Vietnamese poker players - Scotty Nguyen

Thuận B. "Scotty" Nguyễn (born October 28, 1962 in Nha Trang, Vietnam) is a Vietnamese American professional poker player who is a five time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner, most notably as the winner of the 1998 World Series of Poker Main Eventand the 2008 WSOP $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. World Championship. This win also made him the first and currently only player to win both the WSOP Main Event and $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. events. He also stated that the only type of World Series of Poker event he has yet to win is 2-7 lowball. Nguyen is one of the most active players in professional poker today, and from 2000 to 2004 he finished in the money in more than 100 events.

Early life
Scotty Nguyen was born in Vietnam and came to America at the age of fourteen. He was expelled from school for spending too much time in underground poker games. Nguyen attended dealer school at the age of 21 and was employed at Harrah’s poker room. There he made about $150 a night and lost most of it playing $3–$6 stud. He described himself as a "fish" but wanted to gamble regardless.

His luck changed in 1985 when he was invited to Lake Tahoe to deal in a no-limit Hold’em tournament. He dealt all day and played cash games all night with the meager bankroll he brought with him. He built his bankroll to $7,000 and felt he was invincible. He returned to Las Vegas and gambled his bankroll up to $1,000,000. His name spread around Vegas and before he knew it he was playing poker with Johnny Chan, Puggy Pearson, and David Grey. He purchased a Chevrolet Camaro for $17,000, a Corvette for $21,000 and a condominium for $60,000 all in cash. He lived in Caesers palace and was winning $50,000 to $100,000 a night.

Bad habits plagued Nguyen as recreational use of marijuana, cocaine, and alcohol developed into full-scale addictions. After a bad losing streak he ended up going broke. Nguyen was sympathetically spared a room and $5,000 in cash.

Poker career

Nguyen had to rebuild his bankroll after losing his million. His next success came at the 1997 World Series of Poker where he won the $2,000 Omaha 8 or Better netting a profit of over $150,000. Unfortunately Nguyen blew this bankroll again and was completely broke shortly before the 1998 World Series of Poker. Nguyen had to play in a small satellite tournament which he did not even have enough money to buy into. Mike Matusow saw potential in Nguyen and decided to bankroll 1/3 of the buy in.

Nguyen is noted for playing with lots of emotion. He went on to win the 1998 World Series of Poker and split 1/3 of the winnings ($333,333) with Mike Matusow. On the final hand of the 1998 World Series of Poker's Main Event, a full house was dealt on the table (8♣ 9♦ 9♥ 8♥ 8♠). Nguyen made the memorable quote to his opponent Kevin McBride: "You call, it's gonna be all over baby!" McBride called, saying "I call. I play the board." Nguyen beat McBride with a better full house by holding 9♣ J♦. Nguyen's Main Event triumph in 1998 was followed immediately by tragedy—the very next day, one of his brothers was hit by a car back home in Vietnam, and killed. For this reason, Scotty does not wear his 1998 WSOP championship bracelet.

After making several World Poker Tour final tables, Nguyen eventually won a WPT event in January 2006, defeating Michael Mizrachi heads-up in the fourth season Gold Strike World Poker Open when his A♠ Q♠ made a flush against Mizrachi's A♣ J♦ on the very first hand of heads-up round. With this WPT victory, Scotty became one of only 5 people to win both the main event of the World Series of Poker and a World Poker Tour title. Nguyen earned a second place finish at the 2007 World Series of Poker in the seven card stud high low split eight or better event won by Eli Elezra. Scotty stated after the event that he hadn't played cash games in over two years because he enjoys a friendly environment which is difficult in serious cash games. Scotty also nearly made the final table of the 2007 World Series of Poker Main Event, finishing in 11th place out of a field of 6,358 and earning $476,926.

At the 2008 $50,000 World Series of Poker H.O.R.S.E. event, Nguyen exhibited what many have considered objectionable, and even rule-breaking behavior. In the broadcast of the prestigious event, Nguyen was shown drinking numerous alcoholic beverages while swearing and scolding others at the final table, drawing criticism from commentators. Following the event, Nguyen issued an apology to his fans and stated that the event's editing depicted him unfairly. He also cited issues like exhaustion, frustration with the perceived gloating of Michael DeMichele, and pressure to succeed as reasons for his unconventional behavior. Nguyen later formally apologized to the fans in an interview, and said that he no longer blamed any other players for his behavior, and that there was no excuse for his behavior at the 2008 H.O.R.S.E. event.

