If you had to learn just one thing to improve your poker today, it would be this: position. It's not a play or a hand, it's when it's your turn to act — and it decides more hands than you think.
What “being in position” means
You're in position (IP, in position) when you act after your opponent on every betting round. You're out of position (OOP, out of position) when you have to act first. Whoever acts last has a huge advantage: they see what the other player does before deciding.
Postflop action runs from the small blind toward the button, so:
- •The button is the best seat at the table: it acts last on the flop, turn and river in almost every hand.
- •The blinds are the worst: they put money in blind and then play the whole hand acting first.
Why position is worth so much money
- •More information: you see whether your opponent bets, checks or hesitates before deciding. Free information every round.
- •Pot control: in position you decide whether the pot grows (you bet) or stays small (you check behind).
- •More profitable bluffs: when your opponent shows weakness by checking, you bet and take pots you couldn't win out of position.
💡 That's why good players open many more hands from the button than from early positions. It's not that they have better cards: it's that position turns mediocre hands into profitable ones.
How to use position starting now
- •Play more hands when you're on or near the button; much tighter from early positions.
- •Out of position, keep it simple: bet your strong hands and fold your marginal ones more often.
- •In position, use your opponent's check as a signal: their weakness is your chance to bet.
Position is the first filter of every preflop decision. EVolve's RFI (Raise First In) drill trains you to open the correct range for your position, hand by hand.
🎯 Practice your range by position→