Tag Archives: hands

The Importance of Position in Poker

First off, how would you define position? Well, simply put, your position in the game is your relationship to other players with regards to the betting for a hand.

  • Texas Hold’em
  • Like in most other games, position is of great importance in Texas Hold’em as well. And this is very apparent from the fact that you always want to make your decisions after the opponents have made theirs. And that’s not all. In this card game, everyone is basically playing with nothing. The idea is to see who will manage to make the best decisions and get their nothing to win the pot. But keep in mind that having a good position does not mean that you will automatically make superior bets.

    In Texas Hold’em however, the last position is definitely the best. It gives you the edge you are looking for, especially if there are only two players vying for the pot. Other positions can be beneficial as well, but not as much as being the last to act. And good players will take advantage of this and play lesser hands in early position and more in late position.

  • The Stud games
  • In games like 7 Card Stud and Stud Hi-Low, position is changeable and hence, so is its importance. Understanding positions and their meanings is a little complex in these games. There are some hands which can be played more when you are not the high hand. In case you are acting first, then representing hands assume more importance. And in certain other situations, you can make your play more aggressive when an opponent shows a king or an ace, forcing them to act first all through the hand.

  • Omaha Hi
  • In comparison to Texas Hold’em, positions in Omaha Hi can be very complicated. While the last position has its advantages, it is interesting to note that in this variation of poker, it has several disadvantages as well. For instance, you are throwing your game away if you decide to bluff in the last position and your opponents are all good players. The right place to bluff is when you have the middle position.

    However, there are disadvantages to the middle position too. Since Omaha Hi means you have to share the winning pot, playing becomes very tough from the middle position. Most players fare very poorly if they are stuck here.

    In all, the last position is definitely not the best in Omaha Hi. Just keep in mind that in case you have a low hand, it is beneficial to bet first. If you have the nut high hand, then playing in last position will be very advantageous.

  • Summary
  • The bottom line is that the simplistic rules of Texas Hold’em don’t apply much when you are playing the Stud games or Omaha Hi. Positions change very fast in these games and it is wise for a player to think fast and then act. That is why, it is very important for all players to learn how they can control their position to give them the maximum advantage.

    A beginner's guide to Poker (Page 1 of 2)

    Poker is actually a really popular card game that involves players actually taking fully or partial concealed cards and making wagers in what is known as a central pot. The actual pot is then rewarded to the individual player or that has the best combination of cards or the individual player who has made an uncalled bet.

    You can also refer to poker as video poker, video poker is known as a single player game that is actually seen in casinos commonly like a type of slot machine or other types of games that actually use the rankings of poker hands.

    When it comes to poker, you will find that it has many different variations in which each of them following the same actual pattern of play. The right to deal each individual hand normally rotates between the players and is known to be marked with what is referred to as a token which is called a dealer button or also a buck.

    When you are playing poker in a casino, you will find that the cards are dealt by a house dealer; however the dealer button is rotated in a clockwise position between the players that are in the game in order to indicate a nominal dealer so that the order of betting can be determined.

    It is also known that a single player or more than one player will be asked to make what are known as forced bets in order to create what is known as an initial stake in which the players will actually contest. The dealer will first shuffle the cards and then they will cut the cards and then deal the right amount of cards to each of the players at one particular time.

    In some cases the cards will be dealt face down and there are times when the cards are dealt face up, it all really depends on the actual variant of the poker that is being played. The beginning of the betting rounds begins after the initial deal has taken place.

    You will notice that between the individual rounds that the individual players hand will actually begin to develop in some type of way. This normally takes place by each player being dealt additional cards or actually replacing the cards that the player has already been dealt in the first place.

    With poker there is a certain combination of cards or particularly hands that actually outrank other hands that a player may have that are based on the actual frequency in which the actual combinations appear.

    However, the actual player that has the best hand of poker at the point of showdown is the player that wins the money pot. As with poker, the high hand rankings are also used in a different variety of other types of card games as well.

    There are also some general rules that are known to apply to actually be able to evaluate the poker hands no matter what set of hand values are used. The individual cards are ranked as Ace high, King, Queen, Jack, and then ten through two and ace low. When it comes to suits, they have no value. A single hand always consists of five cards and the hands are also ranked by category first and then by the individual card ranks.