In 2009, Nguyen won the inaugural LA Poker Classic $10,000 H.O.R.S.E World Championship at the Commerce Casino's annual LA Poker Classic Series. This 1st place finish earned him $339,743, and further cemented Nguyen's reputation as one of the greatest masters of all variations of fixed limit poker.

As of 2009, his total live tournament winnings exceed $10,700,000. Of those winnings, $4,727,717 have come at the WSOP. Nguyen has also made appearances on the Ultimate Blackjack Tour playing Elimination Blackjack. Nguyen also made an appearance on Late Night with Conan O'Brien in April 2004.

World Series of Poker bracelets
Bracelets summary
Year Tournament Prize (US$)
1997 $2,000 Omaha 8 or Better $156,959
1998 $10,000 No Limit Hold'em World Championship $1,000,000
2001 $2,500 Pot Limit Omaha $178,480
2001 $5,000 Omaha Hi-Lo Split Eight or Better $287,580
2008 $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. World Championship $1,989,120
Total $3,609,139

2009 Top Money Winner Phil Ivey

Phillip D. "Phil" Ivey (born February 1, 1976) is an American professional poker player who has won seven World Series of Poker bracelets and one World Poker Tour title and appeared at eight World Poker Tour final tables.

After his runner up finish at the 2010 Aussie Millions 100K event Ivey is currently listed as first in the world among all-time money winners in tournament poker. Ivey is regarded by numerous poker observers and contemporaries as the best all-around player in the world today.

Personal life

Ivey was born in Riverside, California and moved to Absecon, New Jersey when he was three-months old.

Ivey resides in Las Vegas. In December 2009 Ivey and his wife, Luciaetta, filed a joint petition for divorce after seven years of marriage; which was granted on Dec 29, 2009.

Ivey is a Los Angeles Lakers, Houston Rockets, and a Buffalo Bills fan and can often be seen wearing basketball jerseys. Ivey's hobbies include video games, prop betting and golf. He participated in the inaugural World Series of Golf, where he finished in third place.

Philanthropy

Ivey has given money to a number of charitable causes.In March of 2008 Ivey donated $50,000 to Empowered 2 Excel, a Las Vegas charity for underprivileged kids, and later that week created the Budding Ivey Foundation, a non-profit organization to continue the work of his grandfather, Leonard "Bud" Simmons. The foundation raised $260,000 (mostly for Empowered 2 Excel) at a July 3, 2008 charity poker tournament,and is also involved in children's literacy projects and programs to feed the homeless.

Career

Ivey first began to develop his poker skills by playing against co-workers at a New Brunswick, New Jersey telemarketing firm in the late 1990s. One of his nicknames, "No Home Jerome", stems from the ID card he secured to practice in Atlantic City in his teenage years.His other nickname is 'the Tiger Woods of Poker'.

World Series of Poker

Ivey's tournament accomplishments include winning three bracelets at the 2002 World Series of Poker, tying Phil Hellmuth Jr, Ted Forrest, Puggy Pearson, and Jeff Lisandro for most tournament wins in a single year. Ivey also has bracelets in Pot Limit Omaha from 2000 and 2005. In 2000, he was the first person to defeat Amarillo Slim heads-up at a WSOP final table. In addition to his seven World Series bracelets, Ivey has had great success in the WSOP Main Event. He placed in the top 25 four times between the 2002 and the 2009. Ivey finished 23rd in 2002, 10th in 2003, 20th in 2005 and 7th in 2009.

In 2009, Ivey won his 6th bracelet in the $2,500 No-Limit 2-7 Draw Lowball Event of the 2009 WSOP. He defeated a field of 147 players to catch his bracelet. He won a very long heads-up battle against John Monette. He then proceeded to win another bracelet in the $2,500 1/2 Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo 1/2 Omaha Hi/Lo event besting a field of 376 people. He defeated Ming Lee heads-up. While winning the $2,500 1/2 Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo - 1/2 Omaha Hi/Lo event he also managed to place 22nd in the $5000 Pot-Limit Omaha Eight-or-better despite only playing during the breaks in the Stud/Omaha event.

Main Event finishes

Between 2002 and 2009, Ivey finished among the top 25 players in the Main Event four times, in fields ranging in size from 600 entrants to just under 7000.[citation needed] Ivey finished 10th in the 2003 WSOP Main Event (one place short of the final table), and 7th in 2009. In 2009 his A♣ K♠ lost to Darvin Moon's A♦ Q♠ when a queen paired Moon on the flop; he ended with winnings of $1,404,002.

