Playing Out of Position

Playing Out of Position -- Introduction

We are operating under the assumption that everyone knows the following: You ought to be
playing many more hands from LP than from EP. Take a look at your winnings and total
hand investments. The bulk should come from LP. If there is a balance, you are playing too
many hands out of position, and it is likely costing you money.
Think of position like many of us thought of hooking up back in college. You want to end up
on top of the hot girl at the party. If you do, youll always get what you want, and youll
usually finish ahead of her. Occasionally, though, you have to let her get on top; shell enjoy
the position more, but that doesnt mean you cant get what you want.
I guess this analogy stops at busting: youll always bust, and it takes forever to reload.
Anyway, moving on
Reads are Essential: Study Hands You Don't Play
To be comfortable playing out of position, you must also be comfortable trusting your reads
and your feel for flop textures. There are ways to make this easier on you. But before we get
there
There will be hands, and circumstances, in which the highest EV line is to muck a reasonably
strong hand when you are out of position. It will be much easier to develop reads and handle
your positional disadvantage as a session goes on; playing big pots OOP early in a session is
generally a bad idea because you havent had the time to develop reads and a feel for the
rhythm of the table. Lets say you raise A K UTG and get one caller, and you are both
new to the table. You have no read on this player.
Flop comes A

and you lead for 3/4 pot. Villain comes over the top for a PSR. He might certainly be wielding
his position like a weapon, as many strong players do. But you will quickly be playing for
your stack to find out if he flopped a set on you, and mucking your hand now is not a bankroll
killer by any means. Make a note of his play. Watch how he handles position in future hands.
Most importantly, do your best to pay attention to similar situations even when you are not
in the hand.
Players who like to multi-table often make the mistake of only paying attention to hands in
which they are involved. Some of the best reads you can develop will come from studying
these hands. If you notice a big pot that happened a hand or two ago while you were devoting
your attention elsewhere, pull up the hand history if you can. Sit out for a few hands at your
other tables. Party Poker in particular is very generous about revealing a players hand at
showdown; use that information to make detailed notes.
If you are dealing with aggressive postflop players who have a positional advantage over you,
it will benefit you to carefully watch their play as often as you can. Again, this does not go for
every opponent; youll run into players who like to raise less often than Clear Channel likes to
raise salaries in a union negotiation. Its the tougher players who will challenge you, but you
will eventually be able to ascertain the times in which they are simply trying to intimidate you

based on position.
Having said this, sometimes the best advice is the simple "leave and wait for a better seat."
But Im only doing this against a maniac, not a tough TAG or a good LAG who knows what
position is. I want to beat those players at their own game.
Eventually I wont mind if a strong, aggressive player thinks he can float and bully me. Ill
adjust and there are multiple lines I can take to win pots from him.
Here is an example from a hand that happened last weekend.
I had the following notes on a player who is 21/12/3 in 500 hands: "Strong player, capable of
making good laydowns. Seems to understand position and has pushed me out of several pots
after I raised preflop. I wanted badly to call him and force him to show me a set, but I have
backed down each time. Likes to raise flop Cbets, or float and raise turn. Worth watching
some more."
I was in MP with A
up to the flop.

Q , and I opened for $4. He called on the Button, and we were heads

Flop came J 5 4 , and I led for $6. He raised to $18, a play he had used on me on my
second orbit of the session. He would certainly make this play with a set, but he seemed to be
raising with TP just as often. I thought it was possible I was behind to a JT suited, AJ kind of
hand. I could have been behind a set or two pair, only occasionally an overpair, and often
enough an unimproved PP. I decided it was, overall, much more likely that he had an
unimproved pair, TP or air than a big hand like a set or overpair. In other words, he can not
call a re-raise with much of his range, because by re-raising, I am telling him that I have a
monster pair. If he beats that, he pushes, and I fold. But my re-raise knocks out his drawing
hands and folds out many hands that beat me, along with changing the table dynamic that had
previously convinced him I could be run over.
We were both reasonably deep, with effective stacks $175, and I made it $58. He seemed to
think for a while and folded, but he might very well have been playing it up.
I immediately made a note of the hand, as I felt this opponent was perhaps less likely to raise
my flop Cbet, and more likely to float or fold. Keep in mind that had I attempted this play
early on, I would have had to do it with no information about this player and I would have
been simply hoping I was not up against a set.
The 25% Rule
I tend to make an assumption about players that I am not sure is perfectly accurate, but it has
seemed to help me. It is this, similar to Harringtons 10% chance of a bluff concept: If I have
a strong enough sample size against an opponent I respect, and he has position on me,
there is at least a 25% chance that any aggression he shows against me in a heads-up pot
is based solely on his positional advantage. How did I come to that number? I spent a lot of
time combing through the PT database, checking out hands, and making my best guess. I also
considered my own tendencies and my proclivity to use position like a hammer on a stubborn
nail.
Again, this is quite a nebulous number and concept, but I try to keep it in mind when I make a

