One of the least utilized (for beginning players) and yet most important factors to consider when playing Texas Hold’em is table position. Your position in hold’em is your location at the table in relation to the button. Your position rotates every hand with the button, so it’s important to know how to play them all. Your table position will be a huge factor on how you play your hands, and whether or not to play a hand at all.

In Texas Hold’em, there are essentially four positions. They are the blinds (BB and SB), early position (EP), middle position (MP), and late position (LP). I gave the blinds their own category because the strategy for playing them is a little different. Understand that the tips below are general, in that they do not account for other game play circumstances. In general, though, following them will help your Hold’em game quite a bit. Let’s look at how your table position affect you game:

Early position in Hold’em is the two positions just to the left of the big blind (BB). This is when you need to be the most careful. Before the flop (first set of community cards) is dealt early position players are first to act. That means that everyone gets to see what you do before they have to do anything. You should petty much stick to playing premium hands in early position. Playing marginal hands here can easily wind up with you trapped in a hand against a monster. I recommend raising with premium made hands (AA, KK, QQ) in early position and raising or limp/re-raising (limping in and re-raising a single raiser) with premium drawing hands (AK, AQ). You should almost always continuation bet the flop unless you know it hit your opponent.

Middle position in Hold’em describes the next two players to act after EP. MP is played a lot like EP, except that you can open up your starting hand selection just a little. Add JJ and suited AJ to the mix here, but be prepared to bow out if things get scary. If an EP player raises, you should fold all but premium hands. If an EP player limps, be careful. He could easily be limping with AK or AQ.

Late position in Hold’em is the button and player to his immediate right. Being in late position has a huge advantage over everyone else, in that they are allowed to see what everyone else does before they have to do anything. This basically gives them a license to steal. The button and the cut-off get to see the action and decide whether or not they want any part of it. They have the freedom to raise the blinds at will and see flops with all kinds of speculative hands, because they have the advantage of great position. Go ahead and raise the blinds with 88 or suited 89. Then just outplay any callers after the flop. Yes, you will be up against winning hands sometimes that people won’t want to lay down, but you position gives you a better chance of spotting when that is and getting out of the hand before it gets ugly.

One of the most difficult positions to play in Texas Hold’em is the small and big blinds. You already have chips committed to the pot before it is your turn to act and everyone is trying to raise your blind. The good news is that you often have the correct pot odds to call raises, since you already have in the pot. The bad news is that unless you are really really good at playing from the blinds, your position will put you at too big a disadvantage to be able to outplay your opponent post flop. In less you can see a flop cheaply, or have premium hole cards, I would fold.

Texas Hold’em is really all about position. Have a little patience and play according to your position and you can be a winner at the Hold’em table. Good luck!

For more information about how to win at Hold’em, go to winatholdem.blogspot.com.