Poker Positions Explained - Importance of Poker Table Positions

In poker, where you sit can be just as important as the cards you're holding. Your position at the table decides when you act during each round, which can change everything. Players who act later get to see what others do first, giving them more information and control. This can lead to easier decisions, more chances to win pots, and fewer costly mistakes.

This guide will walk you through every poker position, what it means, how it affects your game, and how to use each to your advantage. Understanding position is key to becoming a pro poker player.

What are Poker Positions?

Positions around a poker table refer to the order or arrangement in which players are seated around the table. In poker, this arrangement is categorised into Early, Mid, and Late Positions.

First, let's have a look at the different poker table positions on a 9-player table:

Understanding Different Positions In Poker

Here is the order of poker seat positions ranked from worst to best:

• Under the Gun (Early)
• Under the gun + 1 (Early)
• Under the gun + 2 (Early)
• Lowjack (Middle)
• Hijack (Middle)
• Cutoff (Late)
• Button (Late)
• Small blind (Blinds)
• Big blind (Blinds)
• Button

The Dealer Button

If a player occupies a seat between the Small Blind and Big Blind, they must wait for one round to allow the dealer button to pass through them. It ensures that no player is required to post the Big Blind twice consecutively.

The Button is the most advantageous poker position on the table, as players sitting in this position act last in every betting round after seeing their opponent's actions and deciding accordingly.

The Small Blind

The player sitting to the dealer's immediate left is called Small Blind. It is the first mandatory bet. Small Blind puts half of what the Big Blind puts into the pot.

The Big Blind

The player sitting immediately to the left of the Small Blind puts the Big Blind, which is always double the amount of the Small Blind. It is the second mandatory bet.

Under the Gun (UTG)

The player seated immediately to the left of the Big Blind is known as  UTG, or Under the Gun. In the pre-flop round, UTG is the first to act after the Small Blind and Big Blind.

The Under The Gun + 1 (UTG+1)

The UTG+1 is similar to the UTG; the only difference is that you see one player act before you and have seven opponents waiting for your action. You can add a few extra hands in your opening range, but you must still play tight.

The Under The Gun + 2 (UTG+2)

The UTG+2 is also considered an early position at a 9-handed table and is the hardest to play before the flop. Like UTG and UTG+1, players in this position can access less information. Hence, if you are UTG+2, you should limit your range to around 15%.

The Lowjack

A lowjack in a 9-player table is similar to a UTG in a 6-table position.

The Hijack

The player seated to the immediate right of the cut-off is known as the Hijack. This position is best suited for aggressive players.

The Cutoff

The player is seated immediately to the right of the dealer button, known as the Cut Off button. This position offers benefits such as bluffing, playing strong hands, and raising, making it the second-best poker position.

Poker Positions – Groups

Here are a few poker table position strategies to improve your gameplay:

Early Position :

• Avoid being outplayed and play cautiously with only strong hands.
• Raise whenever necessary and only if you have premium hands such as AA, KK, and QQ.
• Try to avoid basic hands such as high cards and pairs.
• Don’t hesitate to fold when you cannot take the aggression of the game.
• The players' opening ranges and strategies should be tight.

Middle Position:

• You can play a broader range of hands, but still be selective.
• Observe the actions of your opponents and adjust your strategies.
• This position is suitable for bluffing, but don’t overdo it. Try for semi-bluffing with strong hands.
• Ensure you are updated on the pot size; this will help you adjust your bet accordingly.

Late Position:

• It is the best position; hence, try to take advantage by playing with more hands.
• Always look for opportunities to get the blinds and pot.
• Pay attention to opponents' tricks and take advantage of their mistakes.

What Does Position Mean in Poker

The term position in poker explains where the player is seated and the last player to act on the table. The position is important because:

• Position allows players to collect more information about their opponents.
• Players in position have the opportunity to see their free cards.
• Players in a position can extract value more easily.
• The position allows poker players to control the size of the pot more effectively.
• Players in position during the hand have an easier time calculating pot odds. 

More bluffing opportunities

Having a good position in poker means you are the last to act. Even if you don’t have a good hand, the position allows you to bluff and win.

