Playing Pots Out Of Position

You have a number of options when playing out of position and these are the optimal strategies...

By Philip Tuck 20 September 2007

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To really extract maximum value out of the hands that you play mastering playing them out of position is critical. It could be argued that the only difference between good players and very good players is how they play hands out of position.

The basic problem with being out of position is that opponents can see what action you take (check or bet) before they make their decision - giving them a significant advantage in choosing their own action. However, there are ways that this advantage can be significantly reduced. This article will attempt to outline strategies that will greatly reduce positional advantage.

The most important factor in playing out of position is to understand the player type you are up against. A tactic that will work well against a habitual bluffer will get you in a lot of trouble against a calling station and vice versa.

Outlined below are the key plays that can be made out of position, together with the situations/player type they are appropriate for.

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Betting out of position

Betting out of position has one big advantage and one big disadvantage. The advantage is that by being the first player to bet you will sometimes take the pot down uncontested (often your opponent will have nothing). The disadvantage is that if your opponent calls or raises this bet you will be in an extremely difficult position for the rest of the hand (playing big pots out of position is both hard on the mind and hard on the wallet).

Betting out of position has become increasingly popular in recent years - the hyper aggressive playing style of players like Gus Hansen and Phil Ivey seems to have made many up and coming players adopt this move.

What many of these players do not seem to understand is that for an out of position bet to be effective it has to be a decent sized bet - leading with a small bet is only occasionally a good play. When playing out of position bet sizes have to be larger to try and negate position. It is much harder to utilise position when a lot of money is going in the pot (playing big pots without a hand in any position is hard on the mind and very hard on the wallet).

For this play to be successful the bet has to be large enough to stop your opponent from: a) re-raising you with a weak hand and forcing you to fold; or b) being priced into a draw - Being in position makes playing draws much easier; you can bluff the turn or river if your opponent shows weakness, or you can take a free card if checked to. The bets that you make while out of position have to be increased to cope with these factors.

I would suggest betting around the pot size if making this play - this is large enough to accomplish all these goals while also being small enough to not overly commit you to the pot. I particularly like betting out of position on flops that probably do not hit my opponent. Say you call a button raise from the big blind with 5c-6c and the flop comes 8s-6h-2h. This is a good opportunity to bet out and see where you are (at worst you probably have at least five outs to two pair or trips if called). This play is also good with big hands like sets or big draws against habitual bluffers - it seems to entice them into raising your bet and building a massive pot early in the hand.

The check raise

This is a much more dangerous play than simply betting out, for the simple reason that your opponent can check behind and take a free card (imagine your disgust when you flop a set and check, intending to check-raise, and your opponent checks behind you and fills their inside straight draw). This play does have its uses though - it enables you to gain extra bets against loose players and habitual bluffers.

In no limit and pot limit games it is of particular use against players that always continuation bet the flop. With any hand worth playing on the flop (top pair upwards) it is worth trying to check-raise these types of players to gain the extra bets – this play also protects your hand by pricing out draws.

In limit games it is a great play on the turn and river when trying to extract the maximum from a big hand (as the bet size is doubled you are desperate to get at least one of these big bets from your opponent). It is worth remembering that if your opponent does bet on the turn they are getting great odds to call both the check-raise and a bet on the river - often gaining you three extra bets.

This play is also a great bluff against other good players. It represents such strength it is very difficult for your opponent to continue without a big hand. The problem with this play is that if your opponent is holding a big hand then the check-raise is just a very expensive bluff - costing you three or four times what a simple bet out of position would have cost. It is also worth noting that at lower stakes players seem to frequently call the check-raise but then fold to a turn bet - don’t be afraid to fire twice if you are bluffing.

Check calling or "floating"

This is by far the most dangerous of all your options if out of position. Although I believe it can be used effectively against certain players it is by far the weakest of all the possible plays. Check calling out of position usually indicates that a player is calling with a weak draw or with middle/bottom pair. Occasionally a player will be trying to set a trap with a set or flopped straight/flush - although this is much less frequent.

This play is worth doing in games with great IMPLIED ODDS. Check calling a normal-sized flop bet when playing deep stacked (both players have lots of chips) no limit against bad players is often worth it with any flopped pair (five outs to two pair or trips), an inside straight draw (four outs), or a pair in your hand below the highest card on the board (two outs and the possibility of the pair holding up by itself). The pay-off if you do hit your hand will often be so great that calling the flop bet is just about profitable.

This play is also occasionally worth doing against good astute players (it mixes up your betting patterns if nothing else) who will often read your call as a sign of strength. Betting out on the turn or river is paramount for this play to work if bluffing or holding a powerful hand (much of the time your opponent will fire once then be content to check the hand down).

Always remember that this is a very dangerous play that gives you little information about your opponent’s hand, while revealing much about your own. It should really be reserved only for big holdings against habitual three street bluffers (a check-raise may scare them away from betting every street) or when holding marginal hands in very weak games.

Playing out of position regularly is extremely difficult. A combination of experience and fearlessness is paramount. If mastered it will reap massive dividends over the long run - being able to win more and lose less than your opponents when playing out of position is simply a huge advantage.

25/02/08

Gus Hansen is a master of playing pots out of position