1st to act, or position

[T_B_H]

we all see many posts articles about position

but a well known fact of poker is 1st to bet often takes the pot

so limping in early is dangerious, but on a calling station table it could be benififical at times, its easy to fold to a re-raise

however, having position and seeing the action 1st is a great place to be, ur hand range is normally higher and at times u can flop 2pair with crap (ie 58 etc)

so just wondered how people thought about it, would u rather be 1st to act after a flop, say u hit middle pair with a poor kicker; is realy only 1 to find out where you are, i:e an information bet, but ur called, has the caller top pair? same pair better or worse kicker?, maybe on a draw ???

ur putting urself in a bad position, sometimes you can bet and take a pot, more often tho you will be drawn in, reraised then u have to make a critical decision to call or not

[DukeOfDeath]

like when you have 72 in the blinds and hit trips on the flop? sounds familiar.

I feel like someone started a thread about this relatively recently. I think having position matters more and more at tougher tables. Though there are advantages to being first to act, I'll still take having position any day

[T_B_H]

i agree, but will say it depends on the opersition

have folded hands early position and kicked my self( i bet we all have)

in real poker not usually more than 2 or 3 hands see a flop, free play well can be 8.

personally i think position means less in free/low stake poker than big money

[telboy]

position for me,you can see the play unfold and have a better chance to steal.
utg or 1 2 3 on a 10 seater table always brings probs to me when i have prem hands,flat call and loads of callers and your hand is under pressure small raise much the same,big raise and all folds no pay day.
think there is room for both depends whos at the table.

[OP66fozzy]

Personally, I don't mind where I am playing from, but I am more concerned about my position relative to the stronger players on the table.

It's rare to be sat at a 6 seater where all 5 other players are strong, so I want to be sat directly to the right of the player I consider strongest at the table, so I have position over them most of the time.

[teebs]

Much rather have position...although as you've stated, in the free or daily tournies, it seems to be irrelevant to most people.

The spots where I do like to be 1st to act though, is when holding a small or medium pocket pair. Flop a set and do a weakish lead in the hopes of getting raised...or even a good old check raise.

Aside from that, despise being 1st to act!

[theguvnor]

if i act first, my wife will always get into position