Written By: MyPokerCorner.com
In Texas Hold’em, one of the important factors that will determine if and how you play a hand is your table position. This is especially important for when playing a high pair, like Q-Q for example.
When You’re in Early Position:
There are two tactics you can use, each with its own benefits and risks. The first option is to limp in. The risk here is that you’ll end up with a bunch of limpers and end up facing more opponents in the hand. Having more opponents means more of a chance that someone will beat you. The advantage is that if you end up having the best hand, you’ll win a nice pot.
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There is also the possibility that someone will raise the stakes after a few limpers have played, which is desirable. This is actually good because your turn is coming around soon and depending on the size of the raise, you can either call or re-raise. Players who raise in late position after limpers have played often try to buy the pot with a significant raise. If the pot is big enough and you feel confident you can take it down, you could choose to re-raise instead of simply calling. At this point, your goal is to either end the hand, or play it against as few opponents as possible. Act in a way that will discourage limpers to keep putting money in.
Your other option is to raise in early position. This does two things: First, it gives the message that you have a hand. Second, it encourages people to fold and thus reduces the risk that someone will beat you because of a lucky flop. The downside is that you’ll probably end up with a smaller pot. However, it’s better to win a small pot than to loose a big one. Sometimes, an interesting effect develops.
If just a few players call your raise, many others may also call even if they don’t have good cards, simply because pot odds dictate that they should be calling. And sometimes, people just feel like gambling. When this happens, a huge pot develops and you can be sure someone will try to make a move and steal it. If you still have top pair after the flop, it’s time for you to end the hand, especially when the board offers flush draws and straight draws. Come out with a significant raise, but be careful not to put all your chips in if you don’t have to.
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When You’re in Late Position:
This is obviously the best time to get a high pair. Because you get to act later in the hand, you’ll see how others before you play it. At this point, how they play the hand pretty much dictates how you’ll play yours. If you have many people in the hand, you want to raise by a lot. This will look like you’re trying to steal the pot and some may call, but the fact that you have a great hand could mean you’ll win a huge pot! The idea is to reduce the number of active players in the hand before the flop. If people want to gamble, they’ll need to pay. Many limpers will simply fold, which is what you want.
If a lot of players folded before you and there are just one or two players in the hand, you probably want to call the current bet and hope you still have top pair after the flop. If you raise here, you may end up making everyone fold. You’ll win the pot, but perhaps you would have won a much bigger pot by playing slow.
Personally, I always like to slow play late position, unless there’s too many players in the hand already. This is a risk. If I have Q-Q and an Ace or a King comes up on the flop, I could be in trouble. Then it’s a matter of figuring out if I still have the best hand or not, and one bad read could cost you a lot. When I’m in early position, I will usually raise unless I’m playing a short-handed game.
At the end of the day, it’s always a matter of risk versus reward. There’s nothing you can do to guarantee you’ll have the winning hand, but you can control to some degree if you want the pot to build up or not, and if you want to gamble against many opponents or just a few. It’s like the teenage experience of playing with fire and gasoline. It’s pretty fun, but when you get burned, it really sucks!
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