Multiple Bracelet Winner

With seven World Series of Poker bracelets, Ivey is currently tied with Billy Baxter for the sixth most of all-time. Also, at age 33, he is the youngest player to ever win seven (Phil Hellmuth was 37). In addition, other than Johnny Moss, no other player has accumulated seven bracelets as quickly; it took Ivey only nine years from the time of his first bracelet to his seventh (Moss also took nine years).

Year Tournament Prize (US$)
2000 $2,500 Pot Limit Omaha $195,000
2002 $2,500 7 Card Stud Hi/Lo $118,440
2002 $2,000 S.H.O.E. $107,540
2002 $1,500 7 Card Stud $132,000
2005 $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha $635,603
2009 $2,500 No-Limit 2-7 Draw Lowball $96,367
2009 $2,500 Omaha Hi/Lo / 7 Card Stud Hi/Lo $220,538

World Poker Tour

Ivey has also reached a record eight final tables on the World Poker Tour. He has lost several of these WPT events by being eliminated while holding the same starting hand each time, an ace and a queen. Eight out of the nine times Phil Ivey has cashed in a WPT event, he has also made the television final table. During the sixth season of the WPT in February 2008, Ivey made the final table at the LA Poker Classic at Commerce Casino that included Phil Hellmuth and Nam Le, eventually capturing the $1,596,000 first prize and putting an end to his streak of seven WPT final tables without a victory. Ivey has earned close to three million dollars in WPT cashes. Ivey made his debut on the European Poker Tour in Barcelona, September 2006. He came to the final table of nine as the chipleader, but he eventually came in second to Bjørn-Erik Glenne from Norway.

Other tournaments

In 2006, Ivey was enticed to London to participate in The London All Star Challenge of the inaugural European Poker Masters. Not only Europe's first-ever independent poker tour, the EPM boasted the best lineup of players ever seen in Europe. As one of the favorites, Ivey made it to the final table to finish seventh, and collected £6,700 ($12,534). In November 2005, Ivey won the $1,000,000 first prize at the Monte Carlo Millions tournament. Just one day after, Ivey took home another $600,000 for finishing first at "The FullTiltPoker.Net Invitational Live from Monte Carlo". His six opponents were (in reverse finishing order) Mike Matusow, Phil Hellmuth, Gus Hansen, Chris Ferguson, Dave Ulliott, and John Juanda.

As of 2009, his total live tournament winnings exceed $12,800,000. $4,865,010 of his total winnings have come from cashes at the WSOP.

Poker Etiquette

The main reason we play poker is to have fun. Some texas holdem players argue that money is the actual motivation. I disagree because most people don't actually make money playing poker. Most people lose money. There are also other ways to make money, so why did we choose a risky game like poker to earn it? The answer is because poker is an enjoyable game.

Most of the time.

Every once in a while someone does something ignorant in a game that makes you want to pull your hair out. For instance, one of my pet peeves is when players don't put their highest-denomination chips in the front of their pile. Even worse though is when the guy to my right whispers, "You know what I had that last hand and actually folded?" Surprisingly, I still don't care after all the times it's been said. I used to think that was useful insight into a players preflop hand selection, but now I just cringe whenever a flop has a pair of twos and that guy shoots me that quick look of anticipation to let me know that he wants to tell me something after the hand is over. You had a two, huh? And folded it? Wow.

Here's TH-P's "Poker Etiquette" checklist. Please, everyone memorize it.

TOP FIVE NO-NO's

1. Do not reveal your cards while a hand is going on. While it's not against the rules (some places may give a penalty), it is at least a horrible breach of etiquette. If you were not folding, you're hand will be ruled dead. The problem is that it can give one player an advantage over another and potentially ruin a pot for someone. Even if it is an accident, you should be apologizing your ass off.

2. If you folded and your cards would have made a great hand on the flop, don't reel back in your chair or bang your hand off of the table or let your stupid jaw hang open, letting everyone know that you would have hit that flop. In fact, don't react to the cards on the board at all. Again, it can potentially ruin a pot by giving some players an advantage.

