poker position at the table

When learning to play poker the first thing is obviously understanding the value of the cards and how to call/bet/fold.  That said, I will not go over the basic terminology such as “what is a button”, “big blind”, etc. Assuming that, the most important aspect to understand uber-beginner poker is know about position.

Position in the poker world refers to the location of your seat to that of the button. If you not the image with the standard table of nine seats. The table is broken into three region with three red seats, three blue seats, and three green.

As a new player you’re likely to start at the low limit games. The following general rules, for the most part, still apply to any level but it’s very important to emphasize as a beginner. In understanding poker position you should be very conservative if your seat is in the red region and only play premium cards.  In the blue region I recommend the same conservatism but you may consider suited connected cards (e.g., 8hearts & 9hearts with a call). In the green area you can open up a little bit with the range of cards you call and/or raise with. However, in all cases your understanding and gaining information about what sort of cards that a person may be raising with or calling with.

Now as you gain experience you will learn to understand table image, player image, your perceived image, table size and the affect of cards that can be played, levels of aggressive play, pot odds, implied odds, tells (false and real), cash play versus tournament play, and the limit your playing at and it’s affect. Although the above generally applies to all levels the previously mentioned variables can and will affect the position rules.