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The chart is good if you where at a table with real poker players, but online poker you get people that goes all in on a 7-2 and hands similar to that, so playing poker online you just start out slow and get to know your opponents and how they play before you make any drastic plays. Find out how to avoid common pre-flop mistakes at the poker table with our strategy guide. Plug preflop leaks with our advice.

In a game of Texas Hold’em before the flop a player sees only his two pocket cards. Five cards are unknown. There is a fair amount of uncertainty and the betting is usually cautious. However after the flop a player sees five out of the seven cards available to him to make his poker hand. Now the picture is much clearer and most of the wagering takes place after the flop but before the turn. At this time players to make estimates about their opponents cards from their betting patterns and other tells. But the only information that is dead certain are the five cards they can see. Therefore poker strategy is formulated largely based on the character of these cards.

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If these five cards themselves result in a hand that usually wins, without needing any card on the turn or river, then the hand is known as a lock hand. For example the player holds pocket kings and the flop shows another king and two fives, the player already has a full house. With this hand the player has a very good chance of winning. Therefore the player’s strategy should be to increase the pot to the extent possible. He should avoid aggressive play that might scare the opponents into folding and should keep the betting going with as many players as possible.

The second type of hand is the strong hand. This hand has the potential of become a winning hand with a large number of outs. An example of this type of hand is two pocket hearts with two hearts in the flop. If the turn or river show any of the nine remaining hearts then the player lands up with a flush. In this case the strategy is to drive out players with marginal hands who might get lucky in the turn or river. Therefore the betting needs to be aggressive and anyone who wishes to remain in the fray has to take a risk that is not commensurate with the return.

Marginal hands are those hands that have a small number of outs. They can become winning hands but with only a few cards. Pocket queens with a queen in the flop is an example of a marginal hand. The fourth queen would make four of a kind but the chance is remote. However this chance is worth taking provided the player does not have to pay too high a price. Marginal hands can be played if there have not been too many raises and the betting levels are low.

Hands that have little hope of winning on their own strength but depend on other players holding worse hands are weak hands. Players should not enter with weak hands, except perhaps at the heads up stage, when there are only two players involved. Loose players hope to convert weak hands into marginal ones with the turn and then hope that other players will suffer a stroke of bad luck. They fritter away their bankroll in this manner. The correct strategy is for the player to fold immediately and preserve his bankroll for better hands.

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To say position is an important factor in poker strategy is an understatement. Experienced pros know that the extra information you gain by acting after your opponents makes a huge difference to your profits. Seeing what others do before you make your own decision allows you to win more when you are ahead, and to lose fewer chips when you are behind. Adjusting your strategy to allow for position starts before the flop, where this advantage really gets felt is in post-flop play.

This article starts with a look at position in pre-flop betting, showing how you can work out where in the betting you will be post-flop from early in the hand. After this you will find 2 examples of positional play. The first shows how you can make more money using the advantage of acting last. The second shows how you can get away from a 2nd best hand cheaply when in position. Finally, you’ll see how to spot situations where your positional advantage is not as good as it seems.

Playing Position – Betting Before the Flop

When you are one of the first players to act at a table of 9 or 10 people, you need to be more cautious with your starting hand selection than you would be acting last. Mid-strength hands, small pairs and speculative hands like suited connectors are difficult to play profitably from early position. The reason is that you do not yet know whether there will be raises and re-raises from around the table. With 8 opponents there is a good chance someone will put in a raise. You will then be first to act after the flop, and you will mostly not have a monster hand.

Compare this with being one of the last players to act before the flop. Most people have already decided what to do, and you can see if there are raises and re-raises already at the table. This means you can ditch your weaker hands when there is heavy action, or play speculative hands without too much risk of a raise when things look calmer.

Your positional advantage lets you act with more information than when acting first. Good players have different starting hand criteria for early, middle and later positions at the table.

If you are on the button before the flop, then you will be last in the betting on the flop, turn and river. This has a built in advantage, especially when your chip-stacks are deep enough for betting on all 3 rounds. Conversely, the players in the blinds will act first after the flop, which means acting without clear information on what your opponents intend to do.

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How Position Can Make You More Money Post-Flop

In Texas Holdem, most hands miss most flops. If you are last to act after the flop, and everyone checks to you – indicating weakness – then you can often pick up pots without too much of a fight. Taking a stab at the pot is very effective when your opponents are straight-forward (less likely to check-raise) and when you showed strength before the flop.

You can also use position to manage the pot-size when you have a strong hand, building the pot over several streets to maximize your profits. This will depend on the number of opponents and the likelihood of them calling your bets.

How Position Can Save You Money Post-Flop

If instead of seeing your opponents check to you, there is a raise and a re-raise ahead before you act – then you can get away from weaker hands cheaply. Say you had middle pair or a weak top pair and were first to act instead. Checking induces bets that you usually do not want to call, and betting out would have gotten re-raised in two places. Acting last has allowed you to get away from a weak hand with the minimum of damage, and the chips you save will add up over time.

When Your Position Is Not As Good As It Seems

Sometimes you will find yourself in situations where you are acting last, but the order of betting before the flop means you are in a risky situation. If an early position player calls (limps), a player in middle position raises, you call that raise from the button and the early position player also calls. Here, acting last is not as big an advantage as before. It is natural for the early position player to ‘check to the raiser’. This means you will need to call any bet from the pre-flop raiser without really knowing the true intentions of the early position player. While you are acting last in the betting, you are actually sandwiched between the other two players. This is known as ‘relative position’ and can be a dangerous situation for players who are not aware of it.

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Flop Poker Game

Acting last whenever possible is an important component of poker strategy. By having stricter starting hand requirements from early position than for later position, you will avoid many difficult situations. Position really comes into its own after the flop. By acting last you will be able to get away from bad hands cheaply and maximize your winnings with good hands – as long as you avoid the trap of having bad position relative to the betting action