games involving real cash.
There are several very good free online poker sites about and I advise you join one of them and have a good play there first, indeed, free sites are great to play at in any stage of your poker career as they’re also great for some fun and to test out new strategies. Plus the better ones have excellent free poker training instruction resources you can use to learn more about aspects of poker and improve your game.
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