Playing Out Of Position

Someone asked me at the table once what poker and sex had in common. I thought the joke was how the two were different, the answer being the length of time one is able to devote to each. But this was a different joke, and the punch line for this one was simple: Position is everything.

We all understand what position is, and if we've read even one poker book, we understand why position is important, even though the concept of position is often overlooked, even by very good players. But if you are playing a hand out of position (OOP), how do you overcome the inherent disadvantage from having to act first? And how can you force your opponent to respond to you, rather than the other way around?

Before the Flop

First of all, when you are likely to be seeing a flop OOP, you need a better hand than otherwise. So, whatever your standards are for calling, raising, and calling raises, they need to be higher where it looks like you are going to be OOP.

From time to time, you will want to see flops with speculative hands, either to take a shot or to prevent your image from growing too tight. You might raise with nothing on a pure steal, or call with small connectors, hoping to catch a miracle flop or to outplay your opponents after the flop. That's okay. I do it too. But you're far better off making these speculative moves from late position, when you'll be acting last after the flop, than in early position when you'll be acting first. You give yourself the best chance for success when you consider position in the timing of moves like these.

Against Several Players

Against more than one player, when you are first or second to bet, if you don't flop at least a pair or a draw, you are pretty much done with the hand. When an unraised pot missed you, it surely hit somebody. Even in a raised pot with two other players, you are in bad shape playing a hand OOP with no pair and nothing to draw to. Unless you are in a tournament where the chips in the middle represent a huge percent of your stack, you're better off waiting for a better spot.

If you do flop something, you can check or bet, but a check will tell you nothing about your opponent's holdings. Why? Because if you check, you won't know whether the bets behind you are made by genuine hands, or pot stabs. By betting, you force your opponents to define their hands or fold, and you'll have more info with which to make decisions on the turn and river.

Another reason to bet a pair on the flop is to define the size of the bet. If you make a half-pot sized bet, you may get called. But if you check with the expectation of calling a bet, what happens if the last player makes a pot-sized bet. He could be stealing, but are you going to call a bet the size of the pot with middle pair? Better to be the bettor here than the caller when you are OOP.

Against One Player

You have more options here. Still at a disadvantage, but at least you are up against an opponent who is likely to have a worse hand than yours, if you have heeded my advice, and is likely to have missed on the flop.

When the flop comes out, you need to make a decision about your interest in the pot. If you hit something, then of course your interested. If the amount of money in the middle represent a significant amount to you, such as late in a tournament or reraised pot in cash game, then you are more like to want to keep playing even if you have missed. If you are interested, then you need to take control of the hand immediately, either by betting out, or by check raising. It doesn't matter which, and which you choose should be determined by a dozen different factors, including how likely your opponent if to bluff at the flop when you check, then fold to a raise. What is important is that you are the lead bettor going into the turn, and even though you are OOP, your opponent is reacting to you.

On the turn, you must ask yourself again, how interested in the pot are you? By now, you've seen 86% of the hand you're going to see, and you should know something about your opponent's hand. He has called a significant bet or a check raise from you, so he's got something. It may be a draw, but it is something. Are you still interested in taking this one further? If not, you can certainly check-fold. But if so, you should usually bet again.

The point is, just because you make a decision that you want to keep playing on the flop, you shouldn't feel like you have to keep playing it down to the river. Every street is giving your more info, both on the hand you are likely to end up with, and your opponent's hand as well. So, you should be constantly re-evaluating whether you are still in a position to commit more chips to the pot.

On the river, you have all the cards out, and you know pretty much all you're going to find out about your opponent's hand. Your task is simple. If you think you have the best hand, bet it. If not, check. Most of the time, you're not going to be sure, and there is a temptation to split the difference by putting out a smallish bet. I don't like this move on any other street, but I don't mind it on the river. The reason is, people don't like to raise on the river unless they are certain they have the best hand. So, if you are not sure and you bet 25% of the pot, you will probably be called. If you are raised, you are likely beaten, and your best option is to fold.

Defensive Bets

The small bet on the river is often called a defensive bet - a small bet made with a marginal hand OOP, so that the bettor won't have to make a tough decision of whether to call a much larger bet, which may be a bluff. As I said, I like this move on the river, but not on previous streets, because it doesn't achieve the two primary aims of betting OOP. It doesn't get weak opponents to fold, and it doesn't provide information.

Let's look at an example. You have a pair of nines in the big blind in a tournament with the blinds at 100-200. Your middle-position opponent opens for a $400 raise and you are the only caller, so you see the flop heads-up with $1300 in the pot. The flop comes out K-7-2 rainbow. If your opponent has a King, you're beat, with only two outs to outdraw him. If he doesn't, you're ahead in the hand. If you check, he will likely bet, meaning that you will need to call a serious bet OOP not knowing if you are good. But if you bet, you could get raised, and you'd have to fold. So, you make a defensive bet of $350, just slightly more than 25% of the pot.

The problem with this bet is, what hand is going to fold to it? He's getting nearly five-to-one on his money, and the only thing you've shown him with your bet is that you're weak. Now, maybe you're strong and deliberately feigning weaknesses, but he's going to be willing to call $350 to find out. And by calling, he hasn't told you whether he has a King or not. He's only told you that he still likes his hand enough to call your measly $350.

Slow Playing

Another move that I like in general, but not on the flop when OOP is the slow-play. Again, it has to do with finding out about your opponent's hand. The flop comes out, you've got a monster. You check, he bets, you call. The turn comes. Now, what do you do? Are you playing with an opponent who has a legitimate hand that you can trap him with? Or did he merely bet because you checked on the flop? If the former is true, then you can probably check-raise here, confident that he will bet again. If the latter, then he is done with the hand, and that's all you're going to get out of him.

But what if you had bet the flop? Either he had nothing and would have folded, or had something and would have called. If he had folded, that would have been too bad. You flopped a monster, and it didn't pay off. But if he had called, then he had something, and you'd know it. You could bet again on the turn, and probably get another call. Or, you could check the turn, and make him think you gave up and he was ahead. That would surely lead to a bet on the turn, and if it doesn't, your big bet on the river looks like a bluff, and will often be called. The bottom line is, even with a monster, you are much better off betting with a monster from OOP than checking.

Against several opponents, I'm okay with checking from early position on the flop, but I'll usually check raise unless I see a big bet by somebody else. I don't want to see the turn with more than one opponent, even if I have a monster. I've been there too many times where I flop the nuts, only to get drowned on the river. Once I get up against one opponent, I might back off a little bit, and make them think I tried to steal and failed, but I'll have some idea whether my opponent is willing to go all the way with his hand himself.

Ideally, I'd never play a hand out of position. But realistically, you have to do it sometimes. If you understand that you are at a disadvantage, and work to use aggressiveness and information to try to recover that advantage, you can be a winning player, even acting first.

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