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November 20, 2006
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Poker Lesson: Betting out of Position
Author: Gus Hansen
Every Hold
'em strategy guide talks about the importance of positional
advantage. The standard thinking is that the player who acts last
has more information than his opponents, so he'll have a better
sense of where he stands in a hand and can, therefore, make better
decisions. There's no doubt that this is true, but it's important
to understand that the power that comes with position is often
granted to the late-position player by the early-position player.
To see what I mean, consider a pretty typical No-Limit
hold 'em hand. Say that I'm in the big blind with 7s-8s -
a nice, flop-worthy hand. The player on the button raises to three
times the big blind and I decide to call. Many players would check
the flop under almost any circumstances. But, by checking, you
give control to the late-position player. He can bet whether or
not he has a hand, putting you in a tough spot if you don't get
a piece of the flop.
In a hand like this, I believe it's best to look
at the flop and ask, "Is it likely that these cards helped
my opponent?" Once I have an answer to that question, I can
decide how to proceed.
If the flop is Ah-Kd-9c, I'd probably just check
and fold to a bet, as my opponent was likely raising with big
cards and caught a piece of the flop. However, if the flop is
9c-5h-2d, I'd probably be more skeptical. I know that in Hold
'em, two unpaired hole cards will fail to make a pair on the
flop about 66 percent of the time, and this seems to be a flop
that the pre-flop raiser might have missed.
If I suspect my opponent didn't connect, I'm going
to take the initiative and bet out about half the size of the
pot. Betting here with my gutshot draw offers several advantages.
First, I might take the pot down right here, and I'm always happy
when a semi-bluff forces a fold. But even if I get a call from
my opponent, I've forced him to react. That gives me a chance
to pick up a read. If my opponent seems uneasy, I might continue
with my semi-bluff on the turn and try again to pick up the pot.
Or, if I feel my opponent is strong, I can check and fold to any
bet on the turn if I fail to make my hand.
Stabbing at pots when out of position can be very
lucrative. In tournaments, I'll open-raise out of position fairly
frequently because I think there's a lot of power in being the
first one to fire at the pot on the flop. I pick up a lot of small
pots that way.
As you work on your Hold 'em game, remember that
you don't have to give the advantage in the hand to the player
in late position. Look for opportunities to bet out and seize
the initiative.
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