reasonably strong hand against a solid opponent who has position on me. Is 25% a huge
number? It is not, but it brings a bluff, a float, or a semi-bluff into the equation a lot more
often. I don't expect everyone to agree with the range, but I the concept has worked for me.
I would also assert that this number is going to rise based on the stakes you play. Recalling
my long-ago days of 25NL, I would guess its much lower. I dont use the number without a
lot of hands or a solid read on a player, because at SSNL, most players tend to play their cards
based on the strength of their hand. Its pretty darn straightforward. Were trying to improve
our play against the strongest opponents and prepare our game for higher stakes.
Handling Min-Raises: They Don't Always Mean Sets
Heres a hand that I butchered like an overweight cow on Hamburger Day that indicates the
power of raising in position.
I was dealt A K and made my standard raise, one caller. He seemed solid, but I didn't
have much history with him.
Flop came A 7 6 . I led for $6, and he min-raised to $12. I called but feared a set
immediately. Turn was a total brick, the 2 , I checked, and he checked. River was the T , I
checked, he bet $30, and I called. He showed 9 8 for a straight.
The min-raise froze me on the flop. I was convinced he would only min-raise for value with a
set; instead I let him draw cheaply and I fell for the trap on the river.
I still tend to think that the majority, or at least the plurality, of flop min-raises indicate a set.
Even seemingly solid players and Ive seen plenty of 2p2ers do this min-raise their set on
the flop because they want to build a pot and get value, but they dont want to lose their
opponent. However, Ive come to find out that it can mean something else.
Many players know that a min-raise is regarded with dread because of what it represents, and
Ive run into plenty of players who use it to float or shut down their opponent. Ive run into
opponents who will min-raise a Cbet with top pair or an unimproved PP. Its amazing how
effective it can be against us, maligned as the min-raise is.
So heres how I handle it: Every time I see a player min-raise a flop Cbet, I will make note of
it. If that player shows his hand down, perfect. Its a bounty of information. But lets say I
raise A K in EP and get one caller, and the flop comes K 8 3 or even T 8 3 .
Ill make my Cbet, and if I get min-raised, Im coming over the top. If I lead for 6 and get
raised to 12, Im making it 35. My opponents action is then going to tell me a lot. If they
push I fold and make a note that I believe theyll min-raise sets. If they fold, I note that theyll
try to take away the pot with a min-bet and will back down to further aggression. Their best
play with a set is to call, cause that makes it very difficult for me on the turn, but thankfully
most opponents at SSNL wont just call there with a set. Theyll push.
Does it get expensive sometimes? Yes. But youll be surprised how often you can take the pot
and when you get pushed, its helpful to know how opponents play their monsters. Having a
note on what a min-raise means is one of the most helpful pieces of info you can have in this
game at this level.
A Default Line for Handling AA or KK vs. Resistance

Playing AA or KK against resistance when you are OOP can be dreadfully difficult harder
than a group of teen boys at a Scarlett Johannson photo shoot. One of 2p2s best posters,
Foxwoods Fiend, shared some of his thoughts on handling this spot and Ive built them into
my default line.
This is assuming the flop is at least somewhat innocuous. If Im raised with normal or deep
stacks, Ill call and lead the turn for 2/3 pot. If I get called I have to check the river, and a
call/fold will be reads-based. If I get raised again on the turn, Im gone. There are also times
when I will muck AA or KK on the flop to one raise, but of course thats dependent on the
read and opponent. I think folding to every raise when OOP is giving away too much value.
Conclusions
Being OOP bites like a vindictive girlfriend who finds out youve been cheating. Lots of
teeth. Not generally much fun, unless youre into that kind of thing. So do yourself a favor
and play the bulk of your hands in position.
But dont roll over dead just because you have to act first. Trust your reads. Use check/raises
occasionally. It just takes some adjustments to get your opponents off balance, and then
theyll be dreading playing any pots with you at all.