Playing Position in Texas Hold'em
It's often said that the button is the most profitable position in all of poker. In this strategy article we walk you through some of the finer points of using the button to your advantage in texas hold'em.
Abusing position. Having the button gives you the most advantageous position in the hand from start to finish. Using this position is the key to making big profitable moves that you ordinarily couldn’t make from other positions. Some players don’t make enough moves with their button; don’t make the same mistake. Abuse players that try to open from the cutoff and hi jack with three bets when you think they’re weak. Relentlessly pound on the blinds when folded to. Take flops with deep stacks with speculative hands, knowing the other big stack has to act first throughout. Anytime you have the button, be more willing than usual to take chances and gamble than you would in other positions.
Post flop button usage. Everyone knows about blind stealing from the button, thanks to the advances and advents we’ve seen in the poker realm. But, postflop, some players are still not used to using the button to steal from when the other players in the hand have shown you obvious weakness. If you take a flop three handed (limper, big blind, and you on the button) and both players check to you on a 488 flop, you have a profitable bluffing opportunity presented to you most of the time, thanks to the button. Where as leading out from the big blind as a steal may be awkward, and leading from the limper’s position means betting into our unknown holding, we’ve already determined that both players are showing disinterest in the pot from two checks. We can take a stab at this pot now, and give up on it if shown any resistance. Note that this concept applies even moreso in Rush Poker, where people are far more likely to give up on pots post-flop.
Button reraising. Another nifty trick that can be used from the button is the light three/four bet, with position. With deep stacks, making a smallish size reraise can be effective enough to make players come off of reasonable starting hands like 88 and AJs for fear of playing a big pot against you out of position. You can also make big shoves with the button against openers, which means an effective resteal will significantly add to your stack, much more than simply stealing from the button will. The button is your chance to make the more outside the box style plays that you can’t incorporate from other positions; the spots to three/four bet are the closet you'll get to free poker money from this position preflop; do not forgot to exploit it.
Knowing when to give up. Even with the button, there is times where playing the button may not be the wisest idea. Namely, if you have a trouble stack of M 5-8 in tournament, you should be only looking to play your button for a shove. People will look to pick on you when you simply open the button, as it’s come to be an expected play from that position, and with a short stack coupled with it, players will look to three bet you light from the blinds in order to take advantage of your expected bet and chip count. Don’t fall for the trap, especially from tricky, smart players. Simply get your stack all in at once and cut them off from making the difficult decision yours to make.
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