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Where you sit in relation to the dealer button greatly influences how you’ll play your hand. In fact, there are many aspects to poker strategy that are based on table position alone. For the purpose of this article, always assume that seat 1 is the dealer button position. Picture a poker table with 10 players. Player 1 is on the button, players 2, 3 and 4 are early position, players 5, 6 and 7 are middle, and the rest are in late positions. This article will talk about how you bet from early and middle position which is essentially betting out of position. You will also learn that table the position advantage actually changes as players fold. In other words, if you are in seat 8, but players 2 -7 have all folded during the last betting round, you’ll be the first to act. Even tough you are in a “late position seat”, you’re actually playing early position.

In Texas Hold’em, the first position to act on the initial betting round is the person right after the big blind (BB) which is seat 4. Seat 4 has the worse possible position at this stage because no one played yet. Seat 2 and 3 (SB and BB) are at an advantage since they’ll play last, but the trade off is the forced bet. They must put money in the pot no matter how good or bad their cards are. Remember, on all subsequent betting rounds, the SB will act first, so the position advantage of the blinds is limited.

Generally speaking, playing from early positions means you’ll play tighter than when you are in late position. A lot of poker books will tell you to stick with premium hands and fold anything else. This may in fact be bad advice. The key to betting successfully out of position is that you have to take into account other factors, not just your cards. For instance, a suited 7-8 is not a premium hand. Does this mean you should fold automatically? Absolutely not!

Some factors you want to consider are:

•    Your hole cards
•    The blind levels
•    Your chip stack in relation to the average chip stack count
•    The general mood of your table

Go for the Cheap Flops

The idea is simple – If you don’t have a premium hand, but have a hand that has the potential of turning into a monster hand, you want to see a cheap flop. The likely hood of seeing a cheap flop has to do with the points above. Are the blinds so low that calling the minimum bet won’t make a dent in your stack? Can you afford to “gamble” because you have more chips than most people? Are you surrounded by tight players that fold a lot, or by players who also like to see a cheap flop?

When you play this way, expect to be an “up and down” player meaning your chip stack will continually grow or shrink. This is an aggressive play style and a linear average of you chip stack over time should reveal steady growth if your judgment serves you well.

Playing Pairs

When you are dealt pairs and are acting early, you only have two options: Call or Raise. Folding is rarely an option! Here are the pro’s and con’s to both approaches, and your play style and comfort with risk will determine which action is best for you:

The idea of calling the minimum bet is the hope that one of two things will occur: You’ll hit the flop and have a big hand, or you won’t hit the flop but still have top pair (meaning the rank of all flop cards are lower than your own pair). If you can manage this, then you’re in a great position to win the hand. The risk however is that you may not be able to get to a flop without putting more money in the pot. If you call a minimum bet of $50 and some players fold while other call after you, and the sucker on the BB raises to $300, are you willing to pay an additional $250 just to see. Remember, the odds are not in your favor with this hand.

If you raise, it’s because you’re looking for the exact same outcome as the previous example (hit the flop, or have top pair), but also to reduce the competition. Players assume that a raise in early position = premium hand so they’ll fold crap hands and won’t go for a cheap flop since you’ve taken that option away from them. The likely outcome is you’ll end up with a few callers and not many players involved in the hand, which is good. The risk is that someone may re-raise and that will put you in a tough spot. Another benefit however is that you may be in a great position to setup a bluff should you miss the flop or see high cards on it. Remember, most players assumed you had a premium hand when you raised. Take advantage of that if you can.

Steal the Advantage

Gaining position advantage by making players fold is a strategy that few consider. Picture yourself at a 10 seat table again, with the button at position 1. Let’s say you’re in position 7 which is middle position. A significant raise from your part could lead players 8,9,10 and 1 fold. If that happens, you’ve effectively gained the position advantage for all subsequent betting rounds because you’ll act last. It’s like you’re on the button now. Of course, in this scenario you would only raise with a hand to back it up. It would be silly to bet just for the sake of table position. What you need to retain is this: In situations when you hesitate between calling to setup a trap, or raising, consider your position in relation to the button because you may have an opportunity to gain position advantage by raising.

