Playing Out Of Position

It is preferable to be in position instead of out of position in virtually any situation but a few hands, especially very strong hands, are still profitable when played out of position. Many more hands are not. Hands like 67s or even J10s are simply not profitable out of position. Being out of position means your opponent is going to have more information than you, they're going to be better able to control the action and they will be put in fewer tough spots than you will. Poker is very much a war for information, and the simple advantage of acting after someone on any given street provides a tremendous amount of information to them, information that can be used to dominate you. It is for these reasons that preflop you should much tighter out of position.

Drawing hands, like Axs and suited connectors are out. From very early position, where you will be out of position relative to virtually everyone you should play generally only pocket pairs and AK. This is not just because of your positional disadvantage, but also because there are still 9 other players any one of which could wake up with a big pair or AK, and if they do you don't want to be playing against them with AQ. The positional advantage also plays a factor in this decision.

One thing you need to remember about being out of position is draws become worth less. Draws, unless they are combo draws, are not really worth that much anyway but with the added disadvantage of being out of position they are worth even less. If you are having a close decision between calling and folding check if you are out of position; if you are, fold. When you hit a draw it will be difficult to get paid off. If you try to check raise they can easily check behind and if you bet out large it will be obvious that you hit.

A big advantage of being out of position is the ability to check raise. Against very aggressive players this can an excellent way to gain some chips, and if done correctly you may trap a few weaker players as well.