PokerRelative and Absolute Position
At this stage nearly all poker players are aware of position. There are many players who simply cannot let the button go by without raising from it! However there is a more advanced concept of Relative Position that is less commonly understood.
Relative position exists as a concept, because of the tendency of pre-flop callers, to check to pre-flop raisers. That means that their checks do not signify the same weakness that a normal check does. Because of this a player in good absolute position to the pre-flop raiser can easily find themselves trapped by someone, or indeed fold the best hand for fear that someone has a better one.
To make things clear, take this simple example hand.
Under-The-Gun (UTG) raises. A player folds, and the action is on you. A benefit to calling here is that you will have the advantage of position over the pre-flop raiser. You have a pair of nines and decide to flat call.
The Button also calls, the Small Blind (SB) folds and the Big Blind (BB) calls closing the action.
So, when the flop is dealt, which in this case is 47Tr, most of the time the BB is going to check to see what UTG does. In this case, UTG makes a large pot bet. You know this player, and you know he is likely to be bluffing here. However, you don’t only have him to fear, you have the button and the BB, both of which have effectively revealed nothing about their hand. You have no idea if they have a ten or a set, so you are forced to let the hand go.
But imagine you are the Big Blind. Despite your terrible absolute position, you actually get quite a lot of information on the flop before you have to act. You check, the pre-flop raiser will normally bet out. Now UTG and the Button both have to act before you. You will have the most information on this street before you act. Poker is a war of information, and the BB will win this battle most of the time! He can check his big hands and get other players to commit before check-raising, and he can also check his marginal hands, in readiness to fold if the action is too thick.
So what adjustments does this mean you should make? Be wary about cold calling someone’s raise when both of you are in early position. If you get multiple other callers, you will be in a bad relative position after the flop. In some cases you may prefer to re-raise rather than flat call. This will mean you will be much more likely to play the pot heads up, with you in position.
Also, when you are in one of the blinds and there has been a raise and multiple calls, be aware that by just calling you will enjoy good relative position after the flop. That doesn't mean you shouldn't attempt a squeeze, but it is a reason not to. Especially with hands that player well multi-way, like QJs or 88.
Another time to consider this concept is to take it into account when you are the pre-flop raiser. When deciding to continuation bet, you need to be aware that checks made by players in early position do not necessarily signify weakness. But also take note that if you bet you put an enormous amount of pressure on the player to your immediate left by betting out if there are players who haven’t acted, and players to your left who have simply checked to the pre-flop raiser.
The most important adjustment you can make, however, is to be aware of the concept and consider it before deciding on a course of action pre-flop.
Glossary
t (as in 47T) = ten
r (as in 47Tr) = rainbow (no matching suits)
s (as in QJs) = suited