Poker Positions Strategy – How To Make Positions in Poker Work for You

Anyone learning how to play poker must first understand the basics, like the hand hierarchy and the concept of bluffing. However, if you’re ascending to the advanced leagues, it’s time to also build a solid poker positions strategy as the seating arrangement at the table is instrumental. Apart from helping reduce your risk, it also gives you the opportunity to get a peek at the other players’ hands and potentially improve your winning chances.

What Are Poker Positions?

In simple terms, the positions in poker refer to where you are seated at the table, relative to the croupier (or the dealer button if you play at one of the best online casinos). As you probably know, each seat has a set of advantages and disadvantages. The place you occupy during gameplay is crucial for building a strategy, getting enough information to act, making time-sensitive decisions, and even gaining the upper hand.

Another fundamental distinction worth being aware of is relative positions versus absolute positions.

Relative Positions

A relative position is tricky to understand, because you can essentially be in or out of position depending on the other players in the hand. More simply put, being in position means you act last, and out of position means you act first.

An example of a relative position would be you in relation to the pre-flop raiser. It’s always better to sit on the right of the pre-flop raiser than to their left. That’s because you’ll be the one to close off the betting cycle if the raiser makes a continuation bet.

On the other hand, if you’re on their left side, you’re at a significant disadvantage, because you’ll be the first to wager if the pre-flop raiser makes a continuation bet.

Absolute Positions

The absolute position doesn’t change, as this is where you are seated in relation to the blinds and the dealer button during the hand. Once the hand is dealt, the position remains the same. For instance, if you act last in every postflop betting round, you will have absolute position.

An absolute position is considered the most valuable one to have in a game of poker, because if you get to act last in each betting round, you can closely follow the actions of the opponents before you. You’re also less likely to have to deal with a strong hand, so you could have a better chance at winning the pot.

Why Are Positions Important in Poker?

The online poker table positions are essential because, depending on where you are seated, you can have more wiggle room to act, strategise, and control the game.

You can also collect more or less information about the other players’ hands, have more control over how much you contribute to the pot, and even take free cards to build a stronger hand.

As a small distinction to understand, players who:

• act first are in early position,
• act later in the game are in late position, and
• act in between are in middle position.

Generally, the players in later positions have an advantage at the table over those stuck in early ones. A suboptimal place to be in is the blinds, because you’re forced to contribute to the pot and act first on all betting rounds after the flop.

Early positions are the hardest because you don’t have any clue how everyone else will act. As such, a good rule of thumb is to play only your strongest best hands to start off, for such as a pair of 10s or higher.

Poker Positions Strategy: How To Make the Most of Your Poker Position

As you’ve probably gathered, each of the poker seat positions can either be challenging to navigate or provide smooth sailing. The golden rule is to always play more pots in position and avoid playing out of position as much as possible. We’ve put together even more tips and tricks to further help you navigate each position.

• If you’re UTG (Under the Gun), you’ll have the least amount of information about the players at the table and you’ll be the first to act. In this situation, the only thing you can do is act based on the strength of your cards because it’s 100% a guessing game. Small pairs are also the easiest to play at this stage.
• To avoid making common poker mistakes, always play your strongest hands in the early poker positions and the good or decent ones in the mid-positions. In late position, you still have an advantage, so you can even work with subpar hands.
• In mid-positions, you can already see what some of the other players are doing, so at this stage, you can add more pairs, and you should raise with any pair.
• In late positions, such as the cutoff and button, you hold the privileged seat. You’ve already seen what everyone else is doing: if they’ve all folded (even if you have a weaker or average hand), you can still win the pot. You can play any pair of cards that are in relationship with each other, for example two high cards over 10 or two consecutive cards of the same suit.

Poker Positions Explained

To make sure you always choose the right poker positions or even learn how to work with less desirable ones, you must first understand each one in greater detail. Here, we’ll also present useful tips on how to act in every position to boost your winning chances.

Early Positions

All players in a poker game act in clockwise order from the dealer, and this is also how the positions are counted. In short, the early positions refer to the first two or three seats directly clockwise of the blinds. These players act first and set the tone for the whole game.

1. Under the Gun (UTG)

Under the Gun (UTG) is the player located directly to the left of the big blind. Unfortunately, this is the most disadvantageous position to hold because this player is the first to act pre-flop.
That means that there are eight more players that have yet to act, and you hold no information about them to strategise or prepare in advance. It’s also why you have the tightest range to work with of all players at the table. The UTG also has the option of calling the big blind amount, raising, or folding.

