When learning Texas Holdem how to play poker position proves to be one of the most critical elements of game development.  Many new players place primary emphasis on their hole cards when deciding whether to become involved in a pot.  However, most of us soon come to appreciate that if there is one factor which deserves consideration before entering a hand, it’s our poker position at the table relative to the button. 

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In keeping with the theme in holdem that ’duplicity is king’ it’s important to be able to play a wide range of hands to avoid our opponents being able to accurately guess our hole cards based solely on our play.  Whether to play a holdem starting hand like AA, or KK barely need consideration.   However limiting ourselves to the ‘top 10% holdem hands’ can often restrict our chances of getting paid off for our big hands.  To mix things up a bit, we need to open up our range of hands whilst still being able to make correct decisions once the hand is under way.  The question of what makes the best poker starting hands can seem obvious when looking at extremes, such as pocket aces, or 72off.  However, when the correct play is less clear, whether to play our starting hand requires consideration of one other important factor…our poker table position. 

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There’s a maxim that says in HoldEm Position is everything.  It holds true though for all forms of poker.  As a new player I remember not paying nearly enough attention to the difference position made in poker…I was too interested in the cards I held in my hand.  But eventually, if you’re going to make a go of hold em you’re going to want to understand poker table position.  For the moment, let’s take a brief look at how a poker table is set up, where you are in the action, and why it makes a difference.

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