Positionin No Limit Hold’em tournaments refers to where you are in the betting order. One of the most common mistakes made playing No Limit Hold’em is playing pots out of position. It is easy for a beginner to think that position doesn’t matter much. After all, you can make the best hand at any time. Plus, since the betting is No Limit, you can double up or win your opponent’s stack at any time, right? Even more advanced players will overestimate their abilities to outplay their opponents and thus play too many hands out of position.

Let’s look at some of the common mistakes that are made by playing out of position and the disadvantages they lead to. Some of these mistakes may seem very basic; however, you will still see them being made all the time.

Mistake #1: Playing aces with bad kickers in early position

I see this happen all the time, usually from inexperienced players: raising non-premium, ace-high hands from under the gun or the first two positions. Even A-J is a bad open from the first three positions at a full nine-handed table. It simply doesn’t rate to be the best hand often enough to make it a value raise.

When you hit your ace, your hand is very hard to get value from. I see a lot of low-stakes players flatting A-Q to a raise and there are a lot of passive players who will make this play with A-K. When you get action on an ace-high flop, most of the time you will be value betting into a better hand, be out-kicked, or be up against two pair or better.

Mistake #2: Defending in the blinds too widely against a button raise

It’s very common to see people defending the blinds too widely. Since you already have money invested in the pot, your odds to call are improved. However, your odds are more dictated by what’s in your and your opponents’ stacks rather than what is in the pot.

When playing out of position, you are much more likely to lose big pots and win small ones. Therefore, defending with a hand like 8-6 suited can lead to trouble, whereas raising with 8-6 suited on the button is usually a fine play. A hand like 8-6 makes a pair as often as any other non-paired hand does, but often it won’t make top pair. When 8-6 does make top pair, it is very vulnerable to overcards coming on the turn and river.

Leading out on the flop can help define your hand, but it leaves you very susceptible to raises that could be value or bluffs. The player in position has the option of just calling your lead with two overcards looking to reevaluate on the turn, which can very often be a scare card, allowing them to bluff you off the best hand or at least put you in a difficult spot to call.

I recommend sticking with decent high card Broadway-type hands. I am looking to flop a draw with a pair or a big draw and then check-raise the flop. Avoid playing small cards unless you are very comfortable with board-reading.

Mistake #3: Defending against 3bets out of position

Let’s say you are dealt 7-7 in the cutoff with 35 big blinds and raise to two times the big blind. You’re then re-raised by the player on the button to 5.5 times the big blind. It is a very serious mistake to call and fold the flop if you don’t hit your set every time. You’re going to have to try to outplay your opponent, but being out of position, this is much easier said than done.

The best course of action is to fold and wait for a better spot or 4bet to induce if you think your opponent’s shoving range will include a few pairs under 7-7 and non-paired hands like Q-J or K-J. Simply put, I think in a spot like this, you need to decide if your opponent is tight and just fold the hand or loose and aggressive enough to gamble with.

Simply put, playing out of position maximizes your loses and minimizes your profits. Staying away from trouble spots without premium hands is a good way to keep your decisions easy and your expected value positive.

Walter JLizardWright is a six-time PocketFives Triple Crown winner and a site instructor at PocketFives Training. If you are interested in lessons, please contact him via PocketFives PM or at JLizardTraining@gmail.com.