Stealing the Button Position Advantage
A lot of poker strategy concepts involve table position, and this one does as well. This particular poker strategy is easy to learn and can drastically improve your poker performance.
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The Button
In poker games like Texas Holdem and Omaha, being on the button is the best table position since you’ll get to act last on subsequent betting rounds. Acting last means you can gauge the strength of opponents and react accordingly. For instance, when a few people simply limp in, you might conclude that they have a week hand so you’ll attempt a bluff and raise significantly to steal the current pot. You might detect strength in your opponents and decide to fold your hand. No matter what you decide to do, playing last is better than playing first because you have access to more data.
Credibility and Table Image
One of the issues of being on the button is your credibility. Because you get to see everyone play before you, you get to decide if a bluff attempt is appropriate. When you raise every time other people limp in, your credibility will be questioned. If you tend to be an aggressive player overall and always raise on the button, people won’t believe you. Or worse, they’ll trap you because they’ll predict your behavior.
Raising from Middle Position
On tactic that works well is to raise from the position just before the button. When you do this, you accomplish several things at once. The first objective of this poker strategy is to get who ever is on the button to fold. Why? Because if they fold, it’s like you’re now on the button. You’ll act last. The second thing this poker strategy does is it makes you more credible. While most players often wonder if you have really have a strong hand after you raise from the button, the opposite occurs when you raise from middle position: They often automatically believe you have a strong starting hand. This may in fact not be the case. Finally, the third thing you accomplish is setting up a possible bluff for the next betting round.
Risks Associated with this Poker Strategy
The first issue is that you are raising on the first betting round and there’s three more players going after you. You’re taking a risk because one of them could have a really strong hand. If you didn’t invest too much pre-flop, it’s not a huge risk. You can always back down if you feel you’re not going to take the pot down post flop. If players after you call your raise pre-flop, this could indicate that they have a strong starting hand. If the flop reveals high cards, you could represent a top pair hand with a bet and go for the bluff. However, you may find that someone else actually made the hand you are emulating.
When to use this Poker Strategy
The first thing to consider is the table image of the three players that go after you. With a weak hand, you want to avoid this play when an aggressive player will re-raise from behind. Calling him or re-raising him would be a huge risk, and probably a bad play. With a strong hand, you won’t mind facing this situation as much. If you’re dealing with tight players, then a re-raise from them is a sign that you should fold unless you have a strong starting hand and want to see a flop.
Another thing to consider specifically in tournament poker is the blinds level and the size of the chip stack of opponents. Raising a pot committed opponent means you’ll get a call. Raising when the blinds are worth a lot means the aggressive player with the short stack might go all in. Before using this poker strategy, always try to anticipate how players going after you will react on the initial betting round. With weak hands and anticipated high risks situations, don’t even attempt this poker strategy. Always use this poker strategy with strong hands unless you want to set a trap. Good luck!
