There's a board game that originated from the Philippines called Game of the Generals. Only two players can play the game and the winner is usually the one who has the better strategy when it comes to positioning key players of the game.

The flag is the most vulnerable and must therefore be protected at all costs. The spy is the highest ranking official in the game and can ironically be defeated by the lowest ranking officer, the private. It depends on where you position all your players in order for you to win the game.

It's almost exactly the same process when it comes to winning a game of poker.

Positioning is a very important aspect of poker and unfortunately, it's also an aspect that most new poker players tend to overlook. First time poker players tend to believe, you see, that everything depends on their cards alone. I assure you that it's not. In poker, everything matters and expert poker players are aware of this. That's why for them, positioning is quite an important factor because a good position in a game of poker, especially when it's something like the Texas Hold'Em version, can give you an advantage over your fellow players.

The Starting Positions

It's always difficult to be in one of the starting positions because you're ultimately forced to reveal your hand in the first few rounds without having any idea on what types of hands your opponents are holding. The key to surviving the next few rounds is gauging what type of opponents you're facing and see if it's possible to bluff your way through. It's also a good sign if you're facing a few opponents and you're holding large suited cards in your hands.

The Middle Position

This may not be the best position to have in poker but it's certainly a shade better than having an early position in the game. With the middle position, you have better chances of calculating the odds of winning and being able to get the cards you need. If you've been given a slot in the middle position, simply try your best to hang on and do stick with small suited cards.

The Last or Late Position

Alas, this is the best position that you can have when playing poker, especially when there are around ten players or so which is often the case in Texas Hold'Em Poker. If you're still not that good in playing poker, being in the last position will then give you the upper hand. As others before you will reveal their cards first, use this to your advantage and just calculate the odds as best as you can.

About the author:

John Grant is a long time Poker Player that has now devoted his time to write and educate about poker on his online">http://www.poker-room-holdem.com">online poker room site, which also has an active online poker forum.