The average veteran is profitable from every table position (except the blinds). The average veteran makes about 14 BB/100 more profit from the button than he does UTG, which is about the same as the average player. Yet the shape of both curves is the same. Since they are more profitable from every position, it's clear that they are superior players. These veterans are the 2,000 players in the database with the most hands played. This conclusion holds even for "veteran" online players, the top curve. It is not the result of playing superior hand ranges in late position, since the average online poker player plays a similar range from every position. This huge impact is solely the consequence of the value of information. And he wins about twice as much from the button as he does in the cutoff! So, not only does improved position increase profit, our profit accelerates as we approach the button. This average player wins about 5.5 BB/100 from the cutoff, but loses about 3.5 BB/100 from UTG. The bottom curve shows the profit won at each table position for all players in the database. The bottom curve is the average for all players in the 6 million hand database. The top curve is for experienced players. Table Position for online NL50 and NL100. Position awareness improves our win rate due to the high value of information. Notice how much profit this average player loses because of his unawareness, losing more than 4 BB per hundred hands dealt, instead of winning about 1 BB/100. But the peak of the curve is at PAW = 1.93, suggesting that we should play about twice as many hands in late position. We can see that the average online player has a PAW of 1.2 (red square), which means he plays about 20 percent more hands in late position. The square symbol represents the average online player, at PAW = 1.2. Win Rate vs LP-VPIP-PAW for online NL50 and NL100. Figure PN3-1 below is a plot of the average online Win Rate vs LP-VPIP-PAW for online players. In The Statistics of Poker, I analyzed about 6 million online hand histories. (However, he does play more hands from the button and small blind.) This means that he plays the same range from the cutoff as he does under the gun. Recall from my previous article that LP-VPIP-PAW is 1.0 for the average Vegas $1/$2 player. This is simply: LP-VPIP-PAW = VPIP(LP) / VPIP(EP)Ĭalculating this stat is easy - we just count the number of hands we play in LP (CO and HJ) and divide by the number of hands we play in EP (UTG and UTG+1). But perhaps the most illuminating stat is Late-Position VPIP Position Awareness. We could also consider awareness from late position (CO and HJ) or from the button. For example, we could study position awareness from the standpoint of looseness (VPIP) or aggression (PFR, preflop raise). There are several ways we can study position awareness. Yet the average Donkey Gamer generally ignores the immense value of superior position. We may also be able to dump our strong hand when previous action makes it clear (or should make it clear) that we have the worst of it. This additional information will sometimes allow us to win a pot with a weak hand. When we are last to act, we have maximal information. When we are first to act, we have minimal information about our opponents. So it stands to reason that the more information we have about our opponents, the more profitable we will be. We know that poker is an information game. One of the main reasons for this looseness is that the average Donkey Gamer is "position-dumb." Their average VPIP (Voluntarily Puts $ In Pot) is 37 percent, which is perhaps double what it should be. My previous article - "Do You Play Too Many Hands?" - pointed out that the average Vegas, low-stakes no-limit hold'em player is far too loose.
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