OOP is the term used for ‘Out of Position’. Poker strategy says that you should play most of your hands in late position because you get to see what action players still in the hand make against you before making your decision how to proceed in the hand. In late position you have more information than if you acted first, so you have a better chance of making the right decision. Unfortunately you cannot play exclusively from late position as you will be dealt good hands in early positions sometimes that it would be wrong to fold. So how do you play out of position?
Particularly when playing internet poker you will see early position action all of the time in cash games and tournaments. Against good players who are aggressive choosing your seat carefully is important. You will get to know who your regular opponents are at each level of cash game and you should aim to sit to their left. This gives you a positional advantage on them so in hands where they raise you are acting after them apart from when you are in the blinds.
Although I mentioned there would be occasions where you are dealt good hands in early position your range should be pretty tight here. Your table will either be aggressive or tight and if it is tight I would play only AA, KK, AK and QQ from this position. JJ is a possibility but do not proceed after the flop if called especially when facing overcards. I usually check with JJ and QQ no matter what board comes up to keep the pot small. This allows me to call and see the turn relatively cheaply. With one card to come I have a reasonable idea whether I may be ahead and a bet on the turn will either win the pot or induce the value raise from my opponent. As you can see the lower the pocket pair in early position the tougher the decisions become.
Missing the flop and being forced to act first puts you in a difficult situation. As I mentioned above, you should make the continuation bet more often than not. If you are concerned about making this bet then remember this is why being prudent about playing from early position is recommended, it is not ideal. Against dry flops you may consider a flop and turn bet to win the pot as it is likely your opponent missed also and may consider a continuation worth calling to take you off the pot later in the hand. If you are called to the river, check and see what happens although you may be forced to fold to a river bet. If your opponent called you down with nothing, that is too good but remember he may call light when you do have a hand.
Holding AA or KK pre-flop is hard to play. You will find it difficult to fold on the flop if you are raised but most strategy articles I read advocate folding if you have been raised on the flop and are then raised on the turn. The second raise indicates a hand higher than an overpair to the board. These hands are tough to play because they are strong; remember in cash games these hands are known to win small pots and lose large ones.
Because you do not have your opponents action to guide you out of position good reads are essential. There is not one strategy that works every time playing out of position but the more you know about the opponent the better. Proceed with caution and try and play most of your hands in position and when you play hands OOP remember to play it cool and use your reads.
By Malcolm Clarke
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