The importance of table position at Holdem Poker

Position a Holdem table can be a very important factor in how each player will fare in each hand. However as the game rotates round the table, skill and strategy levels will dictate how the game will pan out you play. In Holdem Poker the player who sits in the dealer position generally has the advantage in each hand. Sitting in the dealer position is known as the "being on the button", has many advantages, and principally that the player can has the last call before every post-flop. Players on the button usually enjoy the advantage of seeing every other opponent play the hand and can decide to bet or raise an opponent's bet, check, call or even fold. Players on the button will rarely fold, if every other player checks, because they are getting a free flop.

The early position a player finds themselves in each hand is always the weakest because they have no idea what their opponents are likely to do. The nearer to the button a player finds themselves, the healthier the position they are in as a few players will already have played their hand, and a betting pattern will have developed. Sitting in the middle position in a hand is favoured by many players with the second last player (before the button) is considered the strongest, The reason is that of most players have either met the blind bets then the "cut-off" player as they are known can make a big raise and scare some players into folding including the player on the button who will always traditionally try to limp into the flop, even if they have a very strong hand.

After the flop, the same situation occurs, unless most of the players at the table have folded. As the hand progresses, the significance of table position obviously diminishes.