Positional Advantage
May 22nd, 2024 Newsletter
Cold Deck Quote:
"Baseball is like a poker game. Nobody wants to quit when he is losing; nobody wants you to quit when you are ahead." - Jackie Robinson
What in the Word...?
...Positions
Chart of the positions and their respective nicknames.
We all, hopefully, know the power and importance of playing from position. Our position, and that of our opponent, dictates our range, bet sizing, and polarization opportunity.
However, today we are going to go over the names of the positions themselves. By knowing these names (or nicknames), you will have a lot easier time talking hands with friends or coaches and you will understand the conversations around the table better as well.
In fact, most RFI (Raise First In) charts use these monikers as well so it is best to just learn them and lock them in that mind of yours.
Hopefully the Button (BTN), Small Blind (SB), and Big blind (BB), are self explanatory. Lets follow the action clockwise from the Big Blind.
Lets start at the player in the first position that acts first after the Big Blind. This player is the "Under the Gun" (UTG) player. This is easy to remember because they have to act first after the last of the hole card is dealt. Moving clockwise, we have the UTG+1 and the UTG+2. Hopefully these are evident.
The next player is in the Low Jack (LJ) followed by the Hi Jack (HJ). The player between the HJ and the BTN is the Cutoff (CO). I used to remember this term by thinking of this player as raising and "cutting off" the BTN from raising.
Keep in mind that these names are for the 9 players at the table. If you are short handed, simply eliminate the utg+2, then the UTG+1, then the UTG. Followed by the LJ, HJ, and CO.
Hopefully these terms ring a bell. If not consult a number of online sources including this weeks "Coach's Corner" that can bring clarity. The main thing is that you know what position is where and how these positions affect your "Expected Value" (EV). Well that's a term for another edition I suppose....
Want some skin in the game at the WSOP?
I will be fulfilling my WSOP prize pool obligation by playing in event #68. It is a $2500 No limit holdem event in which I hope to make the club proud. This will line up well with the Super Seniors tournament that our very own Joe Schwenk (and some other Galveston players) will be playing as well as the Ladies Championship which Adrienne Culpepper will be knocking over.
I had mentioned a while ago that I would give our players an opportunity to buy a piece of me at no markup. To keep this simple, I would sell 1% pieces of myself in this tournament for $25 each. This means if you buy a piece, you will get 1% of my total prize for this tournament.
Only 15% or so make the money in a typical tournament so it is obviously a risk. Add to that these players in the $2500 are quite good to the point that I believe my edge is hovering around zero over the field at large. In short, I'm not sure if I am good money in this particular tournament so buyer beware!
I don't need the money per se and am not trying to raise funds. I just thought it may be fun for some of you. If so, send me the $25 via Venmo and lets roll! I am limiting each person to the 1% and only to Tuesday Freezeout players. I am not soliciting action on any of my other tournaments out there but if you're interested, let me know and we can discuss.
This week's Tip of the Cap goes to.... Andrew Schultz for recruiting 2 new players to our game. Keep up the good work Andrew and all of you!
Zoom with Joe! Joe hosts a free zoom meetup during our Tuesday Freezeout games. Give it a try if that sounds like fun.
The ZOOM password is 432777
2025 Points Leaders
- Michael Culpepper 4
- Ryan Conner 4
- Carlos Price 4
- Noel Spencer 3
- Michael Niebuhr 3
- Garrett Thurston 3
Recent Results
- May 14th, 2024
- 1st - Ryan C
- 2nd - Michael Niebuhr
- 3rd - Steve U.
- 4th - Brian G
- May 21st, 2024
- 1st - Carlos P.
- 2nd - Garrett T.
- 3rd - Steven H.
- 4th - Andrew S.
Coach's Corner
Today's corner is specifically to drive home some of the concepts of what it means and why it is important to play attention to your position.
Hopefully this reinforces the terms and gives you some idea of why they are important.
Level: Beginner
2025 Points Leaders
- Michael Culpepper 4
- Ryan Conner 4
- Carlos Price 4
- Noel Spencer 3
- Michael Niebuhr 3
- Garrett Thurston 3
Recent Tuesday Freezeout Results
- May 14th, 2024
- 1st - Ryan C
- 2nd - Michael Niebuhr
- 3rd - Steve U.
- 4th - Brian G
- May 21st, 2024
- 1st - Carlos P.
- 2nd - Garrett T.
- 3rd - Steven H.
- 4th - Andrew S.
Coach's Corner
Today's corner is specifically to drive home some of the concepts of what it means and why it is important to play attention to your position.
Hopefully this reinforces the terms and gives you some idea of why they are important.
Level: Beginner
Venmo Addresses
Michael Culpepper - @Michael-Culpepper-14
Joe Schwenk - @Joseph-Schwenk
Jonathan Ayala - @Jonathan-Ayala-55
Have any questions or feedback for this newsletter? If so, please email me
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