Poker Positions Explained – the Importance of Position in Poker
Poker is a game of cards, but it is so much more than just the cards you have in your hand. It’s a game of psychology and more, and winning any hand means outwitting your opponents. That is what makes it such an endlessly entertaining game, you can win a hand of poker even f you don’t have the best cards, and in that sense it is unique.
However, one of the most influential aspects of poker when it comes to your strategy in a hand, is your position at the table. This dictates the order you play among other things, and that can drastically change which strategies can be effective in any situation. So, as you learn poker, one of the fundamentals is what positions there are, and how they influence your game.
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What are Positions in Poker?
Positions refer to your place at the table relative to the dealer, or button as it can be referred to. These positions dictate where in the order you take your turn, betting obligations and so on, so have a significant influence on how you approach the game.
As the dealership moves around the table, your position changes with it, and so should your strategy. To understand the importance of positions in poker, we should first look at what positions there are, and then examine how they affect your gameplay.
Types of poker positions in a game
The first thing to understand is that your position can matter in two ways, these are:
Relative Position
This is your position relative to the other players in the hand. As players drop out of a hand, you must consider your position relative to those still playing. If you are in position, that means you act last in the turn, out of position means you are acting first.
Absolute Position
This is your position at the table relative to the button (dealer), as well as big and small blinds. Your relative position can change during a hand as it plays out and people fold, however, your absolute position is set when the cards are dealt and does not change during the game.
Knowing that, we must then look at each position in turn to see what they mean for you as a player.
UTG (UNDER THE GUN)
This position is the player seated directly to the left of the big blind, so they are the first to act preflop. In a full table, that means 8 players get to play after the UTG, so its considered one of the worst positions at the table.
Playing here means playing conservatively, because you have no idea what other players may do, there is every chance one or more have strong hands and will be adopting an aggressive strategy.
UTG +1
The player to the left of the UTG, and has most of the disadvantages of that position too. They must act immediately after the UTG in the preflop, so all but one player takes their turn afterwards. This, again, means a conservative approach is needed as the table remains a mystery at this point.
MP (MIDDLE POSITION)
The middle position refers to being between the early positions, the small and big blinds, UTG and UTG+1, and the more advantageous later positions. Its an awkward place to be, as you are still quite early in the round so have lots of players to act after you, but because there are players before you in the turn, it can feel like you should be pushing an aggressive line, however, there are more players to act after, so it is a difficult place to be.
LJ (LOJACK)
Like middle position, Lojack puts you in a halfway house where you are not really in an early position so feel like you should be pushing your hand, but there are too many players after you in the turn so there is a chance of getting it all very wrong and leaving yourself exposed.
In both these positions, being more cautious is the sensible approach, you are not at the disadvantage early positions are though, so if opportunities come you can still take advantage.
HJ (HIJACK)
This position is called the Hijack because it is the position that allows a play to hijack the chance to steal blinds from the late positions that follow. It is here, with few players left to act after, that players can be bolder with strategy and find opportunities to win hands.
How far you push it will depend on how aggressive you are as a player, but in general, this position is where players tend to follow their natural approach rather than play the position itself.
CO (CUTOFF)
The cutoff used to be the position we see the Hijack as today, the cutoff where players could begin to loosen strategy and be more assertive. Sitting directly to the right of the Button, this spot usually puts you in position in relative terms post flop, so you have a good view of the game.
As a result, playing from this position should be where you have the highest raise percentage of your hands, and you should be as aggressive as you are comfortable with from here.
BTN (BUTTON)
If you could choose a position to be in, this would be the one. If you are still in the hand post flop, you are certain to be in position. Not only that, but if the hand folds to you, then there are only two players you need to force to fold to win the blinds, so its an extremely powerful position that presents opportunities most hands.
This is the position to be your most aggressive, and should be raising at least half of all hands played from here. It should be the position you have your highest win rate, so make sure you take full advantage of opportunities as they reveal themselves.
SB (SMALL BLIND)
Sitting to the left of the Button, this is considered the worst position in poker, forcing you to put in half a big blind before you even get to see your cards. Not only that, but as this is the first position after the Button, whatever happens you are out of position in the post-flop phase.
Mastering this position is one of the more difficult things to master in poker, requiring you to play a very tight game, being aggressive if there is a chance to attack the big blind, but always knowing that you are vulnerable when playing out of position.
