Beginner’s Guide to Understanding Poker Positions

Understanding poker positions is a critical early step that every budding poker player must master in their journey to becoming a successful, strategic player.

Here we explain the different poker table positions, the advantages or disadvantages of each one, and how position affects your strategy.

What Are the Different Poker Positions?

After hand poker hand rankings and rules, positions in poker are the most important thing you have to understand if you want to make progress in the game.

The two most common types of seating arrangements at a poker table are six-handed and nine-handed. Both are very common and are available to be played at a variety of the best online poker sites in the US.

Positions at a six-handed table:

At a nine-handed table, there are three extra positions (highlighted in bold below). That increase is most notable in the early and middle positions.

Poker Positions Explained

In Texas Hold’em, position is often the first thing players mention when discussing a hand history, either in retrospect or when planning for future hands. The order of information is usually position first and then cards second.

So, when learning how to play poker, it’s important to understand that each position at the table is unique and has its own set of things to keep in mind.

Here’s a breakdown of each poker position — split into early, middle and late positions, plus the blinds — and how to play them.

Early Positions

Early position refers to the players who act first. They are the seats directly clockwise of the blind.

Under the Gun (UTG)

The UTG is the first position to act preflop and therefore has no information at all from the other players at the table for that hand.

The UTG is all about the cards, since that’s the only information the player has to go with. The entire table still has to act after the UTG player, meaning they should have the tightest range of all and only play the most premium preflop holdings.

An exception would be if there are some ulterior poker strategies at a particular table where it would make sense to play a wider range of hands.

Under the Gun +1 (UTG+1)

This position is hardly any different than the UTG because there is information on only one player and there are still seven players left to act. The range should barely be any different from UTG, if at all.

Under the Gun +2 (UTG+2)

This is the final “early position” of the poker positions. The range should still be very narrow in this position just like the previous two positions.

Middle Positions

In most poker games, middle position refers to the fourth, fifth or sixth player to act after the blinds.

The Lowjack (LJ)

The lowjack position is the first of the middle positions. It is the same as being under the gun at a six-handed table.

In this position, players can open up a little bit more since they will have information on the early position players and have fewer players left to act to contend with.

The Hijack (HJ)

The HJ is a very interesting position because it is effectively in the very middle of the table, with information on half the table already. But there are still the two most powerful positions left to act, as well as the blinds.

So while ranges can open up to less premium hands in the position, it is still important to consider the powerful positions that are still left to act.

Late Positions

Late position refers to the players who are last to act in a round of betting. This is the most advantageous position to be in.

The Cutoff (CO)

The CO is a very powerful position and, overall, the second most powerful at the table.

The CO has full information from the early and middle position players and has just the button and blinds to deal with moving ahead.

Here, a player can raise with a wide range of starting hands and can apply pressure to the button and blinds.

The Button (BTN)

The button (BTN) –also known as the “dealer button” or “dealer” — is the most powerful poker position.

The BTN has the advantage of being last to act on every post-flop action, meaning they will always have full information of their opponent’s intentions. As they’re last to act, they are “in position” on the rest of the table.

Play on the BTN can be aggressive and wide, as many times the button’s opponent will be forced to fold hands just based on the fact that they are out of position vs the button.

The Blinds

Blinds are mandatory bets that take place for the two players seated left to the dealer button before every hand. They help force the action at the table.

The Small Blind (SB)

The small blind is the first player to the left of the dealer. Preflop, the small blind has one advantage: They have information on the players at the table who must act before them.

But after the flop, the small blind will be first to act on each street of action. This means they will be at a disadvantage strategically during hands. The SB must also put in money preflop, which makes the spot even more of a disadvantage.

The Big Blind (BB)

The big blind is the player on the left of the small bind, and the second player to the left of the dealer.

In many ways the big blind is the worst and weakest position at the table. They must put in the most money preflop as a requirement of the position. That can create a sense of trying to defend that money and can cause players to sometimes overplay.

But despite being a weak position, the range of hands can be wider than other weak positions at the table because the BB is often defending a lot.

Why Positioning in Poker Matters

The fact that the button moves each hand to make sure everyone gets an equal opportunity to play from all the positions tells you that poker table position really does matter.

You will need to adapt your poker strategy depending on where you’re sitting and whether you are in or out of position.

Here are a few of the reasons why being in position is beneficial.

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