Top 10 WSOP Mistakes That Even Good Players Make

WSOP Deep Stack Mistake #3: Playing Too Many Hands Out of Position

In hold ‘em, position is an advantage that compounds at every decision point. In other words, the player with position can push his advantage on the flop because he knows he will also have position on the river, enabling him to make better decisions when the bets are biggest. Position is still important when stacks are shallow enough for players to get all in on the flop, but it is less important than it is when there will be four or more opportunities for a player to push that advantage.

No matter how much of a skill edge you have over your opponents, it is very difficult to realize that edge from out of position. Bluffing is harder, figuring out where you stand with marginal hands is harder, and even getting paid off when you make a monster is harder. If you do choose to play speculative hands like suited connectors from early position, it should be primarily for deception rather than for the intrinsic value of playing those hands from that position. Hands like AJo, which primarily make marginal one pair hands when they hit the flop at all, are also relatively worthless in early position.

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