For example, if you are the last to act and your opponent checks, they have weak hands; you can bet even if you have weak hands and make them fold.

Knowing your opponent's action

If you have a good position in poker, you know your opponent’s move. You can use this information to make informed decisions. For example, if your opponents keep checking, they don’t have strong hands, and if they keep betting or raising, it means they have strong hands.

More free cards

Another benefit of playing poker in position is that you get information, which you can use to gain more information or to prevent your opponent from gaining more information.

Let’s say you raise from the button with 5c 6c and the small blind folds, and the big blind calls. The flop comes Ad Tc 8c, and the BB checks to you as you are a preflop raiser.

In this situation, you are out of position and must wait and see what the button does. If they check and a club rolls off on the turn, your top pair will be less valuable. If they check and the turn is blank, you get two options: either to bet for value or check again against your opponent, hoping they might bluff.

Pot control

Since players in position are the last to act, they get the final say and decide if they want to increase the pot or not. The ability to control the pot is essential, especially in situations where you are not sure whether your hand is strong or not.

How To Use Position To Win More Money In Poker

Playing ‘In Position’ means you are the last to act, whereas playing ‘Out Position’ means you are the first to act on the table. Knowing your position can help you:

• Get all the information about your opponent and their gameplay.
• You can strategise your gameplay or change it according to the position.
• Avoid playing too many hands in an ‘Out Position’.
• You can play more hands if you are ‘In position’.

Poker Positions Explained - RFI Ranges

Why are Poker Positions important?

Poker Positions are important as players get certain benefits based on the positions in which they sit at the poker table. The benefits are explained below in the article:

Players Can Collect More Information Based on Position:

It is rather evident that you have significantly less information available in poker. Hence, any additional information on the table dynamics and your opponent’s hand strength can work as an edge for you. Here, the position where you sit on the table in that particular round plays a crucial role in decision-making. If you are sitting in the early positions like UTG (Under The Gun), you have far less information than the players sitting at the later positions like Cut-off or Button.

Let’s understand this with the help of an example. If you are sitting in the Under The Gun position and your hole cards are A7S, raising the preflop with this hand will be difficult. In this situation, you have no information about the cards held by players sitting at Low-Jack, High Jack, Cut-off and Button.

Let’s assume Low Jack, High Jack and Cut-off fold their hands in another scenario. Now, if you are sitting in the Button position and, let’s say, you have the identical hole cards A7S as in the previous example. Here, you have much more information to decide whether to call, fold or raise your hands, as you must play against fewer players.

Also, in the post-flop rounds, the Button is the last player to make the move. Hence, post-flop, with more cards open up, the players in the later positions will have a much greater advantage than those in the earlier positions.

Players In Position Can See Free Cards

If you sit in the later positions, you have the upper hand because you can use the extra information you already have to extract more information from your opponents. Not just that, playing in position enables you to deny your opponents that extra bit of informational advantage they seek.

You can use this advantage to see free cards in the later streets and stop your opponents from getting that edge of information.

For example, if you raise the preflop from the button position while you hold 6♠️7♠️ as hole cards, the Small Blind folds their hand while the Big Blind calls your bet.

Now, the flop gets opened, and let's assume that the flop opens as A♥️9♠️2♠️. Now, say the Big Blind decides to check as you had already raised in the pre-flop.

In similar situations, you now have leverage compared to your opponents to go for a check. This will help you open the turn card for free. If the turn opens up as a spade, you have a flush in hand and decide to go strong. On the other hand, if any other unmatched card opens up, you will also have additional information based on the Big Blinds’ actions.

Players In Position Can Extract Value Easily

Unlike in early positions, you can extract maximum value from a good hand while playing in position. Let’s understand this with an example:

Let’s say the pre-flop round starts, and players sitting at Under The Gun, Lo-Jack, Hi-Jack and the Cut-off fold their cards. Now, let’s say the hole cards of the player at the Button are A♠️4♥️, and the hole cards of the Big Blind are 8♣️5♣️. If Button raises pre-flop and the Big Blind calls in response, the flop gets opened. Now, if the flop opens as A♣️3♠️2♣️, Big Blind might go ahead and check immediately, then Button decides to bet with ¼ the pot size, to which Big Blind reverts with a call, expecting a flush in later streets.

