How To Play Poker Out Of Position

One of the biggest problems people seem to have when playing poker is making the correct decisions when it comes to playing hands out of the blinds. People will use excuses to put money into that pot they really should not be doing. Do not allow yourself to be tempted to play a hand just because you already have money in the pot.

The small blind is actually the worst position to be in at the table as it means your are out of position to all other players at the table. This means you will have to act before them on any further betting streets and are therefore at a disadvantage. In the small blind you have are forced to place money into the pot before the cards are even dealt but only half of what the big blind is forced to bet. Because of this people will often decide to put more money into the pot thinking that its only a little big more anyway to see the flop. This is not a good enough reason to be opening up your range in the small blind. If anything you want a really tight small blind range in order to make up for the fact your are out of position.

The big blind is another position at the table where you have to put money into the pot before anything has happened. It is slightly better than being in the small blind in terms of position because you have position on the small blind but everyone else at the table still has position on you. You do however have to put more money into the pot than the small blind does.

In the big blind you still want to play a very narrow range of hands to make up for your lack of position on the rest of the table. Try to start with only premium holdings and don't get involved to much post flop without a good hand or you will be outplayed by players who have positional advantage over you. You really want to cut down as many streets as you can when out of position so try to bet more than you might usually on the flop with a view to getting it all in on the turn if it comes favorably for you.

In conclusion make sure you play stronger hands from the blinds as oppose to weaker holdings. Don't be fooled by the fact you have already put money into the pot and enter the pot with less than premium holdings. Position is everything in poker and playing from the blinds is so hard because you are at a positional disadvantage to everyone else at the table.