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Position Power
Use the information you get by acting later
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What changes when your opponent must act first?
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You have a medium-strength hand on the button. Your opponent checks. You can choose a free card or a bet after seeing their action.
What you’ll learn
- Identify who acts first before and after the flop
- Use checks behind and selective button opens
- Avoid treating position as a guarantee of profit
From the interactive preview
The last-action check: bet, free card or showdown?
Referenced activities and other examples are available in the interactive preview.
When action checks to you, ask what a bet achieves:
Worse hands call? Consider a value bet. Better hands can fold? Consider a bluff with a credible plan. Neither is clear? Checking behind can preserve showdown value or take a free card.
From the interactive preview
Steal selectively, not automatically
Referenced activities and other examples are available in the interactive preview.
When everyone folds to your button, only the blinds remain. You can open more hands than from early position and act last if a blind calls.
Prefer hands with useful pair or draw potential while learning. Expand against opponents you have observed folding too much; tighten against frequent re-raises. A successful $5 open at $1/$2 wins the $3 blinds before any fees. Your uncalled $5 comes back; it is not extra profit.
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