The Importance of Position

[Bawse]

How much does your starting-hand selection change depending on your position at the table?

 

[uptrendfinancialsignal]

Position means everything. You can play more hands when you are in a late position because you have the needed information. But it's a pity that many players do not understand the position.

 

[huggie]

A lot. A hand like KJo is a clear open from late position but often a fold early, and the numbers show why.

Say you open KsJd on the button and the big blind defends with Qh9h: you're 59.7% preflop and you have position for the rest of the hand.


Now open the same hand early and run into a 3-bet from AhKc: you drop to 26.2%, badly dominated.


Or say it goes multiway from early seats against AdQc, 9h9c and Th8h: KJ has 25.5%, barely above an even four-way share, while AQ has 31.3%.


These are with the specific suits shown. With more players left to act behind you, you're more likely to face stronger hands and bigger pots out of position, so tighten up front and widen late.

Here's the calc if anyone wants to rerun these with other hands: https://pokernexus.com/tools/equity. (Full disclosure: I'm building PokerNexus.)

 

[poker]

Position makes a huge difference in starting-hand selection. I would play tighter from early position because more players are yet to act, but open up my range in late position, especially on the button. The fewer players left to act, the more opportunities there are to steal blinds and play weaker hands profitably.