Every Holdem strategy guide talks about the importance of positional advantage. The standard thinking is that the player who acts last has more information than his opponents, so he will have a better sense of where he stands in a hand and can, therefore, make better decisions. There is no doubt that this is true, but it is important to understand that the power that comes with position is often granted to the late-position player by the early-position player.

I will give an example, consider a pretty typical No-Limit holdem hand. Say that I am in the big blind with 7s-8s - a nice, flop-worthy hand. The player on the button raises to three times the big blind and I decide to call. Many players would check the flop under almost any circumstances. But, by checking, you give control to the late-position player. He can bet whether or not he has a hand, putting you in a tough spot if you do not get a piece of the flop.

In a hand like this, I believe it is best to look at the flop and ask "Is it likely that these cards helped my opponent?" Once I have an answer to that question, I can decide how to proceed.

If the flop is Ah-Kd-9c, I would probably just check and fold to a bet, as my opponent was likely raising with big cards and caught a piece of the flop. However, if the flop is 9c-5h-2d, I would probably be more skeptical. I know that in Holdem, two unpaired hole cards will fail to make a pair on the flop about 66% of the time, and this seems to be a flop that the pre-flop raiser might have missed.

If I suspect my opponent did not connect, I am going to take the initiative and bet out about half the size of the pot. Betting here with my gutshot draw offers several advantages. First, I might take the pot down right here, and I am always happy when a semi-bluff forces a fold. But even if I get a call from my opponent, I have forced him to react. That gives me a chance to pick up a read. If my opponent seems uneasy, I might continue with my semi-bluff on the turn and try again to pick up the pot. Or, if I feel my opponent is strong, I can check and fold to any bet on the turn if I fail to make my hand.

Stabbing at pots when out of position can be very lucrative. In tournaments, I will open-raise out of position fairly frequently because I think there is a lot of power in being the first one to fire at the pot on the flop. I pick up a lot of small pots that way.

As you work on your Holdem game, remember that you do nott have to give the advantage in the hand to the player in late position. Look for opportunities to bet out and seize the initiative.