Trapping a player successfully in poker generates one hell of a rush. In fact, the sensation is quite similar to what the hunter experiences when he makes his kill. Having done both, I just couldn’t tell you which is better if I had to pick. Well… a dead duck doesn’t earn me cold hard cash so I’d probably go with poker on this one! The purpose of this article is to teach you the how to successfully trap opponents in poker.

It’s funny that there is a parallel with duck hunting in terms of the reward you get after having trapped your pray in poker because there are in fact parallels to the whole process. You see, the duck hunter wakes up early in the morning, goes out to the pond, scans the area, sets up decoys and a hiding spot, calls the ducks and waits for the unsuspecting animals to land and take the lethal gun shot. Unfortunate perhaps, but in terms of the process, it’s identical to poker. All of you will agree there’s nothing unfortunate about making your kill and busting someone from a poker tournament with a great poker trap! There’s no pity for the weak in poker!

The first thing a poker player must do to successfully setup a trap, like the hunter, is to scan the environment. Some poker players are more susceptible to trapping than others. You need to study and identify you potential victims and what you want to learn is this: Who at this stable is an aggressive bluffer. The concept of a trap is simple: you want an opponent to attempt to steal the pot from you when you appear to be weak, but are in fact strong. Who’s likely to bet into you when you act weak? The tight passive conservative can’t even look at you without blushing guy, or the ego centric over the top aggressive guy?

The second thing our hunter friend did was to setup decoys, which would mislead his pray into a having a false sense of security in its choice to land and join the flock. Likewise, the poker trapper must also send out misdirecting signals. If you want your opponent that you are weak, you must act convincingly. There are generally three options, if they are available: Betting $0 by checking, calling a small bet, or making a weak “feeler” bet. In all cases, it appears as if you either have nothing, or are trying to get a sense of where you are in the hand. None of these messages indicate strength.

The last thing the hunter did before taking a shot was to call the ducks, which is in fact optional. Ducks flying over the decoy filled pond may choose to land simply from the sight, but some need an extra incentive and that’s where the duck call comes in. Likewise, our aggressive poker player may see the picture you painted very clearly and bet into you out of his own accord. But when you check and they check and things slow down, they need an incentive. Let their greed get the best of them by making the pot larger. Give them the incentive to bluff by making the potential rewards more attractive. There’s only one way to do this, and that’s by making a bet. There is a risk you’ll scare them away, but that’s OK. If they were just going to check back to you, it’s not like they were putting in more money in the pot anyway. By betting, you’re tempting them to go all in, which is what you want. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, just like the duck call. Happy hunting!

There are huge profits to be made from online poker cash games. If you’re a good poker player, then there’s never been a better time to be playing cash games online. Most of your profits from cash games will be a result of mistakes made by your opponents, rather than your superior poker skills. However the cash game strategies presented in this article should help you increase your winnings. Of course it’s assumed that you already know how to play poker, and are familiar with the game (if not, check out this poker school). Hopefully, the following hints and tips will give you food for thought;

Value Bet the River

One of the best ways to increase your profits in online poker cash games is to make proper use of value betting on the river. If you’re out of position then avoid the temptation to attempt a check-raise unless you have a solid read on your opponent. The check-raise can work beautifully against the right type of player, but you need to be very confident that your opponent is willing to fire out and bet; otherwise it’s a missed opportunity. The last thing you want is for your opponent to check behind, if you’re likely to have a winning hand. It’s far better to bet just the right amount, where your opponent may call with a weaker hand.

Many players also have a tendency to check on the river when they’re last to act. There is no doubt that checking behind is often the right play when you’re unsure or feel a trap has been set. But don’t play it too safe and fall into the trap of checking too much on the river. You’re missing out on a large portion of potential profits. If you have a good hand that you think is winning then value bet at will.

Yes, it’s annoying if you then get re-raised and are forced to re-consider the strength of your hand. But the amount of times this happens compared with the many times you’ll get paid off, mean it’s worth the risk. Avoid becoming predictable, and of course, as with any betting – success depends upon the texture of the board, your table image, and the personality type of your opponent(s).

