Hey all...this is my first post as I'm still getting my feet wet in NLHE. Here's my question about position.
Welcome to CardsChat!
I've noticed that in several books and videos it says that position is more important than the cards in your hand. Why is that? If I'm on the button or in late position, everyone is limping into the pot and then I get 2h5h what good is that going to do for me being in position?
Should the sole purpose of being in position be to wait for premium hands (AK, KQ), pocket pairs (AA -JJ) and suited connectors? Or should I just raise in position with a trash hand and hope no one calls me?
First, since you're just learning the ropes, I would avoid playing too fancy at this point. Stick to the basic ABC style for now, just knowing you can open a little wider from position.
The term for raising with trash from late position is called "stealing the blinds." While stealing isn't exactly an advanced topic, you need to have a good idea that the blinds (and also button) fold to most raises. Otherwise you're playing bloated pots with weak hands, even if you do have position. Note that raising from position with a strong hand is not stealing, it's betting for value. So when you hear "stealing" you can interpret that to mean raising with a weak or speculative hand.
Position is so important because it gives you several advantages. Poker is a game of information, and acting last gives you the maximum amount of information on the opponents acting before you, based on their actions.
At the micro stakes, or at a table full of bad players who limp a lot, you can punish the limpers by raising with top part of your range for value, or stealing the limped pot with a wider part of your range if they're passive fish who fold to any aggression.
Acting last also lets you control the pot size, another very important aspect of poker. If you get caught stealing and someone defends their blind, you might still connect with the flop and be able to bloat the pot for value, or check behind to see a free turn card if you both miss the flop. Controlling the pot lets you get to showdown more cheaply with a marginal but likely better hand than your opponent. For instance, some people will barrel any A-high or drawing hand all the way to the river hoping to move you off your hand, or thinking their A-high has you beat. So you can play your small-medium pairs by just calling to the river if overcards or the draw never come.
If stacks are deep, you can afford to see more cheap flops with a wider range of speculative hands that have good implied
odds. But playing a family pot with a lot of limpers can be dangerous to your premium hands. You ideally want to get HU or 3-way to the flop with your strong hands. Premiums like AA/KK lose some of their strength with more people in the pot when the flop doesn't improve your hand. So *never* limp your premium hands in a multi-way pot (you should rarely limp premiums anyway). Acting last gives you the opportunity to narrow the field by raising big enough to price many of the passive limpers out of the flop. The general rule of thumb here is start with your standard opening raise (let's say 3x), then add 1bb per limper.
Then there are more advanced strategies you can use from position, like floating. This is where someone raises preflop and you call from position. Most preflop raisers will consistently cbet most flops, but when you call from position they'll give up on the turn and check back to you, especially if they're passive and there are any scare cards on the board. You can often steal the pot here with any bet on the turn no matter what cards you hold. Mind you, as with any advanced move, don't try to over-apply this while you're still learning as you can get in trouble with it. I'm just pointing out some of the many ways you can use position to your advantage.
Ok last question, in a $1/$2 NLHE game how much should I raise if I'm in position but I have a horrible hand and I just want to collect dead money (ie the blinds and limpers) without a fight?
In general, bet sizing should not vary based on hand strength, otherwise you'll be easily exploited by thinking players who will raise you off your poor hands and fold to your big hands. Bet the same amount for a steal attempt as you would a value raise with a strong hand.
Since you mention 200NL and you're just learning, I assume this means you're playing live (if you're trying to play 200NL online, move down!). Live games play out quite differently than online, namely there's usually a lot more limping and getting to showdown than there is online. Online games are generally much tougher at similar stakes. 200NL live is roughly equivalent to 10NL or so online.
