When and where position matters, and when and where it doesn't....
WHEN POSITION MATTERS LESS You will always hear pundits declaring that while playing online poker “position is everything”. Naturally in high stakes games it certainly gives you a huge edge to be in late position as you can monitor every other players’ action before you have to make a decision on your own hand. However, in the small stakes games where most newcomers to online poker find themselves learning their craft, position is less of an issue. Why? Because when the stakes are minimal you will get multiple callers routinely wanting to see the flop. It’s not costing them much, they are excited and they all want to stay in the action. It is of course very important that new players who experience multiple calling in low limit games realise that it does not apply as they venture into high stakes games. Relatively inexperienced players raising bravely from early position in a big cash game will immediately find themselves being put under the cosh by the more skilful players who lie in wait. As usual it’s horses for courses. Low limit games are huge fun and the basic dynamics of poker can be learned very effectively from playing in them. A strange paradox is that very experienced professionals will often revert to how they once played in low limit games when engaged in big tournaments. It’s not uncommon to see Phil Ivey raise big time from early position just to throw everyone off guard. Is he bluffing or has he landed pocket rockets? Poker often travels full circle as inventive players attempt to confuse established ideas of how plays should be made. Just goes to prove everything learned along the way always remains valuable.
JUMPING “JACK’S” FLASH! You’re staring down at your new hole cards and a pair of Jacks stare back at you. They look great but what do you do? Here’s a clue. Guru Doyle Brunson dismissively refers to Jacks as a small pair which he puts in the same division as a pair of twos. Why such a lowly opinion? The trouble with Jacks is they are “flop sensitive” so if you’ve raised pre-flop with them only to see an Ace, a King or a Queen show up, you’ve invested your way into trouble.
POKER JOKER In the late 1940’s and throughout the 1950’s Las Vegas was fully in the grip of organised crime having been financed largely by Lucky Luciano and Bugsy Seigel. This prompted American comedian Alan King to remark famously on coast to coast television, “I wouldn’t say Caesar’s Palace was exactly Roman -- more kind of early Sicilian.” As Alan King survived to become one the USA’s biggest prime time stars, one assumes the Mob has a sense of humour.