Don’t Bluff Too Much

The biggest mistake that losing poker players make is bluffing too much. Beginners have a tendency to bluff too much because people who are not familiar with poker, but have seen it on the TV or in movies, assume that to be a good poker player means you need to bluff successfully. Of course, the occasional bluff is an important part of any successful poker player’s arsenal. If you never bluff then you’re missing out and playing far too tight. However most of your profits in poker will not come from bluffing. If there is an opportunity to bluff, particularly semi-bluffing and in position, then fire away. But do not get into the habit of bluffing too much – it will end up costing you dearly. Take the easier options such as value betting your good hands, and bluff cautiously.

Monitor Stacks Sizes

It’s absolutely crucial that you pay attention to your opponents’ stack sizes at all times. Many players overlook the importance of stack sizes, and it ends up costing them. If you’re sitting in a cash game it’s nice to have around 100 big blinds – what I usually buy-in for. The first thing I do is check what the other players at the table are sitting with. Many players like to play a short stack strategy, sometimes sitting with less than 10 big blinds. I don’t like getting involved with these players unless I have a premium hand – just because of implied odds.

Let’s say I’m on the button holding 67 suited, and there’s been an under the gun raise by tight player who has around 100 big blinds, with several callers. I want to get involved in this hand, even though I know I will have to get lucky. If I manage to flop a monster then there’s a good chance I can take the original raises entire stack – 100 big blinds! I’d be hoping the tight player has Aces, and won’t let them go. As he has the stack size worth winning, it makes the original call worthwhile. However if this player had only 10 big blinds, then it wouldn’t be worth calling as the potential rewards are so small.

So next time you sit down at an online cash game be sure to pay close attention to the short stacks. Avoid getting involved unless you have a premium hand, in which case you want to take their chips as early as possible (i.e. get it in pre-flop). You certainly don’t want to be doubling up short stacks with marginal holdings, as they invariably leave soon after. These “hit-and-run” merchants are not going to contribute to your poker profits, unlike the deep stacked donkeys – who should be your favourite customers.

We all get frustrated at times playing in a tournament when it seems that some ubber aggressive player pushes their stack in on every flush and straight draw their dealt.  It means risking your tournament life on a coin flip, and its difficult to play poker as its meant to be played.  Even pro players get frustrated by it, as Joe Hachem, 2005 Main Event Champion publically declared prior to being knocked out of this year’s Main Event.

The 2005 World Series of Poker champion said he’s lost all respect for a new brand of extremely aggressive poker players who seem to want to gamble all their chips on every hand in the main event.

“I had quite a bit of respect but you know what? They know nothing about poker,” Joe Hachem said as he took a break from his sixth session of poker at the US$10,000 buy-in tournament.

“These kids really know nothing. These kids are just … idiots,” Hachem said.

“We’re playing for one of the biggest prizes in history and they’re getting … five hundred million blinds in there with second pair,” Hachem said. “To me, the reason I’m upset is because it’s disrespectful. We’re playing in the world series, we’re not just having fun at a local home game. These guys are pushing chips around like it’s nothing.”

During one hand, Tran folded a strong hand of ace-king before any community cards were dealt when faced with the all-in bet of an opponent. Tran would have been well ahead in the hand if his opponent held two other unpaired cards, but would have had about a 50-50 shot if the opponent held a pocket pair of queens or lower. If the opponent had kings or aces, Tran would have been a big underdog, and Tran didn’t want to risk his tournament on a single gamble without more information.

Hachem said playing against opponents who only know one move – no matter what they’re holding – is frustrating.

“Look, their style may be the way they play on the Internet and that’s what they’ve got to do because they can open up another tournament every 10 seconds,” Hachem said. “It’s fine, right, but you’re playing here, you got so much time, you got so much going for you and these guys just want to go to war every hand.

“That’s why a crazy Internet kid is very unlikely to win one of these things,” Hachem said.

