Position, an important lesson

In no'limit Texas Hold'em position is said to be the most important aspect of the game. When you're in position you get to see everyone's action in front of you. Position allows you to play medium-strength hands, call small raises, and make steal attempts when everyone else shows weakness. Position can also force others in folding the best hand, or reject their ability to see a free drawing cards. The reason casino's make so much money on their card games like blackjack is because they have position. It is said that in poker, if you always had position you'd never loose. Of course this is not completely true, but if spread out over a years time I think you would find that little saying true and a fact.

The reason for this entry is not to tell you what you already know, but to question you if you truly understand the importance of position. I like to consider myself an above average player. I make money over the length of the game, and I have a wide knowledge on the subject of poker that I keep trying to expand daily. I am always trying to learn what's the right move and never trying to "gamble" when I don't have the best of it. I, like almost every other player who considers themselves decent at poker, know what position is and know it's importance. The problem I had is that I never appreciated the true meaning of position until today. It cost me $33 dollars to find out, but it was money well spent.

Over my time studying and reading I have heard numerous professional poker players attempting to make a point about how important position is in NL Texas Hold'em and that they highly recommend playing a few games blind. One poker pro even mentioned that the game should be anywheres from $10-50 dollars depending on your bankroll, he further stated that playing blind in games cheaper then $10 and or "play money" games would not lead to a healthy result. The pro insisted that in such low limit games you can not buy your opponents off hands like Ace-X, or small pairs, thus playing position will not work. I've always read this and assume it to be true, but never truly respected what they were trying to tell me until I tried it today. I gathered a piece of tape and a cardboard cutout and blocked my cards while I attempting to play in a few 9 player SNGs. The best result I had was actually finishing on the bubble at a 9 player table. I could have actually finished in the money in this tournament, but I ran into a legitimate hand and lost all my chips (I was tied for second). The flop came down Q-Q-9 and after my raise (in position of course) there was over 1,000 in the pot and I had a little over 2,000 left. It was checked to me and I went all in (simply playing my opponents actions and position) and was called by A-9 OS. Apparently I made all these moves with 7-2 OS (friend was spectating) and I busted out being a huge joke to the guy who only had 800 chips left. What he failed to realize is that through the tournament I never seen one of my cards and was tied for second place, while he played all his cards with full acknowledgement of his actions and was completely short-stacked, about to get blinded out. Who has the right to laugh here?

My friend noted that I should have pulled the tape off my cards and played to win after I had such a solid chance in winning the tournament. I, however, never counted on winning this tournament and any type of money finish would have been just an added bonus. The fact is, I don't dislike my pushing all in to a Q-Q-9 flop after my opponent checks considering winning that pot would have put me in solid second. I don't agree with it 100% either, but there is some justification that could actually back this play up even if I knew what my cards were. Obviously I wouldn't have done such a play with 7-2 OS, but still... it's not as a horrible a play as it may seem.

In the end I am out $33 but I had a hell of a good time. It truly proved to me the importance of position and showed me that cards are not the most important aspect of the game (this I already knew but it solidified my knowledge on the subject). I believe that every serious poker player should try playing position completely blind a few times and donate the money if your bankroll can afford it. It truly has regain confidence in my game (if I can finish just shy of the money without looking at my cards, then I should be able to finish ITM with no problem). I will most likely play a few more SNGs tonight to see if I can not make back the money I donated; but in the end, this lesson was well worth the time and money spent. It was also one of the best times I've had playing cards. Nothing beats the rush when you push all in on the flop, completely blind, and everyone folds to you. Your sitting there grinning like a little school boy who just received their first kiss. Truly a great experience, highly recommended.