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Knowing Your Position Is Key In Tournament Play
By: Mar
Over the course of the last couple of months, I have noticed an almost startling trend in the poker world. The more people pick up the game, and try different strategies to improve their game, the more they end up stepping backwards in other ways. The biggest one I've noticed lately is that people either forget their position, or are too embarrassed to let you know they do not know their position in any given hand that they are involved in. This came to light while coaching a client of mine awhile back, who finally let me know that they did not know the positions of a 9 player table, and did not want to try to bluff their way through it anymore as I continued to drill them on their position, and what could be the correct moves for that position when trying to play a positional game. This got me to thinking of other instances when other people at the tables (Members and Non Members alike) have played their hands poorly, or didn't get a solid read on what's happening in any particular hand, and tie it into their position at the table. Now let's take a step backwards for a minute and go back to my client. I decided the easiest way for them to always be able to tell what position they were in, at any given time on a 9 player table was to make them a graph, showing the positions and names commonly associated with those positions. It's a simple chart, but effective when you are trying to implement some positional play into your game, or if you're just trying to decide where you are in the hand. Your table position in any given hand at a tournament could be the turning point in your tournament life. Knowing and understanding your positions, and how they relate to each other, as well as the hand you are dealt, along with knowing how your opponents play, can give you a tremendous advantage over the opponents you are facing at the table.
So let's go over the positions in a 9 player tournament, and how each one has its own set of pros and cons. And perhaps find any of the leaks or gaps that are affecting you game because perhaps proper attention to table position wasn't followed. Click here to see table image
Seat 1 (The Small Blind) =this seat is the first of two seats at the table with forced betting action. This seat helps to create a pot at the table.
Pros/Cons - Great stealing/bluffing position if there are two or less in the hand with you (big blind included because they haven't had the chance to act yet.) Because it is a forced bet hand, if you do not like the cards, or the bet amount to make the call, you can easily get away from a potently dangerous hand, without having invested a great deal of chips.
Seat 2 (The Big Blind) =this seat is the second of two seats at the table with forced betting action. This seat also helps to create a pot at the table, and establishes what the minimum bet should be.
Pros/Cons -- The best stealing position on the table when you have two or less players in the hand with you, as you can typically get a great read on their hole cards based upon their action of coming into the pot. The biggest disadvantage of this hand is that when you are trying to bluff/steal the pot, if you aren't paying careful attention to your opponent, you could be walking into a trap from the start of your hand.
Seat 3 (Early/Under The Gun) =this seat is one of, if not the most dangerous seats at the table.
Pros/Cons -- Because you are the first to act in this position, it can swing both ways. If you have a premium starting hand, you can raise the pot to let everyone know that you are ready to get involved in a pot and see some cards, but you are literally setting the bar for everyone at the table when you make a move from this position. The biggest downfall to this seat, is that if you decide to move in to see a flop, you still have 8 people behind you, that can come in and determine the price to see the flop for you, and if you are trying to bluff/steal here, it can come back to take a bite out of your chip stack very quickly.
Seat 4 ( Middle Early/Under The Gun +1) =this seat is a middle position seat. With no forced betting and under the gun already making their move, you now only have to worry about those that are behind you to the big blind.
Pros/Cons -- The biggest advantage of this seat is the fact that the first person to act (under the gun) in a hand has already made their move (either by way of limping in, raising, or folding). With a premium starting hand, you can raise the bet amount to set the bar for everyone. But remember, the biggest downfall to this seat is that you still have 7 more people to go through prior to seeing a flop, and without a premium starting hand, you are putting yourself at a disadvantage when coming into a pot from this position.
Seat 5 (Middle Position) =this seat is about the truest middle position there is.
Pros/Cons -- Again, the biggest advantage of this hand is that you have now been able to see what the two people before you (under the gun and under the gun+1) have done. Again, depending on the opponents you are up against, and your chip stack as well as the aggression level of those still yet to act, with a premium starting hand, you could strike out to try to steal and bluff here, however you still have 6 people left to act once you make your move. The biggest disadvantage of this seat is that because you still have 6 people to act after you, any one of them could have a much better starting hand, and you are now forced to decide whether or not you want to chase a pot down.
Seat 6 (Late Middle Position) =this seat is the best of the middle position seats.
Pros/Cons -- Again, the biggest advantage of this hand is that you have had the opportunity to see what the first three seats to act after the blinds have decided to do. But what makes this even better is that if you wake up with a strong starting hand, you now only have 5 people to work through. This can potentially be a good position to steal from ONLY when you have a premium starting hand, as you have less seats to get through. But it's that same 5 people left to go through that give this seat its biggest disadvantage, and without a premium starting hand, you could be wasting your chips away.
Seat 7 ( Late/Hijack Position) =Sometimes called "Late Early Position" this seat became known as the Hijacking seat because of seat 8.
Pros/Cons -- this seat's greatest advantage is that you have the opportunity to steal a hand right out from under seat 8 as well as the blinds if you wake up with a premium starting hand. You've avoided the commonly threatening seat (8), and unless the blinds have a strong hand, they are typically an easy steal/bluff. And because there are now only 4 people left to go prior to seeing a flop, you have less of a chance of running into trouble. However, You still have those same 4 people to go through, and if one of them wakes up with a hand, or decides they believe you are doing nothing more than bluff/stealing, they might come back at you, forcing you to decide whether or not you want to get involved, which can be this seats biggest disadvantage.
Seat 8 (The Cut Off) =this seat acts just before the button (seat 9) and has the potential to put the boots to the remaining players.
Pros/Cons -- This seat is typically known as the seat to make a move from when trying to steal/bluff a pot. They are the last to act prior to the button thus taking the buttons advantage away from them when making a move from this position. Often times making a move from this position with less than premium starting hands happens as you now only have 3 people left to act. The biggest disadvantage of this seat is that if any of the 3 remaining players decides they don't believe you, or woke up with a hand, you can potentially get caught up in a betting war.
Seat 9 (The Button) =this seat is the last to act prior to the blinds.
Pros/Cons -- The well known advantage of this seat is to apply pressure to the blinds and any remaining seat in the hand, causing them to decide if the cards they are dealt are stronger than the buttons cards. This seat is highly effective when trying to bluff/steal because it forces those remaining in the hand to decide whether their cards are better than the buttons, and because they are the last to act in any hand, they have the biggest advantage on the table. The disadvantage of this hand is that you still have the blinds to go, as well as any other players who decided to remain in the pot, and if your bluff/steal was not successful, you could stand to lose the most if you don't know when to get out.
So there are all the seats at 9 player table, as well as what they are commonly called, and some of the advantages and disadvantages of each seat are. I hope that next time you are playing you will give a moment to stop and think about what your opponents are telling you, and whether or not your position on the table gives you the information you need to make an informed decision on your hand.
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