3. Don't be mean by criticizing an opponent's play, being verbally abusive to another player, or by being cocky about how good you are (or think you are). On the flip side, if someone has met those qualifications by talking directly to you, the best thing to do is just smile and agree. "Ya, I got lucky there", "I can see how I might've played that wrong", and "Oh ya, I've heard of you before, I was told to look out" are all acceptable comments that will hopefully end the discussion. Don't let the sarcasm show though.

4. Don't blame the dealer. Also, don't wing your cards at the dealer or not tip him as a result of previous bad beat. They really, actually, and truly have no control over what cards are dealt. They are just there to do their job and they deserve respect.

5. Do not talk about a hand when you aren't in it. Giving advice to a live player is actually against the rules in most places. Simply talking about the hand is also in very bad taste though. The players who are still in the hand don't want to have to listen to your noise pollution when they're trying to focus on the other live opponents. So shut yer mouth.

There are situations where a player who isn't in the hand can talk about the hand and it's universally okay.

One is in no limit when players go all-in and they are having problems counting chips and so is the dealer. Often players are flustered, having just made the biggest bet they could make and something goes wrong in the counting section of the brain. A player who doesn't have all their money at stake can often count much faster, so it is acceptable to speak up and declare their all-in.

Another instance is when a player does something like toss in an oversized chip and say "raise" but the nobody hears it and a few players call the previous bet before the bettor realizes that something went wrong. Before people start yelling, the dealer gets pissed, and the floor is called over, YOU should be the one to say that the bettor declared a raise. People are already angry at the bettor for not saying it loud enough, so they don't want to believe he actually said it. You as an unbiased third party seem a much more valid candidate to determine if the word "raise" was said than the person who said it.

Using a credit card to play online poker

A question we are often asked by players new to online poker is whether it is safe to use a credit card to deposit to their account.

The short answer is yes. If you play at the online poker sites recommended by many player , your personal information like credit card numbers will always be safe and you should be able to make a deposit without any worries.

The poker rooms we recommend all use secure servers for financial transactions and are reputable companies with a long history of good customer service. Not only will your information be safe, but you can also be guaranteed of receiving your cashout if you have a win at the tables.

There are however some things you should know about using a credit card to play poker online.

Identity Verification

If you deposit to your account with a credit card, many online poker rooms will want to verify that you are authorized to charge the card being used. This is often not done immediately when you join a poker room, and may only be requested when you reach a certain deposit limit or if you attempt to cashout within a certain timeframe.

They will sometimes just want to give you a phone call or send a security code to your billing address. If they are performing a more thorough check they may ask you to send them copies of your Photo ID or a utility bill. It is best to co-operate with the poker room staff if they ask you to confirm your identity. They only do this sort of thing to ensure that you are authorized to charge the card being used in your account, and the information you provide is not used for any other purpose.

Any verification requirement should not be seen as an annoyance like some inexperienced players seem to think. These days we welcome this sort of request when we join a new poker room because it shows they take their site security seriously, and we should only be playing against players who are playing with their own money.
Blocked Transactions

For some unknown reason many banks have decided they should have the power to control how their customers spend their own money! Even though most online poker players would only ever be transferring $100 or less to their account to play, banks in some parts of the world automatically block these types of transactions. The worse thing is they will rarely even admit to doing it.

If you call the bank customer service department, or even speak to a teller in a branch they will usually tell you that the bank is not blocking any of your credit card transactions. This is because lower level bank staff are rarely informed of this practice, and also because credit card business is often outsourced to other banks and not directly controlled by the bank that you have an account with. The banks realise that public outrage would be high if everyone knew that they like to control where their customers spend money, so this practice is swept under the rug and not spoken about publicly often. In the online poker industry, these types of transactions are known as '7995' failures - 7995 being the ID code associated to online gambling merchants by credit card companies.

What can you do if your credit card won't work at your poker room of choice?

If you have your heart set on playing at another room, you could try a new credit card. There are many different types of credit cards available, from pre-paid cards to low interest and fee free offerings. Some will work online - not all are blocked.

Or probably our best suggestion is to use an online wallet as your payment solution. Online or 'E' wallets allow you to move funds between credit cards, bank accounts and online merchants, such as poker rooms and casinos.

There are just two more things you should understand if you are going to use a credit card to deposit to your online poker account.
No cashouts to credit cards

Something to remember if you do deposit with a credit card is that not many poker sites can offer you the ability to cashout any winnings back to your credit card. Credit cards are designed to be used for payments only and are not a full service banking product like an online wallet.

