Table Position
The playability of your starting hand is not only decided by the cards, it is also decided by the action of the other players, the number of players at the table and your position at the table. Your table position depends on the location of the dealer button and the number of players seated at the table. The location of the dealer button changes with every hand and the number of seated players can also change over the course of a game. Players can join and leave cash games as they wish and in tournaments the players are eventually eliminated. Furthermore, a poker table can have different number of seats.
Fullring table: 9-10 seats
Six-seated table: 6 seats
Heads-up table: 2 seats |
A table can also be defined by the number of players who are seated.
Ten-handed table: This refers to a fullring table where 10 players are seated.
Short-handed table: This refers to a table where 6 or fewer players are seated. A six-seated table is per definition always short-handed while a fullring table can be anything from two-handed to ten-handed depending on number of seated players. |
The table positions on a full table are divided into four groups which each require a different evaluation of your hand:
►Blinds: SB, BB
►Early: EP1, EP2, EP3
►Middle: MP1, MP2, MP3
►Late: LP1, LP2
The first player who makes a choice is the player to the left of the BB. This is the earliest table position and it is known as UTG which is short for under the gun. The last position is held by the player with the dealer button and this position is in poker jargon referred to as the button. The blinds are given their own group even though they are the last to act in the first round. This is because their structured bets put them at a disadvantage which is further attenuated by the fact that they will also be the first to act on the flop if they choose to play their starting hands.
Late positions have a huge advantage over early positions for two reasons:
►The fewer the players that are acting after you, the smaller the chance that one of them has a strong hand and the more players that are acting after you, the greater the chance that one of them has a strong hand.
► When you are in an early position you can only look to your own cards when deciding what to do. When you are in a late position you can base your decision both on your own cards and the actions of all the previous players.
This means that you can play a larger number of hands in late positions than in early positions. In an early position you must play tight. In a late position you can play looser. The trick is to know what table position you are in and this can change not only due to the movement of the dealer button but also due to the coming and going of players. You must re-establish what table position you are currently in every time the dealer button moves and every time the number of players at the table changes. The following chart shows how positions are affected by number of players:
Players
|
EP |
MP |
LP |
Blinds |
| 10 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
| 9 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
| 8 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
| 7 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
On a short-handed table every position is distinct. UTG is the earliest position and BU is the last position. The blinds are separate positions just like on the full table.
►SB
►BB
►UTG (Under The Gun)
►MP (Middle Position)
►CO (Cut-Off)
►BU (Button)
| Players |
UTG |
MP |
CO |
BU |
SB |
BB |
| 6 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
| 5 |
- |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
| 4 |
- |
- |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
| 3 |
- |
- |
- |
1 |
1 |
1 |
At a table with ten players you have 3 early, 3 middle and 2 late positions. At a table with seven players you have only 1 early position and 2 middle positions. At a table with 4 players there are no early or middle positions at all. Early positions are the first to be eliminated when the number of players drops, followed by the middle positions. First you lose 2 early positions, then you lose 2 middle positions, followed by the last early position and finally the last middle position. When there are only two players left at a table it is known as a heads-up game and at that point you can no longer use the traditional table positions as guidance.
Table Position Examples
►There are 10 players at the table. There are two players to the left of the player on the button and after them comes you. That makes your position an early position.
►There are 10 players at the table. The player to your right is the player on the button. That makes you the SB.
►There are 7 players at the table. Your are sitting to the right of the player on the button. That makes your position a late position.
►There are 7 players at the table. There are two players to your left and after them comes the player on the button. That makes your position a middle position.
►There are 5 players at the table. The player to your left is the player on the button. That makes your position the CO position.
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Fewer players means better odds of having the best hand regardless of what hand you have. With only one opponent your odds are roughly twice as good as when facing two opponents, given that you have the same hand in both cases. With nine opponents your odds are about nine times worse than when having only one opponent, given that you have the same hand in both cases. Please observe that there is a huge difference between facing a single opponent at a full table where everyone else have folded and facing a single opponent at a table where only you and your opponent are seated. The chance of facing a strong hand is much higher at a full table where all opponents except one have folded compared to a table where there is only one opponent seated. Both scenarios can be referred to as heads-up situations in poker literature but the special heads-up game that changes everything takes place at the table where only one opponent is seated.
In any event, a high ranking hand has very generous odds of winning at all tables while a medium hand has poor odds of winning at a ten-handed table but acceptable odds at a short-handed table and very generous odds at a heads-up table. With fewer players at the table you must also pay the blinds more frequently and this in itself forces you to employ a looser style of play. We wind up with the following rationale:
At a full table you must play tight for two reasons:
►There is a big chance that you are up against several relatively strong hands.
►Your share of the blinds is relatively low which makes it worthwhile to wait for strong hands.
At a short-handed table you must play loose for two reasons:
►The chance that you are up against strong hands is relatively small.
►Your share of the blinds is relatively high which makes it expensive to wait for strong hands.
Short-handed Example
You are playing a game of No Limit Hold’em with 4 players at the table including you. The SB is $1 and the BB is $2. Over the course of 4 hands you must pay $3 in blinds. You are in other words paying an average of $0.75 per hand. With a relatively tight playing style you will fold around 90% of the time. We can assume that the game runs on at a pace of 100 hands per hour. For every hand you play you must invest $7.5 and 6 minutes of your time. You will likely win around 80% of the hands you play.
By playing looser and folding only 70% of the time you would wind up investing only $2.5 and 2 minutes for every hand you play while still winning 80% of those hands; giving you three times as high return on investment!
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The specific starting hand charts are slightly different depending on betting and game structure and they will be dealt with in subsequent parts of the school where we apply the fundamental knowledge taught here.
So to sum things up:
►The earlier your position, the tighter you MUST play.
►The later your position, the looser you CAN play.
►The fewer the players seated at the table, the looser you MUST play.
►A raise from an early position signals a strong hand. |
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