Selected Poker Rooms
I’ll Wait: Thinking About Position
Dozens of articles and thousands of words have been written about position at the poker table, most of them very general. A few have focused on specific seats, not only working from late, middle or early spots at the table, but tying those positions to specific hands, flops etc.
The articles that cover this topic in a general fashion, hitting only the high spots, usually mention the connection between strong hands and early position or weaker hands in late position. Some of the recent writing and strategy on seats at the poker-table also ties in the “gap” idea. The “gap” idea is a strategy move that will be covered more extensively on its own but here’s the basic thought process: You need a much stronger hand to call a raise than to raise in the first place.
As explained by Lou Krieger and Sheree Bykofsky in “Secrets the Pros Won’t Tell You About Winning Hold ‘Em Poker” (Kensington, New York, 2006), “The gap between hands that are worth betting or raising and those that can call a bet or raise provide fertile ground for bluff bets and raises.” This is solid information to have when you think about position at the card table. Consider how much stronger your game would be if you combined the “gap” idea with a seat that is one ahead of the button or on the button.
You can sit back, say “I’ll wait,” and watch the other players closely. If a player in middle position raises before the flop you have time to think about what he or she might have in the pocket. Unlike the players in the first two seats you haven’t even committed the blind amount yet. Let’s say the third player is the one who raises but he doesn’t have a “killer” hand. Maybe he has Ace-King but he thinks a raise will knock out the pretenders.
You are sitting near the end of the line, waiting and watching. Since you know about the raise, of course, you can bring in the “gap” concept. Look at your hand! You have a pair already and it’s a pair of Jacks. That might seem to be a very strong hand but is it strong enough to satisfy the “gap” idea? Remember, you need a much stronger hand to call a raise than you do to make the raise. Jacks are a sort of “border line” hand. One fellow called them “fancy elevens and nothing more.”
So, an inexperienced player might have chips in hand as soon as he sees the pair of Jacks. But a more experienced player would sit back and wait in late position, hear the raise, consider the “gap” and make a decision on all the factors combined. Unlike life, waiting until later is better.