Position

What is Value of Position?

Being 'in position' means you act last — you see what your opponent does before deciding. This is a major advantage: you can check back to see free cards, or bet when you have information about their hand.

Why it matters

Position advantage translates directly to EV. With symmetric ranges, the IP player captures ~55% of the pot vs OOP's ~45%.

This 5-10% EV advantage comes from: (1) Free cards: IP can check back and see the next street. (2) Information advantage: IP acts after OOP reveals their hand strength.

(3) Equity realization: IP over-realizes equity at ~110% vs OOP at ~90%.

Nuance and caveats

The value of position compounds across multiple streets and deeper stacks. At SPR 10+, position becomes even more valuable because more streets remain and the information gathered per street accumulates.

OOP players counteract positional disadvantage by: (1) Preferring larger bet sizes to reduce SPR faster. (2) Not splitting their range into multiple bet sizes (avoids information leaks).

(3) Check-raising more frequently to shift initiative. (4) Choosing spots with lower SPR to minimize positional disadvantage.

Key takeaway

IP realizes ~10% more equity than OOP with symmetric ranges.