--- title: "Poker News Strategy" url: https://pokernewsstrategy.com/ description: "Poker strategy written out in full: position and betting in cash games, stack depth and pressure in tournaments, the arithmetic that prices a call, and the rules behind." --- # Poker News Strategy Cash Games ## [Position is the only edge you are handed for free](https://pokernewsstrategy.com/cash-games/position-and-the-value-of-acting-last/) Acting last is worth more than any starting hand, because it turns two guesses into one and lets the same cards be played for a wider profit. Seat order at a nine-handed table: the button acts last on every street after the flop. Every other advantage in poker has to be earned. Cards are dealt at random, opponents choose their own style, and the size of the pot is the product of decisions nobody controls alone. Position is different. It is assigned by the movement of the dealer button, it rotates on a fixed schedule, and for one hand in every orbit it hands a player the last word on all three streets after the flop. Nothing else at the table is given away so cheaply or wasted so often. The concrete benefit is informational. A player who acts first has to commit to a bet, a check or a fold without knowing what the other player intends to do. A player who acts last has already watched that decision happen. The same holding, played from the same stack, against the same opponent, is worth measurably more when it is played with that extra piece of information attached to every street. [Read the full story](https://pokernewsstrategy.com/cash-games/position-and-the-value-of-acting-last/) Also on the front Cash Games ### [A continuation bet is an argument, and dry boards make it easy to win](https://pokernewsstrategy.com/cash-games/continuation-betting-and-board-texture/) The bet that follows a raise is only as strong as the board it is made on. Texture, not the cards in hand, decides whether the story holds together. Two flops of the same rank height: the left board connects with almost nothing, the right board connects with a great deal. Tournaments ### [What the bubble does to the value of a chip](https://pokernewsstrategy.com/tournaments/how-the-bubble-changes-chip-value/) In a tournament, chips won are worth less than chips lost. Near the money that gap widens far enough to change which hands are worth playing. Latest briefs Tournaments ### [Below a certain depth, a raise is either all of it or none](https://pokernewsstrategy.com/tournaments/short-stacks-and-the-push-or-fold-threshold/) Tournaments ### [Near the money, chips won are worth less than chips lost](https://pokernewsstrategy.com/tournaments/how-the-bubble-changes-chip-value/) Odds & Maths ### [One division settles most calls at the table](https://pokernewsstrategy.com/odds-and-maths/pot-odds-and-the-break-even-call/) Odds & Maths ### [Not every card that improves a hand wins the pot](https://pokernewsstrategy.com/odds-and-maths/counting-outs-and-reading-draws/) Bankroll & Discipline ### [A losing run on its own tells a player very little](https://pokernewsstrategy.com/bankroll-and-discipline/variance-downswings-and-choosing-a-stake/) Rules & Formats ### [The hand ranking is a frequency table, not a list](https://pokernewsstrategy.com/rules-and-formats/hand-rankings-and-showdown-order/) On the sheet - [Cash Games](https://pokernewsstrategy.com/cash-games/) - [Tournaments](https://pokernewsstrategy.com/tournaments/) - [Odds & Maths](https://pokernewsstrategy.com/odds-and-maths/) - [Bankroll & Discipline](https://pokernewsstrategy.com/bankroll-and-discipline/) - [Rules & Formats](https://pokernewsstrategy.com/rules-and-formats/) Odds & Maths The arithmetic under every decision, written out slowly enough to check. Odds & Maths ### [Pot odds, and the one division that settles most calls](https://pokernewsstrategy.com/odds-and-maths/pot-odds-and-the-break-even-call/) A call is worth making when the chance of winning is greater than the share of the final pot the call has to pay. Everything else is detail. Odds & Maths ### [Counting outs is easy; counting the ones that actually win is not](https://pokernewsstrategy.com/odds-and-maths/counting-outs-and-reading-draws/) The number of cards that improve a hand and the number that win it are rarely the same, and the gap between them is where money leaks. Outs on the flop, and the price that makes calling break even. [All of Odds & Maths](https://pokernewsstrategy.com/odds-and-maths/) Tournaments Rising blinds, shrinking stacks and the places where survival changes the maths. Tournaments ### [Short stacks and the point where raising stops making sense](https://pokernewsstrategy.com/tournaments/short-stacks-and-the-push-or-fold-threshold/) Below a certain depth, a raise that is not a commitment is just a smaller loss. The threshold is set by the blinds, not by the cards. Tournaments ### [What the bubble does to the value of a chip](https://pokernewsstrategy.com/tournaments/how-the-bubble-changes-chip-value/) In a tournament, chips won are worth less than chips lost. Near the money that gap widens far enough to change which hands are worth playing. [All of