IP / OOP

In Position (act last) vs Out Of Position (act first) postflop

Definition

IP (In Position) means acting last postflop relative to the main opponent, which is one of the biggest advantages in poker. OOP (Out Of Position) means acting first, with no information on the opponent's action. Playing IP lets you observe the opponent's weaknesses before acting: if the OOP player checks, you can freely decide to c-bet or check behind. You control the pot more easily and can extract value or bluff more effectively. Playing OOP is so disadvantageous that defending ranges from OOP (notably BB against stealers) must compensate for this handicap with more aggressive actions like the check-raise. In general, a player needs more showdown value to offset the OOP disadvantage, which justifies a stronger postflop range.