Just Poker Talk

Last week was rough in terms of poker. I took two big losing session before quitting for the week. One of the problems I encountered was that I neglected the importance of position.

My tilt didn’t help matters either. I wasn’t thinking at all. I mean I was thinking, but not thinking thoroughly. I was playing with a one tract mind. My only goal was to win back what I’d lost. Basically I wanted to continue playing bad, even worse poker, to recoup the money I’d lost by playing bad in the first place.

Position is important in poker and allows a player to outmaneuver one’s opponent without a hand in some cases, depending on one’s read. That is, of course, if one has position on their opponent, if one acts from a later position than their opponents. Acting later allows one to get a better read on their opponent, while, on the other hand, acting earlier, one has less information to work with, and it is not wise to bluff much from early position or even bet with a marginal hand.

Bluffing out of position was what I did a lot of last week. I didn’t even pay attention to the cards on the flop, if they made logical sense; I just bet the pot whenever I was playing three handed or less. My success rate was not high, and I ended up getting called every time.

I’m not saying that bluffing out of position in a three handed hand is negative EV all the time. It is also important to take into account an opponent’s aggressiveness. Passive players fold to big bets pretty often. Aggressive players may call with any pair or a draw. And even more daring players may call with nothing, hoping to catch a hand or to bluff on the turn if a favorable card comes up.

Sometimes, things just aren’t going right and everyone is hitting against you every hand. You should keep in mind that you can’t get passive and start checking in hopes that everyone will do the same. But you also shouldn’t be aggressive just to be aggressive, ie. don’t bluff out of position, especially when it’s not logical to do so.

Previous Poker Tips:
Poker Tip #6: Cheaper is not Alway Better or Worse Depending on how You Look at it
Poker Tip #5: Flash Back to the Schoolyard Dynamic
Poker Tip #4: The Lay Down
Poker Tip #3: Faith in the Rush

poker, strategy, position, tilt