Betting out of position

Marcus Bateman / Marcus Bateman / 10 September 2008 / Leave a comment

This play has become increasingly popular in recent years, mainly due to the fact that some of the most popular professionals (in particular Gus Hansen), have started to use this move on a regular basis.

It has a few key advantages - firstly, it can often take the momentum away from your opponent (particularly when they have raised pre flop and you bet out into them on the flop) and force them into tricky spots if their hand has misses. Secondly, it can often prompt a raise from your opponent as the try to regain the dominance in the hand - always nice when you have flopped a set or other big hand. Finally, it adds an extra level of aggression and unpredictability to your game, which is always useful.

Despite these advantages, it also has some major drawbacks. As it has become so popular recently, most skilled players will not take these bets very seriously (particularly if they are very small in size) and you will often be facing a re-raise. These bets are also easily called by a skilled opponent, hoping to put you to the test later using the poker sledgehammer that is position. The basic problem with betting out of position is that you will often be building a large pot, against an opponent who has indicated strength, all while out of position - never good in any form of poker.

Here the reason that the top pros have incorporated this into their game becomes clear. If you have the people, board and hand reading skills of Gus Hansen, betting out of position is an extra way to maximise your profits against weak players. If, however, you do not have these skills, then betting out of position regularly could well be costing you a great deal of money.

In the obvious situations, such as calling a raise with a small pair, flopping a set on an ace or king high board, then leading into the pre flop raiser will often get all the money in and win you a big pot. In these spots betting out of position is usually the best play. After all, surely you would check raise or check call with a set? - Thinking like this seems to be most players' logic in these spots. If you have just called pre flop with a suited connector, flopped a mid pair with a bad kicker, then betting out may well not be the right play - you could well just be throwing money away.

Think about the situation closely before you lead out - it may be that a different move is much more appropriate in that particular spot.