Some older sites, may be able to process cashouts to your VISA card as long as it is not issued in the United States. But the general rule is that this is not possible due to credit card company regulations. It used to be possible in the early days of online poker, but these days it is very rare.

About 50% of online poker players still use a credit card to deposit, so if you do deposit with a credit card, there will always be other ways to cashout your winnings, such as checks, bank transfers or online wallets.
The only risk - your PC!

There is one thing all internet users should remember when inputting any sort of personal or financial information online. Your own computer's security is the most important thing!

Make sure that you run regular spyware and anti-virus checks on your machine, and never respond to suspicious looking phishing emails asking for personal information. The most common type of online fraud is perpetrated by hackers and virus writers who use software planted on your PC to log keystrokes when you type information into online forms. Or they will create websites that are identical to a site such as your bank or credit card company and trick you into providing them when your personal information via an email.

The best way to ensure that your credit card information remains safe online is to make sure your own computer is secure, and only input personal info into trusted sites, such as online poker software, or websites that use secure encryption of your data.

Four Key Poker Skills

Poker sharks are commonly described as tight and aggressive: "These poker pros do not play many hands, but when they play them, they play them like they have the nuts."

That's a nice general description, but it doesn't say much. In my opinion, a solid poker player is one who has mastered the four key skills of poker.

Skill #1: Mathematics

• A solid poker player knows the general probabilities of the game. For example, they know that you have about 1 in 8.5 chance of hitting a set when holding a pocket pair, and that you have about a 1 in 3 chance of completing a flopped flush draw by the river.

• Good players understand the importance of outs. Outs are simply the number of cards that will improve your hand. Count your outs, multiply them by two, and add one, and that's roughly the percentage shot you have at hitting.

• Good players can figure out the pot odds. Knowing outs is meaningless unless it's translated into rational, calculated betting. Knowing you have a 20% chance of hitting, what do you do then? If you're not sure, check out our Pot Odds article.

• Math skills are the most basic knowledge; it's day-one reading. Anyone who doesn't understand these concepts should not play in a game for real money until they do.

Skill #2: Discipline

• Good poker players demand an advantage. What separates a winning poker player from a fish is that a fish does not expect to win, while a poker player does. A fish is happy playing craps, roulette, or the slots; he just hopes to get lucky. A poker player does not hope to get lucky. He just hopes others don't get lucky.

• Good poker players understand that a different game requires a different discipline. A disciplined no-limit player can be a foolish limit player and vice versa. For example, a disciplined limit hold'em player has solid preflop skills. When there is not much action preflop, he or she only plays the better hands. When a lot of people are limping in, he or she will make a loose call with a suited connector or other speculative hand.

• A disciplined player knows when to play and when to quit. He recognizes when he is on tilt and is aware when a game is too juicy to just quit while ahead.

• A disciplined player knows that he is not perfect. When a disciplined player makes a mistake, he learns. He does not blame others. He does not cry. He learns from the mistake and moves on.

Skill #3: Psychology

• A good player is not a self-centered player. He may be the biggest SOB you know. He may not care about anyone but himself, and he may enjoy stealing food from the poor. However, when a poker pro walks into a poker room, he always empathizes with his opponents. He tries to think what they think and understand the decisions they make and why they make them. The poker pro always tries to have an answer to these questions:

1. What does my opponent have?
2. What does my opponent think I have?
3. What does my opponent think I think he has?

• Knowing the answer to these questions is the first step, manipulating the answers is the second and more important step. Suppose that you have a pair of kings and your opponent has a pair of aces. If you both know what the other has, and you both know that you know what the other has, then why play a game of poker? A poker pro manipulates the answers to questions #2 and #3 by slowplaying, fastplaying, and bluffing in order to throw his opponent off.

• Good poker players know that psychology is much more important in a no-limit game than in a limit game. Limit games often turn into math battles, while no-limit games carry a strong psychology component. Thus, poker tells are much more important in no-limit games.

Skill #4: Understanding Risk vs. Reward

• Pot odds and demanding an advantage fall into this category. Poker players are willing to take a long-shot risk if the reward is high enough, but only if the expected return is higher than the risk.

• More importantly, they understand the risk-vs.-reward nature of the game outside of the actual poker room. They know how much bank they need to play, and how much money they need in reserve to cover other expenses in life.

• Good poker players understand they need to be more risk-averse with their overall bankroll than their stack at the table.