Okay, maybe he shouldn’t have come and said these types of player ruin the game, but the fact remains, he’s right.  Its not poker anymore, its the largest bingo game in history.  There are ways to play back against ubber aggressive players, but the key is to catch cards and trap them with very strong hands.  If you’re facing a cold deck though, or heavily card dead, it makes it less likely to be able to play this way though, and the skill of the game goes to zero.

Poker is meant to be played using skill moreso than luck.  But when your opponent prefers to push into you every chance he can for your tournament life, you’re often faced with a tough decision.  Do you call with top pair top kicker and hope for the best?  Do you fold your trip nines on the flop because it came up with a flush draw?  Some players are going to be willing to risk it, but GOOD players are considering the bigger picture.  A single hand doesn’t decide the winner of a tournament, but the way the player plays every hand he is dealt does. 

Personally, I wouldn’t want to be known as the LUCKIEST player to win the Main Event, but a skilled player who made good decisions throughout the tournament.

There’s some discussion on some of the forums lately about the need or ability to use effectively, bankroll management.

What is Bankroll Management?  Well, in poker lingo, its the total amount of capital a player that allows him to play, without having to reinvest any more of their own money.  In a nutshell, its being able to use your bankroll in the most effective, and hopefully profitable, way.  Its also a useful tool to tell you when you’re ready to move up in limits, along with improving your skills and learning new techniques.

Anyone can load cash into an online poker site and start playing whatever limit they desire, be it 1c/2c or $1/$2 or higher.  If you were to drop $1000 online to play, you could play at the NL1000 level (or $50/$100 blinds) as a short stack, and play.  But is that the best way to use your bankroll effectively?  Absolutely not, its actually a recipe for disaster.  One suckout, one bad call, and you’re broke and have to reload your account again.

I use this guideline for playing online.  For cash games, I don’t enter any level that I don’t have a bankroll that equals 20 to 25 buyins for that level.   So if my bankroll is $1000, the highest level I would consider playing would be NL50,  where the maximum amount I can buyin on a table is $50 with $.25/$.50 blinds.  This would give me in total 20 buyins.  So why so low?

This game is filled with variance.  Variance is the four letter word of poker.  It means that even if you were to play your absolute BEST poker, mistake free, you could still lose.  A long period of downward variance is called a downswing, and can last a very long time, from weeks to months, and in the case of some pros even, years.   Bankroll Management is the only tool a player can use to allow them still play effectively with variance having minimal impact on their overall performance.  With 20 to 25 buyins, this should be enough of an insurance to weather through the variance storms that are surely lurking on the horizon.  If your bankroll were to suffer horribly and fall below 20 buyins, then you would have to move down in the limits your play (from $.25/$.50 games to $.10/$.25 games) until you can rebuild your bankroll back up the the 20-25 bi level again before you can return to playing the level you were on.

NO ONE likes to admit failure, and moving down in limits can seem like admitting defeat, but truth be told, its far from it.  Variance can be cruel, and just because you have a bad run doesn’t mean you can’t play the game, it just means that reality is biting you back.  Moving down in limits is not an attack on one’s playing ability.  I look at it more like an oppurtunity to rebuild, relearn, and regroup.  I know I can crush the lower limit game, and it wouldn’t take very long to rebuild my bankroll, and the best part is I can take new techniques I’ve learned to those lower limits and try to employ them with a much lower risk if case they fail.  Think of it as more a training ground to test new things, like blind stealing or 3 betting.  If you’ve never done it, its better to test them at a lower level that would have a minimum impact on your bankroll, yet give you plenty of oppurtunity to field test and help grow your roll again.

Bankroll Management is a way of earning your stripes in online poker.  Anyone can deposit any amount of their own money onto any poker site and start playing with the big boys at any level, but if you haven’t learned how to play at that level of game, you’re quickly marked as a fish and you’ll soon be wondering where your money went.  I don’t mean to say that you shouldn’t deposit as much as you can afford, but be sure that you start at a level you can consistently win at before you venture into the world of the sharks online at the higher limits.

If you can afford to reload your poker account over and over and over again, by all means, don’t let me stop you.  Its your money after all…that is, until you sit at a table you’re not rolled or skilled for and lose it.  It’ll happen.