There are a number of reasons for this, poker forums, training sites and the various strategy books have played a major part in the standard of online Texas Holdem improving.But despite the standard of player being higher than ever before, the concept of being positionally aware seems to be completely lost on some people. This is a weakness which can be exploited and make your poker balance grow.
Having position on an opponent, that is being seated closer to the button than them, is vitally important to consistent and continued success in any form of poker, yet time and time again players play weak hands out of position and fail to take advantage of being in position against their opponents.
One reason is that the strength of a player's hand in position is much stronger than someone who has to act first. Imagine you are in a pot being contested by three or even four players, you would certainly need a premium pair or maybe even a hand that was two-pair or better in order to bet into the field, but being in position you could bet with nothing but a single pair or even less if your opponents had checked to you as they are not likely to have a strong hand themselves, catch my drift?
Being in position in Texas Holdem also allows a player to take advantage of any possible scare cards that may appear on the turn or the river. Again, imagine you are in early position holding Tc9c against two opponents on a flop reading Ts-9s-6d. You bet into your opponents and both call. Now the turn is the 7s, completing a flush and a straight draw what do you do? If you bet 1/2 to 2/3 pot then you are giving either opponents the odds to draw to the flush if they do not have it but they could also raise any bet you make and represent the flush or straight and leave you with a real dilemma.
Another area that having position really comes into its own is being able to control the size of the pot. The general rule here is big hand-big pot, small or marginal hand-small pot For example, if a player in position calls a raise and flops second pair on a Jc-Ts-5h flop and their opponent continuation bets into them, then the player in position can opt to smooth call and see how the hand develops. If they are then checked to on the turn they can choose to check behind, thus keeping the pot small enough to call a bet on the river with a hand that has some showdown value or they can attempt to steal the pot on the turn or river by betting when checked to.
Finally, players who have position on their opponents control who receives a free card and if the hand will get to showdown. Being out of position in Texas Holdem means the player can only receive free cards if the player in position decides to allow them to have one and not give them, which in itself is a huge disadvantage, especially if the player is wanting to keep the pot small (see above also).
Having position on your opponents means that the decisions you will have to make are more straight-forward, that your time at the table will be less stressful and you have more control over how the hand proceeds too.
Positional play is vital to success in all forms of poker but it is magnified in a game such as Texas Holdem. Play tightly in early position and gradually open up your starting hand requirements so that you are playing like a loose-aggressive player when you have the button in your hand.
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