When you play in an individual game, you must value every chip equally at the table. You should only care about making correct plays. If you buy in for $10, you should be okay with taking a 52% chance of doubling up to $20 if it means a 48% chance of losing your $10.

However, you should be risk-averse with your overall bankroll. You need to have enough money so that any day at the tables will not affect your bankroll too much. If you worry too much about losing, then you will make mistakes at the table. You need to leave yourself with the chance to fight another day.

Table Position Terms

Your position at a poker table is referred to by many different terms. There are five specific terms that are commonly used to describe a specific position in relation to the button, illustrated below.


"Dealer", "Dealer's Button", or "Button" - This is the best possible position as the player in the dealer's seat will be the last to act on the flop, turn, and river.

"Under the Gun" - This is the first player to take an action in the hand. This player will be to the left of the big blind. Being under the gun is considered to be the worst position in holdem. In its defense, it is a lousy position, but an under the gun player will actually have better position post-flop than the blinds.

"Big Blind" - This is the player to the left of the small blind unless the game is heads-up. See below.

"Small Blind" - This player is directly to the left of the dealer's button unless the game is heads-up. See below.

"Cutoff" - This is the player to the right of the button. It's called the cutoff because that position often "cuts off" the dealer's ability to steal blinds by betting.


It should be noted that when play is heads-up, the player on the button is the small blind and the other player is the big blind. The other unnamed positions are commonly referred to in relation to the dealer's button or the player under the gun, whichever is closer. The player to the left of the player under the gun might say he's "To the left of the gun" or "Under the gun plus one".

Another way that position is described is by the terms "early position", "middle position", and "late position". These terms are often abbreviated "EP", "MP", and "LP". Players in early position are some of the first to act in a betting round, like the player who is under the gun. "Late position" players are some of the last to act in a betting round, like the cutoff seat and the player on the button. "Middle position" is naturally the players in between. These terms are often used when the table is full with nine or ten players. Once play gets down to a few players, it can become confusing to describe what middle position actually is.

Hodlem Position

Position is simply where you are sitting in relation to the dealer's button. In holdem and many other poker games, your position at the table is a big factor. The strength of your position comes from the fact that the betting goes in a clockwise fashion. In a favorable position you get to see how many other players react to their hands and whether they fold, bet, or call before you do. The poker phrase, "Position is power" comes from this simple idea.

There are many names associated with position to identify where players are sitting in relation to the dealer's button. Each particular position has its own strengths or weaknesses.

* The small blind has the worst position after the flop and must invest half a bet.
* The big blind invests an entire bet and similarly has a poor position.
* The player under the gun has the worst position preflop and a junk position afterwards.
* The button has the best position during any betting round.

If you aren't familiar with the above terms (small blind, button, under the gun), visit our page on position terms.

The importance of your position depends on many factors. For example, in no limit hold em, position is much more important than in limit hold'em. It is always better to be in an late position though, so it is important to identify what hands are generally playable in all positions.

For example, lets say you're under the gun. You have Queen-Ten, unsuited and decide to limp into the pot. The player to bet after you raises, and everyone but you folds.. Now you're in a jam. Chances are good that this player has a better hand than you. If they have any ace, king, or pocket pair, they are statistically better than you. You'd suspect that someone who raised has at least a hand like that. Now you can either call again and go into the flop as an underdog or you can fold and just give up a bet. What's worse is that if you call, you will be acting before this player for the rest of the hand. On the other hand, let's say you're on the button. You have Queen-Ten, unsuited and everybody folds to you. One option would be to fold and let the blinds fight it out. Another would be the just call and see what happens on the flop. Many players here would raise because you could steal the blinds and even if you didn't, you'd act after them for the remainder of the hand. Raising is only a viable option because of your favorable position.

Another notable factor is that position goes hand in hand with knowing the players directly around you. For example, an aggressive, blind-stealing player to the immediate right of a tight player usually results in the tight player's blinds getting stolen. For a discussion about the players to your left and right and how their style of play is affected by position, go to our page on opponents styles and position.

Being in late position with a good hand has major strengths over being early with a good hand. Early position raisers are assumed to have a good hand and it tends to scare players away. Early preflop raises can force the other players to call two bets at once (or more in the case of pot limit or no limit hold 'em) when there is nearly nothing in the pot worth fighting for. In late position, there may be players who have already called one bet. Those players only have to call one bet (in limit) with a little something already in the pot. So players in late position with a good hand have the ability to manipulate the pot size, which will make future bets easier to call in the upcoming betting rounds.