Online Poker Strategy Articles

Brett Chen

Hey everyone. It's been three weeks since my last post "Sit-And-Go Challenge - Part I." Sorry about the pause but these last two weeks have been extremely busy! I've had to take care of a few personal matters as well as move out from my apartment into a newer one. Due to these time constraints, I was unable to complete many SNGs; I only got through maybe 40 of them. Therefore, there's really no point in writing an update on my SNG challenge. Instead, this week I will focus on a very important NL cash game strategy: the importance of position.

Many of you who have played enough limit hold 'em know the importance of position. It allows you to act last, gives you opportunities to buy cards on more expensive streets, as well as evaluate how strong your opponent's holdings are. In NL, these factors are even more important because you have the ability to use your entire stack in your favor. Here's an example of a hand out of position. Let's say you have AJo or pocket eights pre-flop in early position and limp (or raise if you're more aggressive). Suppose two opponents call behind you, the button and BB. Now the flop comes Q 7 5 rainbow and BB leads into you. How do you act' With either hand, unless you have a specific read on BB, I'd opt to fold. On this kind of board, usually BB will be leading with at least a pair of queens here. Of course, it's possible that he has a straight draw with 86, but certainly, you don't know for sure where you're at and what BB is holding. Also, at the same time it's hard to raise in this spot because you still have button to act behind you. If he has AQ, he may choose to cold call your raise, putting you in an even tougher spot on the turn.

Now switch all the positions so you have two opponents, except this time you're on the button. One opponent limps from early position (EP) and one limps from middle position (MP). Now, pre-flop, you already have two options with AJo or 88. You can limp or throw in a decent sized raise. I would favor the latter because of two things. First, neither of your opponents have shown strength pre-flop and a 5x BB raise could very well buy the pot pre-flop. Second, in the case that you get called by EP or MP, you have position on them pre-flop. Now lets say one opponent called and the flop comes Q 7 5 rainbow. Usually on these kinds of flops, your opponent either hit or missed. Now your opponent checks, you fire out a 2/3 continuation bet and win the pot. In the event that he calls, you can almost certainly put him on a queen or a set (as it is unlikely your opponent will call a 5x BB pre-flop raise with 86s). The importance of position is it allows you to act based on your opponents.

I have won many pots post-flop with a simple continuation bet because I raised in position pre-flop. As a matter of fact, sometimes it does not even matter what two cards you hold, as long as you can make a decent read on your opponent and his tendencies. Notice during this post, most of what I write depends on whether you have a read on your opponent or not. Of course, if your opponent is a crazy horse, you can put in the possibility of him leading with a larger range of hands as well as call you pre-flop with a larger range of hands. At the same time, if your opponent is very tight, I would almost always fire a continuation bet on the flop. This is because most tight opponents will auto-fold when they miss. If they call or raise you, you can simply check-fold the rest of the way. With the luxury of position, you may act accordingly with your reads.

Position is not only important with testing the waters on the flop, but also playing your draws. Let's say two opponents limped to you and you throw in a 3x raise with ATs. BB calls as does both limpers. Assume all three opponents have the same stack as you: 80x BB. The flop comes 9s 7s 4d. This isn't a superb flop, but it's not bad either as you have two over-cards with the nut flush draw. If everyone checks to you, you can check in position and take a free card. But to make things interesting, let's just say BB checks, your first opponent bets about half the pot, your second opponent folds and it's up to you. You can either raise or call here as folding certainly is the wrong play with implied odds. Now BB calls and the turn is gin as it comes 3s, giving you the pure nuts. This is a great card as your opponents will only be frightened if they put you on a flush draw. Otherwise, it is unlikely that it would've helped your hand. To your surprise, BB comes out betting 2/3 the pot! What the heck' Now there's three possibilities. BB could have a lower flush, 65 for the nut straight, or on a bluff trying to represent a strong hand. The opponent between you surprisingly calls and now it's up to you. Wow, this is a dream come true. With BB showing so much strength and your opponent calling in the middle, I believe the only correct play here would be the push. You have 70x BB's in the pot already and it's time to drop the hammer. Simple enough, right'

Not quite. Let's switch the positions up and put you in BB this time with ATs. The same two opponents limp, and button raises it 3x BB. You call as do both your opponents. The pot is now 12x BB. The same flop comes and you check. Your first opponent bets half the pot, second opponent folds, and button calls as do you. Now the pot has 30x BB. The turn is exactly the same, giving you the pure nuts. Now the question is, how do you play your hand' Out of position, how do you know where your opponents are at' Maybe your first opponent was betting with a hand like A9 and button was calling with over-cards. The point is, you have no idea where you're at! You don't know if your opponents will slow down now that the flush has come. If you check, planning to check-raise, there's no guarantee your opponents will bet. If you bet out, both your opponents could fold, seeing that you called with a flush draw. There is no "dead money" in the pot on the turn, like in the earlier example when you had position and BB led for 2/3 the pot.

When it comes down to it, it's tough to proceed with the nuts AND maximize value. Sure, you could bet and take it down, thinking oh well, at least I won something. But with position, you can maximize the value of your hand because you have more information on your opponent's holdings. If your opponents show strength, you can drop the hammer on them and throw in a nice raise. If your opponents show weakness, you can check in position and hope to get one of them to bite on the river.

The beauty of position is that it not only allows you to take down small pots with continuation bets, but it helps you maximize value when you have strong holdings. It gives you access to information that your opponents don't have because they have to act before you. The more information you get, the easier it is to maximize value on your hand as well as keep yourself from making costly mistakes. I hope this article was helpful and I hope that you will incorporate it into your NL game to make you a stronger player.

note by gank: Brett Chen is a sit and go monster online. He has been dominating sit and gos and done well in multi table tournaments for years.