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What is the Best Position Play in Texas Holdem? From every position in Texas Holdem you have to play a different game. The Small Blind is immediately to the left of the dealer. In this position, if you play at all, you usually have to be content to check a lot. It is the worst position to be in since you have to act first. You will have no information on how the other players are going to bet. With an absolute terrific hand it is a good spot to slow play the rest of the table. By terrific hand I mean the nut straight or nut flush. The Big Blind is two seats to the left of the dealer. A lot of people will play the big Blind on the theory that they have one big bet already invested in he pot. That is false and can cost you money. Divide the amount of the Big Blind by the number of poker players at the table. That is the amount it costs you to play every hand. Don't be one of those people who feel that they have to defend the blinds. It simply is not worth it in the long run. When you play from the blinds it is best to be overly cautious. Texas Holdem is about money. Not losing is almost as good as winning. Middle Position In Texas Holdem Poker is the point that you can afford to take a few chances. Not many but a few. There will be times that you will decide before the cards are dealt that it is time for you to bluff. Be ready to back off quick if some one comes back at you strong. If you have a hard time bluffing because you give yourself away with a tell then try playing online. The other players can't see your shaky hands or the blink in your eye. Late position is the three seats to the right of the dealer. The third seat to the right is on a little thin ice from time to time. This is the position that you have to be ready to use all of your poker skills to keep you out of trouble. The other two seats to the right of the dealer can make you lots of money if you have the cards. Without good cards or the ability to convince everybody that you have the best cards you may as well be sitting in the gallery. The two seats to the right of the dealer are perhaps the best in the game, outside the dealer position. These two seats allow you to see what most of the other players are doing before you have to act. They also allow you to sit tight, not looking at your cards, and reading the facial expressions of the other poker players. Dealer Position - Or The Button is the best of all. You get to see what everybody at the table is going to do, call,fold, reaise, or drop before you have to act. Texas Holdem Poker is all about power, either perceived or real. The dealer position is the position of power. It is invaluable to be able to read all the faces at the table before you have to act. The few minutes of time that it takes for them to make up their minds is very valuable to you. Watch the faces as they pick up their cards, concentrate on the eyes, they truly are windows to the soul. Mark off in your mind which players will drop if you raise. And since Texas Holdem is a game of bluff, which players will drop on a bluff. Now of the few remaining holdem players. Which ones do you respect? Are they tight aggresive players who have a resonable size chip stack. Do you play poker as well as they do? Be honest. Lying to yourself will cost money. Take a look at your cards now and throw the Jack/Four off suit into the muck pile. Damn. Foiled again by Honest Sam. The raise in late position confuses the enemy. They might deduce that the raise in late position is done just because you are in late position. But they will not know. They may suspect that you are raising just to eliminate players but they will not be certain. If the players on the big and small blinds are the type to defend them at all costs you will still have position on them throughout the hand. If you use this strategy there will come a point when even the dullest player catches on that you always raise the pot when you are on the button even if you only have a mediocre hand. They will begin to call you. Without twitching a muscle in your face you sigh and say to yourself, "Ahhh, let the money roll." You say this because you are not always going to have a hand just to draw to. From time to time you are going to have very good cards. Good enough to beat the board. It is with these hands that you recoup all of those hopeful raises and make lots of money. Conversely there are going to be times when someone limps in with a call in early position just waiting for your raise so that he can reraise. If you have suited and connected cards. Call the reraise and fold after the flop if you miss. Most especially if you have some thing like Jack of Diamonds and Ten of Diamonds. It is unlikely that your opponent if going to raise with a hand lower than a Queen.  Playing on line can sort of distort the picture for you. For one thing it makes position on the table to seem to be more of a minor thing than it really is. The play moves way to fast at times and they give you buttons to click so that you can automatically call or raise a bet. It is of course to their advantage to move the game along as fast as they can. They make their money on the pot rake. Notice when you play on line that the dealer has a slot next to his right hand. The money that accumulates there is the pot rake. Of course, in a play money game it does not cost you anything to play. In a game played for real money it is a factor and should be taken into account. The fewer hands that you play. The less you pay.