Cards or Position? (1 Viewer)

[CantSpellPoker]

Position is probably the biggest factor I consider when deciding to open/limp/fold. Of course the cards matter, but position probably factors into my decision more than most.

 

[TexRex]

I'd add a third factor in. Cards, position, and (relative) chip stack. Those to me are the three weapons a player has. As a chip stack example, as long as your stack is enough to threaten serious damage to another player, it's a great weapon to use.

I look for situations where I have 2 of those in my favor. I will get this down to heads up. If I'm in good position, and I have say 40% of a guy's stack, an all-in forces him to work ONLY with cards. If I win the hand, I have a bigger chip stack than him. (He has 100; I have 40. I go all in, there is 80 in the pot. I win, I have 80 while he is down to 60.) He can only win at that point by beating me on cards. He is more likely to fold with better cards because the risk of loss has a serious negative impact. If my chip stack is 30%, I can't make my chip stack work in my favor. He's more likely to call with the same hand. In that case, I'd want position and cards.

There are other factors as well. If he's gone into "fold his way into the money" mode, he's likely ONLY going to play with great cards once I put enough chips on the table.

Reiterating some points above:

• Trash is still trash.
• Good cards are still good cards.
• Position make a big difference.

But don't overlook chip stack. It's the third leg of the stool. Then as I mentioned, there are other factors that are more about playing either players or the situation. So there is a lot that goes into it. But the big 3 are cards, position, and chip stack.

It's stuff like this that makes poker fun.

 

[Steve Birrer]

Excellent post TexRex. Lots of variables that make this a complex question to answer. Each scenario is different.

 

[Gobbs]

One of my favorite things to hear at a tournament is somebody saying, “I just didn’t get any decent hands.” What they should really be saying is, “I can’t win unless I get good cards.” Music to my ears.

I’ll take position over cards all day long.

 

[RocAFella1]

How about coolers? I would take being on the good side of coolers above anything else.

 

[Schmendr1ck]

Suited junk is still junk but always gets there against me anyway.

FTFY

 

[Taghkanic]

I think it depends on table conditions too. My range can expand or contract depending on the types of players and how many players. When in doubt, I’ll probably take cards. Edit- when confident, position

Exactly. I’d prefer AKo UTG most of the time, but with certain opponents I could see a case for J7s on the button.

For example, on a very tight table, where it is likely to either (a) get folded around to me and I can steal the blinds, or (b) I can get heads-up with an early raise and take it down on the flop with a c-bet 80% of the time, or (c) expect a bunch of limpers who fold to a big button raise, J7s is going to be pretty profitable.

AKo is going to lose value when I’m on a table where I’ll face six callers even after an UTG raise, half of whom are going to station to the river. That can be really profitable when I hit, but most of the time someone’s junk is going to win.

I recently heard a podcast with Tommy Angelo where he was advocating playing ridiculously tight, and almost never out of position. He might even fold AKo under the gun, the way I heard it.

His big thing now is avoiding ever having to make big decisions out of position. He swears that this is still profitable, since there aren't as many live players as one might think who really pay attention to all of their opponent’s frequencies. But I suppose he’s talking from the perspective of someone who plays mainly in casinos, and many different ones. In a regular home game, I’d think people could exploit this approach. (There’s a guy in my tourney who is like this, who seldom gets in the money, because he almost never gets paid with his big hands.)

 

[CantSpellPoker]

He might even fold AKo under the gun, the way I heard it.

That's really extreme, but I have to say, whether it's right or wrong, the idea of opening from UTG is not one that I enjoy. Granted, it depends on players, table conditions, etc., but I can relate to this line of thinking.

 

[RocAFella1]

I think a lot of the answer also depends on how tight/loose/passive/aggressive a player one is.