HomeOver the next few articles we’re going to discuss the basics of hand selection and position. You may recall from a few weeks ago, one of the common mistakes we highlighted was playing too many hands. This is an error that most poker players make early on in their poker playing career and it is one that is easily avoided; you just have to understand a little about the importance of position and have some discipline in your hand selection. This week, we’ll explain exactly what we mean by position in poker.
Understanding Position in Poker
When using the term position in poker, it relates to where a player is sitting relative to the dealer of a particular hand. Position can be basically divided into three categories – early position, middle position and late position. Below we will explain how these categories are defined.
Early Position
Players that are sitting in the three seats to the left of the dealer are generally defined as being in early position. Early position is the weakest position, as there are several players still to act after you, so you have less information to work with. You should keep this in mind when we talk about hand selection later.
Middle Position
Middle position is exactly what the name suggests, and refers to players who are in seats 4, 5, and 6 – assuming a nine handed table. When sitting in middle position, you have an advantage over those in early position, as you get to see how they have acted before making your own decision.
Late Position
The dealer and the two players to his or her right are referred to as being in late position. In poker, late position is the best place to be as you have seen the other players act and as such have more to go on when deciding how to play the hand.
That’s the basics of position defined, and next we’ll go into some more detail about position in poker, before going on to how hand selection and position are related.
