First Position, Before The Flop

There you sit... just to the left
of the big blind.

This means you are going to be the
FIRST to act before the flop.

You can't figure out if this is a
position that you LOVE... or one
that you HATE...

It's really the position you love
to hate...

Here's why:

Let's say you're dealt a QJ offsuit.

You're one of those players who
loves just about any combination
of cards... So of course, this QJ
is looking very good right now.

You decide to call the big blind
of $2.

Drew is next to act. He makes it
$10 to play and one other player
calls his bet.

The action is back to you and your
QJ. You think, what's $8 more, and
call the bet.

The flop hits Q,7,4 and you're first
to act. Now what do you do? You've
just hit the top pair on the board
but are afraid to bet because you
have to put Drew on a strong hand
with his pre-flop raise.

He could be sitting on pocket Q's,
K's, A's, KQ or AQ...

All of which beat your hand.

You decide to check and see what
Drew is going to do. He fires out
a $20 bet... just as you thought
he would.

Josh folds and the action is back
to you. You're already in for $10
so you decide to see the turn card...
which is a 9.

You see where this story is going?

You end up becoming pot committed
and bet your stack only to see Drew
throw over AQ.

This is exactly how the first position
before the flop can get you in trouble.

If you play mediocre hands you are
going to get burnt.

...

Now, let's look at the time when you
will LOVE the first position.

Here's the scenario:

You're dealt pocket aces and are first
to act. Instead of firing out a raise
you simply call the big blind. You're
at a rather aggressive table and know
that one of the seven other players
will raise.

Just as you thought, Drew makes it $15
to play. Three other players call the
bet and the action is back to you.
You go over the top and make it $60 to
play. Drew is a manic and can't stand
to be raised. So he pushes his entire
stack into the middle with AJ... and
you take all his chips.

You made the money in this situation
because you played your positioning to
your advantage...

You decided to limp in instead of
raising. You did this because you
wanted to let your opponents create
the action before you made your attack.

While Drew was raising and the others
were calling, they had completely
forgot about you, which is EXACTLY
what you wanted.

Playing the first position can be
frustrating at times. You simply have
to know what type of table you are at
and which hands to play...

Once you master this position in Texas
Hold 'Em poker, you will own a MAJOR
competitive edge against your opponents
and friends...

...And you'll start dragging in more
pots, night after night after night.