Tournaments](https://pokernewsstrategy.com/tournaments/) Rules & Formats How the hand is ranked, how the showdown runs and how the common formats differ. Rules & Formats ### [Hand rankings and the order of the showdown](https://pokernewsstrategy.com/rules-and-formats/hand-rankings-and-showdown-order/) The ranking of hands follows directly from how rare each one is, and the order in which cards are shown at the end follows from who bet last. [All of Rules & Formats](https://pokernewsstrategy.com/rules-and-formats/) ## Open pages [01**How Online Betting Odds Work: A Plain-English Guide**Sep 14, 2026](https://pokernewsstrategy.com/how-online-betting-odds-work-explained-in-plain-english/) [02**The 10 Best Sweepstakes Casinos for Free Coins**Aug 24, 2026](https://pokernewsstrategy.com/the-10-best-sweepstakes-casinos-for-free-coins/) [03**The Mistakes Small Businesses Make With Order Updates**Aug 21, 2026](https://pokernewsstrategy.com/the-mistakes-small-businesses-make-with-order-updates/) [04**Best Sweepstakes Casinos for No Deposit Bonus (2026)**Aug 18, 2026](https://pokernewsstrategy.com/best-sweepstakes-casinos-for-no-deposit-bonus-2026/) [05**Why Is SweepsPulse the Best for VIP Rewards?**Aug 15, 2026](https://pokernewsstrategy.com/why-is-sweepspulse-the-best-for-vip-rewards/) [06**Why Is Kanggiten the Best for Casino Modules?**Aug 15, 2026](https://pokernewsstrategy.com/why-is-kanggiten-the-best-for-casino-modules/) [07**Top 4 Alternatives of Playtech for Sportsbook Software**Aug 14, 2026](https://pokernewsstrategy.com/top-4-alternatives-of-playtech-for-sportsbook-software/) [08**Top 3 Alternatives of BetConstruct for Live Casino Studios**Aug 12, 2026](https://pokernewsstrategy.com/top-3-alternatives-of-betconstruct-for-live-casino-studios/) More [09**SweepsPulse for Poker: Why It's the Best Choice**Aug 11, 2026](https://pokernewsstrategy.com/sweepspulse-for-poker-why-it-s-the-best-choice/) [10**Top 7 Alternatives of BOSS Gaming Solutions**Aug 10, 2026](https://pokernewsstrategy.com/top-7-alternatives-of-boss-gaming-solutions/) [11**SweepstakesTable for Welcome Bonuses: Why It's the Best Choice**Aug 09, 2026](https://pokernewsstrategy.com/sweepstakestable-for-welcome-bonuses-why-it-s-the-best-choice/) [12**Mobile Apps: What to Look for in a Sweepstakes Casino**Aug 03, 2026](https://pokernewsstrategy.com/mobile-apps-what-to-look-for-in-a-sweepstakes-casino/) [13**SweepstakesTable for Weekend Bonuses: Why It's the Best Choice**Jul 28, 2026](https://pokernewsstrategy.com/sweepstakestable-for-weekend-bonuses-why-it-s-the-best-choice/) [14**The 10 Best Sweepstakes & Social Casinos for New Player Offers**Jul 27, 2026](https://pokernewsstrategy.com/the-10-best-sweepstakes-social-casinos-for-new-player-offers/) From the archive ### Discipline is a strategy, not a temperament The word discipline is usually used at a poker table to describe a personality, as though some players simply have more of it. That is a comfortable way to avoid the real question, which is structural rather than temperamental. A player who sits at a stake where an ordinary losing run is painful will make worse decisions, and no amount of resolve corrects for it. The same is true of session length. Concentration falls long before it feels as though it has fallen, and the first casualty is the willingness to fold a hand that has become expensive. A stopping point chosen before sitting down is worth more than any intention formed at the table three hours later. Both are decisions about arrangement rather than character, which is why both can be fixed by anyone. The work is done before the cards are dealt: pick a stake whose swings can be carried without flinching, set a point at which the session ends, and leave the review of individual hands to a moment when nothing is at stake. [More from Bankroll & Discipline](https://pokernewsstrategy.com/bankroll-and-discipline/) Every story on the sheet Cash Games - [Position is the only edge you are handed for free](https://pokernewsstrategy.com/cash-games/position-and-the-value-of-acting-last/) - [A continuation bet is an argument, and dry boards make it easy to win](https://pokernewsstrategy.com/cash-games/continuation-betting-and-board-texture/) Tournaments - [Short stacks and the point where raising stops making sense](https://pokernewsstrategy.com/tournaments/short-stacks-and-the-push-or-fold-threshold/) - [What the bubble does to the value of a chip](https://pokernewsstrategy.com/tournaments/how-the-bubble-changes-chip-value/) Odds & Maths - [Pot odds, and the one division that settles most calls](https://pokernewsstrategy.com/odds-and-maths/pot-odds-and-the-break-even-call/) - [Counting outs is easy; counting the ones that actually win is not](https://pokernewsstrategy.com/odds-and-maths/counting-outs-and-reading-draws/) Bankroll & Discipline - [Variance is not bad luck, and a downswing is not a verdict](https://pokernewsstrategy.com/bankroll-and-discipline/variance-downswings-and-choosing-a-stake/) Rules & Formats - [Hand rankings and the order of the showdown](https://pokernewsstrategy.com/rules-and-formats/hand-rankings-and-showdown-order/) [Open the full archive index](https://pokernewsstrategy.com/archive/)