Table Position

In Online Poker your position is simply your position in relation to the dealer. As in every gambling game the dealer is at the best position. From the dealer position he or she can see how all the players at the table react before making their own decision. The person on the left hand side of the dealer is the small blind and must act first by betting, checking, or folding after the flop. The next person to the left is the big blind, this person has already obligated themselves to the game and is in another early position. Continuing on to the left of the big blind is the person who acts first before the community cards are dealt. This is most of the time called being under the gun.

This clockwise motion of play allows the people in the late position to be at an advantage. This allows them to play hands that people in other positions at the table wouldn't play because of fear of financial loss or obligation. However if you are in one of the blind positions or you are under the gun you must be more selective with your hand because you don't have the privilege of watching all of the other players betting and/or raising before they have to decide if they want to stay in. For instance, if you are under the gun or first to act and you have a jack-ten off suite, the player after you raises and everybody else but you folds. Now you are in a big mess. The reason why is because chances are good that the other player that didn't fold has a better hand than you and you have no way to tell what other players at the table had in their hand before they folded.

Even though on the other hand being in the dealers position not only gives you the benefits of seeing what the other players have and how they are betting but it also gives you the ability to adjust the size of the pot. So after all of the other players at the table have bet the a raise by the dealer can potentially double the size of the pot, that is if nobody folds. Since all of the other players have already bet it is easier for them to commit to a second, third and fourth bet. So as you can see your position in Online Poker can be crucial. You need to know what the best position is to be at and how to play that position. If you put this all together with all of the other tips and strategies that come along with playing Online Poker you should come away from this with a great knowledge of the game and soon become a great player.