In this article I am going to delve into where the money comes from in poker and it is not always from where you think it is. There are very important reasons why you need to be alert to just who is sitting in the two seats to your immediate left and also the two seats to your immediate right. Let me tell you something very important about one of the mechanics of poker, the money on average will flow in a clockwise direction.

This is a fact that is well understood by professionals and is a fact that underlines just how important position is in poker. You win money on average from the players on your right because you have position on them but you lose it to the players on your left because it is they that have position over you.

Note that I said “on average” because for every rule, there are exceptions. If you have position on a world class player then don’t expect to take him to the cleaners just because you have position. Position is so important in online poker and especially in a game like No Limit that a positional advantage can compensate for having a weak hand but having a strong hand cannot always compensate for having weak position. On the flip side, if the player to your left is very weak and passive then them having position over you would not have the same effect….like I said, on average.

So in an ideal world, let us say that you had the low down on all of your opponents on the table and that you could pick and choose where on the table to sit, what would be the optimum seat. You must understand that in poker, not all of the seats are the same and the quicker you realise this the better. Obviously in an online poker game then you cannot always pick and choose where you sit so please bear with me here.

If you knew for a candid fact that there were two professionals or very good players on the table then the last place that you would want them to be is on your left. Not only are they top players but they are top players that have position on you and KNOW how to exploit it as well. You want that edge negated so this means that you want these players on your right where their playing power is blunted to you.

If you could pick and choose then you would want weak and tight players on your left. Just the type of player that would not make the most of their positional advantage. Some seats can be so bad in a poker game that the best course of action could be to get up and go and find another game. In an ideal world of course you would like dummies in every seat on your table but life is not like that.

You cannot take a walk just because you have notes on a couple of players on your table and they happen to be good. As you move up through the limits providing that you do that is, then you will encounter games with players who know what time of day it is. It is important that you are aware of who they are and also where they are sat. Your earn rate in poker is dependent on many things but seat placement is a little understood concept and few players take it on board at all.

Carl “The Dean” Sampson

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