Advanced Tips  

By Roy Rounder
There you sit... just to the left of the big blind.

This means you are going to be the FIRST to act before the flop.
You can't figure out if this is a position that you LOVE... or one that you HATE...
It's really the position you love to hate...

Here's why:

Let's say you're dealt a QJ offsuit. You're one of those players who loves just about any combination of cards... So of course, this QJ is looking very good right now.You decide to call the big blind of $2.Drew is next to act. He makes it $10 to play and one other player calls his bet. The action is back to you and your QJ. You think, what's $8 more, and call the bet.
The flop hits Q,7,4 and you're first to act. Now what do you do? You've just hit the top pair on the board but are afraid to bet because you have to put Drew on a strong hand with his pre-flop raise.
He could be sitting on pocket Q's, K's, A's, KQ or AQ...All of which beat your hand.
You decide to check and see what Drew is going to do. He fires out a $20 bet... just as you thought he would.
Josh folds and the action is back to you. You're already in for $10 so you decide to see the turn card... which is a 9.

You see where this story is going? You end up becoming pot committed and bet your stack only to see Drew throw over AQ.
this is exactly how the first position before the flop can get you in trouble. If you play mediocre hands you are going to get burnt.

Now, let's look at the time when you will LOVE the first position.

Here's the scenario:
You're dealt pocket aces and are first to act. Instead of firing out a raise you simply call the big blind. You're
at a rather aggressive table and know that one of the seven other players will raise.

Just as you thought, Drew makes it $15 to play. Three other players call the bet and the action is back to you.
You go over the top and make it $60 to play. Drew is a manic and can't stand to be raised. So he pushes his entire stack into the middle with AJ... and you take all his chips.
You made the money in this situation because you played your positioning to your advantage...

You decided to limp in instead of raising. You did this because you wanted to let your opponents create
the action before you made your attack.

While Drew was raising and the others were calling, they had completely forgot about you, which is EXACTLY what you wanted.

Playing the first position can be frustrating at times. You simply have
to know what type of table you are at and which hands to play...

Once you master this position in Texas Hold 'Em poker, you will own a MAJOR competitive edge against your opponents and friends...