In the turn stage, say Q♦️ opens up. Now the Big Blind checks again, and the Button bets ½ of the pot size, to which Big Blind reverts by calling again.

The river opens up at 7♣️. Here, the Big Blind decides to check, and Button responds with a check to earn a free showdown.

So, let’s understand what exactly happened in this round. Even though the player sitting at Big Blind, who was out of position, had a reasonably strong hand, she could not take advantage of this situation while Button led the moves.

Let’s take another example to make this concept much more straightforward. Let’s assume the hands got reversed between the two positions. If the person at Button had 8♣️5♣️ with the flush draw expected in the turn and later streets, then they would have been able to exploit the value better than how Big Blind played with these hands. This is the power of position and how new players should learn to manipulate the equity value of the hands based on their table positions.

Position Allows Controlling Pot Size Efficiently

This benefit of the position on the table aligns with the earlier benefits.

As the player sitting in the later positions or sitting in the position acts last, they can control the pot size by deciding whether to grow it or keep it as it is.

This benefit becomes more evident when you are not sure about your hand. Let’s understand this with an example.

Suppose the button raises with a Pocket Ace, A♥️A♣️, to which the Big Blind responds with a call with hands J♥️T♥️. The flop opens 8♥️7♣️3♠️.

The Big Blind checks, and Button makes a ⅓ pot bet. Big Blind responds with a call. The turn opens with 5♥️.

Big Blind checks again, and the Button responds with a bet of ½ the size of the pot. Big Blind replies with a call, expecting a flush draw.

The river card gets opened as K,♥️, and Big Blind checks again. In this situation, Button has control of how he wants to take the game forward, and she has two options which they can choose to move further:

1. She can check and keep the pot as it is in case she is unsure about her hand.
2. She can bet further, increasing the pot size if they thinks they have a strong hand.

Position Helps You Calculate Pot Odds

Knowing how to utilise Pot odds is a skill that only some poker players possess. Knowing how to calculate poker odds can help you make better decisions at the table.

Your position at the table is important in calculating the poker odds and making better decisions. This becomes more evident in multi-table tournaments. Let’s understand this with the help of an example.

Suppose, in a post-flop situation, players sitting at Big Blind, High Jack and Button are still in the game. If the pot size is 20 BB and Small Blind, make a move of 10 BB; now, the High Jack is the next person to act. In this scenario, High Jack has better visibility of the pot size and the probabilities involved when compared to Big Blind. But the person sitting at Button knows best, as she is the last to move.

Let’s say that High Jack made the move and decided to raise the bet to 15BB. Now, the bet size is 45 BB, and Button has the information and correct data to calculate the pot odds, making a much more informed call without the fear of anyone changing the game's flow.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the positions in poker?

Positions in poker are the order in which players sit. They are classified into Early, Middle, and Late.

Which is the best position in poker?

The most advantageous positions in Texas Holdem poker are the Cutoff and Hijack. This position gives you an advantage as you know each player's gameplay.

Why position is important in poker?

Playing in the right position increases your chance of winning. It gives you a competitive edge over your opponents.

Why is it called the Hijack position?

Players sitting in this position can hijack the blinds before anyone else does.

What is under the Gun in poker?

UTG, or Under the Gun, is a position immediately to the left of the Big Blind.

What are Blinds in poker?

Blinds are forced bets placed by the players sitting to the dealer's left, called the Small Blind, followed by the Big Blind.

What does Cutoff mean in poker?

The player sitting immediately right to the dealer is called the Cut-off.

What is the role of the Dealer Button in poker?

Dealer Button distributes the cards and places the community cards in each round. The button also helps determine the small and big blinds.

What are early and late positions in poker?

Small blinds, Big Blinds, and UTGs are referred to as early positions, as they are the first ones to act. Cut-off and Hijack are known as late positions, as they are the last ones to act.

Conclusion

Knowing your poker positions is crucial when sitting at a poker table. Your poker table position gives you a competitive edge over opponents. Invest time, thoroughly read and understand each poker position, and strategise your game accordingly.