BB (BIG BLIND)
While one of the earliest positions in the game, the Big Blind also means you are last to act in the pre-flop phase, so if all others fold you win the pot by default. This makes the position unique, but also a challenge to play well.
As you will be acting early in every turn post flop, cautiousness is the best approach, and this is a position where you will only raise on rare occasions. Instead, you should focus on the other players and see who is raising to get a better understanding of where your hand sits in the game.
6-Max
While all that applies to any game with 9 players at the table, the reality is that for most online games, you are looking at a 6-player format. Here, the positions are defined as follows:
- BB – Big Blind
- SB – Small Blind
- BTN – Button
- CO – Cutoff
- HJ – Hijack
- UTG – Under the Gun
In practice, you lose the first 3 positions and the Lojack position becomes the UTG. Fewer players don’t really change anything and the strengths and weaknesses of each position remain the same.
The importance of poker positions explained
In our rundown of each position, you can see how it affects what information the player has when it is their turn, and that is why they matter. A player sitting at UTG will have 8 players taking their turn afterwards, the probabilities suggest at least one will have a strong hand.
It would be difficult to bluff from here, and a weaker hand can leave you in a very difficult position after the full turn, so you have to play the odds and be cautious until you have a strong enough hand you can trust if called. Contrast this with playing from the cutoff or button, where you have 1 or no players following you. You have as much information as it is possible to have, and you can set your strategy based on how every other player is looking at the hand, allowing for a more aggressive approach.
Because positions actually change the information you have, and force you to adapt strategies as a result, they have a direct impact on how you play, and with that, your win rate.
Adjusting Your Strategy Based on poker seat Positions
We’ve talked about the challenges of early positions, having to be more cautious, always on the back foot and being reactive to the way your opponents are playing in the game. But then as you transition to late positions, you can be more aggressive, take a proactive approach and play the hand to your strategy.
This is why most players will have much higher win rates in the later positions than anywhere else.
Variables of each position
To sum up then, each position introduces a number of variables, these are:
- How many players act before or after you
- Number of players you need to fold to win
- Relative position post flop
These variables affect every aspect of your strategy and encourage you to play more or less aggressively depending on where you are on the table.
Common Mistakes Related to Position
Newer players find ways to make mistakes in every aspect of poker, but position is one of the most common. In fact, perhaps the most frequent mistake of them all is to ignore position completely, and play each hand in the same way. This is guaranteed to get you into trouble and will empty your bankroll quickly.
Beginner players also tend to underestimate how much influence positions have, and often play aggressively from early positions, leaving themselves in exploitable situations for more experienced players sitting in the later positions. In both small and big blind positions, even more experienced players can become overly focused on defending their blinds. You should do this, but the same move every hand? Predictability leads to losses as players will take advantage.
FAQ:
Why is position important in poker?
Because position dictates the amount of information you have when you take your turn, it impacts the kind of strategies you can adopt. This makes it one of the most important aspects of poker, as it has a direct effect on your game, and with it, win rate.
What are the positions at the poker table?
In a full 9 player table, the positions are:
- UTG
- UTG+1
- Middle Position
- Lojack
- Hijack
- CO
- Button
- Small blind
- Big blind
What is the best position in poker?
The best position is the Button, also known as the dealer.
What is the worst position in poker?
There are different opinions here, but the Small blind is usually considered the worst.
What is the hijack seat in poker?
It is the position that allows a play to hijack the chance to steal blinds from the late positions that follow, just before the cutoff position
What is UTG in poker?
This is the under the gun position, so called because being to the left of the big blind, it is the first position to act in the pre-flop phase.
How should I adjust my strategy when playing from the middle position?
You need to be aware of how others are playing the game, you will have good insight into the early players and what they are doing, but could be left vulnerable by those in the late positions, so caution is key.
How can I exploit opponents based on their position?
Early positions have to be responsive, they cannot set the foundation of the hand or control the pot. As a result, you can often exploit this weakness, especially with players who naturally want to be aggressive, tempting them to act.
How are positions at a table decided when a poker game starts?
The positions are based on where the button is, with players to the left working from small blind to big blind, UTG and so on around the table clockwise from there.
How many positions are there at a poker table?
There are 9 positions at casino poker tables, but in most online games, there are just 6.