Poker school · lesson 2 of 7

Position: why your seat matters

Why acting last is worth so much, what each seat is called from under the gun to the button, and how the names change with the size of the table. 4 min read.

Acting last is an advantage

Poker is a game of hidden information. Every time an opponent acts before you, you learn something: they checked, so they may be weak; they bet big, so they may be strong. The player who acts last on a street gets all of that for free, and decides last.

After the flop the order never changes. The small blind acts first, then the big blind, and so on round to the button, which acts last. So the button is in position on everyone, and the blinds are out of position against everyone.

Being in position on a player means acting after them. It lets you control the size of the pot, take a free card when you want one, and bluff when they show weakness. Out of position, you have to commit first every time.

The seat names

Seats are named by where they sit in front of the button. At a full nine-handed table, from the first to act before the flop:

UTG, under the gun: first to act, directly to the left of the big blind.
UTG+1 and UTG+2: the next two seats.
LJ, the lojack: three seats before the button.
HJ, the hijack: two seats before the button.
CO, the cutoff: the seat directly before the button.
BTN, the button: last to act after the flop.
SB and BB, the small blind and big blind: last to act before the flop, first after it.

Players also group the seats. Early position means the under-the-gun seats; late position means the cutoff and the button; middle position is the seats in between. You will hear MP for middle position too, though players don’t all mean the same seats by it.

Smaller tables

Seats are counted back from the button, so a smaller table loses its early seats first. The last six seats keep their names at every table size, which means a lojack always has the same five players behind it.

Seat names by table size

Nine-handed: UTG, UTG+1, UTG+2, LJ, HJ, CO, BTN, SB, BB.
Eight-handed: UTG, UTG+1, LJ, HJ, CO, BTN, SB, BB.
Seven-handed: UTG, LJ, HJ, CO, BTN, SB, BB.
6-max: LJ, HJ, CO, BTN, SB, BB.
Heads-up: the small blind is also the button. It acts first before the flop and last after it.

Many players call the first seat at a 6-max table UTG, simply because it is under the gun there. PokerIQ calls it the lojack, so the same seat always has the same name and the same range.

The seat names at nine, six and two seats

Nine-handed (full ring)

6-max

Heads-up

Seats are counted back from the button, so a smaller table loses its early seats first. Nine-handed, clockwise from the button: BTN (late), SB, BB, UTG (early), UTG+1 (early), UTG+2 (early), LJ (middle), HJ (middle), CO (late). 6-max: BTN (late), SB, BB, LJ (middle), HJ (middle), CO (late). Heads-up the small blind is also the button. Early, middle and late are written in each seat; the blinds show what they post. See each seat’s range in the range viewer

Why ranges widen towards the button

When you open, every player still to act is another chance that someone has a better hand. Under the gun at a full table, eight players are behind you. On the button only the two blinds are, and you will have position on both after the flop. So the later the seat, the more hands are worth opening.

How many hands the Balanced style opens, nine-handed

UTG10.4%UTG+112.1%UTG+214.3%LJ18.9%HJ21.9%CO27.9%BTN43.9%SB37.0%

Share of all 1,326 starting hands that each seat opens when everyone before it has folded. The big blind has no open. Bars run from 0 to 100%. See every range in the range viewer

The same player opens more than four times as many hands on the button as under the gun at a full table. Nothing about their cards has changed: only the seat.

Under the gun against the button

RaiseFold

Under the gun, nine-handed

138 combos · 10.4% of hands

AAAKsAQsAJsATsA9sA8sA7sA6sA5sA4sA3sA2sAKoKKKQsKJsKTsK9sK8sK7sK6sK5sK4sK3sK2sAQoKQoQQQJsQTsQ9sQ8sQ7sQ6sQ5sQ4sQ3sQ2sAJoKJoQJoJJJTsJ9sJ8sJ7sJ6sJ5sJ4sJ3sJ2sAToKToQToJToTTT9sT8sT7sT6sT5sT4sT3sT2sA9oK9oQ9oJ9oT9o9998s97s96s95s94s93s92sA8oK8oQ8oJ8oT8o98o8887s86s85s84s83s82sA7oK7oQ7oJ7oT7o97o87o7776s75s74s73s72sA6oK6oQ6oJ6oT6o96o86o76o6665s64s63s62sA5oK5oQ5oJ5oT5o95o85o75o65o5554s53s52sA4oK4oQ4oJ4oT4o94o84o74o64o54o4443s42sA3oK3oQ3oJ3oT3o93o83o73o63o53o43o3332sA2oK2oQ2oJ2oT2o92o82o72o62o52o42o32o22

66+, ATs+, A5s, KTs+, QTs+, JTs, T9s, AQo+, KQo

Button

582 combos · 43.9% of hands

22+, A2s+, K2s+, Q4s+, J6s+, T6s+, 96s+, 85s+, 74s+, 64s+, 53s+, 43s, A2o+, K8o+, Q9o+, J9o+, T9o, 98o

Balanced style. Pairs run down the diagonal, suited hands sit above it and offsuit hands below. Open both in the range viewer

The blinds are a special case. They already have chips in, so they get a good price to call, but they will be out of position for the whole hand. That is why defending the big blind is common but playing well from there is hard, and why the small blind, with the worst seat after the flop, usually 3-bets or folds rather than calls.

Position is about one opponent at a time

If the cutoff opens and the big blind calls, the cutoff is in position: the big blind acts first on every street. If the button calls instead, the cutoff is out of position against the button for the rest of the hand.

Tip: When you look back at a hand, ask first who was in position. It explains more decisions than the cards do.

In PokerIQ

Set your seat in the Analyser’s game setup and choose the table size, from heads-up to nine-handed. PokerIQ names the seats as above, and villain’s line is described by seat too, such as “Raised first from the cutoff”.

The Ranges page shows every opening range by seat, for your style and for each player type, at 6-max and full ring. Switch between the lojack and the button to see position at work. The Trainer’s Cash 6-max and Cash 9-max drills deal you hands from different seats.

Terms in this lesson

Position In position and out of position Under the gun Lojack Hijack Cutoff Button Small blind Big blind Full ring 6-max Heads-up Open 3-bet Range Line Trainer