Meaning of positions in Texas Hold’em
One of the most significant factors in Texas Hold’em is position at the table. Amateur players are so focused on the cards they have just received that they forget about where the distinctive marker with „D” letter (dealer) is. And this is the person who determines how to behave in bidding.
Dealer is the best position at the table, so after every deal this function is transferred to another player in a clockwise direction. This position is privileged for one simple reason: the dealer is the last to act. The exception is bidding before the flop, where the dealer’s move is followed by the players from the position of the small and big blind. When the flop is arranged by the dealer until the last bidding, it is the dealer who takes the last decision. It allows him to assess behavior of every single player and better estimate its own strengths. When the dealer cannot see stronger raises, its high contribution is likely to scare other players. Usually when the person being the dealer folds before the flop, the privilege is transferred into the first person on the right hand side.
Certainly this rule works the other way round too: the worst position in the deal is the first place on the left from the dealer (small blind). While you can use actions before the flop to see declarations of all persons aside from the big blind (follows you), when the flop is here, you have to act first, without any knowledge of who benefited and how benefited from the flop in building a strong hand.
As you can easily deduce, the position at the table in a specific deal should considerably determine the selection of cards you decide to use. The general rule is: the closer the dealer on the right side, the narrower the criteria for selecting cards to play with. In turn the position of the dealer allows a broader range of hands, starting from high and medium pairs through all Ax (aces with lower card), ending up with middle suited connectors (such cards as 6-7 in one suit – the hand which raises likelihood of having a straight or flush).