If you’re the UTG, there are certain steps you can take to alleviate the disadvantage:

• Play conservatively — In other words, play your absolute best cards first. There’s a high chance one of the following opponents, especially the one right after you, will have even stronger hands. As such, playing a tight range of strong hands in anticipation will be your best bet.
• Keep a cool head — There’s a reason why the position is called “under the gun”, and that’s due to the immense pressure associated with it. Don’t lose your head and only raise your bet if you hold a strong hand, like an Ace and a face card, or a pair of 8s or higher.

2. UTG +1

The UTG+ 1 is the person sitting directly to the left of the UTG player and the second to act pre-flop. While it’s not as disadvantageous as the UTG, it’s still not much better, either, because you have seven other opponents following you that you can’t “read” yet. Naturally, you have to exhibit an equally tight play here, even though more hands will be available to you.

Middle Positions

1. Middle Position (MP)

There is some debate among poker connoisseurs in terms of the UTG+2 position. Some classify it as a middle position even though it’s not in the outright middle of the table, because it’s an intermediary between early position and late position. Others see UTG+2 in particular as part of the early positions, while only Lojack is truly the middle position.

UTG+2 falls to the left of UTG+1. Same as the previous two positions, it’s among the hardest to play before the flop. Experts advise keeping your range at 15% of the total hands.

2. Lojack (LJ)

Lojack is the middle ground position of poker, and it’s located to the direct right of the hijack position. In other words, it’s not the best, but not the worst, either.

At a poker table with nine participants, the lojack is identical to the UTG in a six-handed poker game, because, in both instances, there’s the same remaining number of players left to act. Consequently, you’ll have to employ similar strategies.

Here’s how to work with this position:

• Play more cards — You can even bring forth weaker pairs and Ax hands.
• Allow yourself to play slightly more aggressively — You don’t have to keep it as safe as the previous two positions, but still be mindful that there are at least five other players left to play.
• Open-raise — When the opportunity to open-raise is presented to you, take it, and play around 13% of your holdings.

Late Positions

These are the best poker positions of all, because you’re nearing the end of the game. Consequently, you’ve had plenty of time to observe the other players and adapt to their moves. Information is power and the key to any successful poker position strategy. In addition, you may even be able to win the pot with an average hand, because other players can fold before you.

Finally, you have access to an abundance of card choices as opposed to those stuck in early positions, so you can raise and keep playing. Perhaps the most underrated benefit here is that you only have three opponents left behind you, meaning that the odds decrease for them to have better hands than you. Not to mention, two of them could also be out of position on the last betting cycles.

1. Hijack (HJ)

As evident from its name, if you’re here, your ultimate goal is to “hijack” the chances of the next players, namely cutoff and button to beat you at stealing the blinds. The primary idea here is to play a wider range of hands and not be afraid of exhibiting aggressive moves, particularly if the opponents before you have folded. Although this is a late position in nine-handed poker, it doesn’t exist at all in the six-handed format.

This position is believed to be one of the most decent ones to hold, because you’ve already seen what the earlier-position players have done and you can strategise accordingly. To recap, the hijack sits two seats right of the button and one seat to the right of the cutoff.

Here’s how to proceed from the hijack depending on what happened prior in the poker game:

• If there’s been a lot of raising, remain cautious: In this instance, assume those opponents have stronger hands. Get rid of your starting ones, fold them, and only proceed with your strongest hands.
• If there’s only been one raise, consider bluffing: Put your strongest hands ahead but also bluff raises with the starting ones. This will put pressure on the players from the earlier positions.

2. Cutoff (CO)

In this position, you’re encouraged to steal blinds and get truly aggressive, knowing there’s just one single player left after you. The goal is to make the button fold, so you can race against the blinds and take control. As placement, the cutoff is only one seat away from the button. It’s believed to be one of the best poker positions of all. Not only do you get to observe the actions of most players and make more informed decisions, but you’re also the last to act post-flop if the dealer folds pre-flop.

3. Button (BT)

In online poker rooms, the button is indicated by a small white disk, and it refers to the dealer of the current hand. The two remaining players to his left are the blinds. The button is practically the dealer position, or the player who gets to act last in every betting round.

It’s considered a premium position for poker players and the one that can lead to the most profitable outcomes. For this reason, it’s especially appreciated by fans of high-stakes poker online. You’re guaranteed to be in position post-flop, and there are only two players you have to worry about.

Being the button allows you play it truly aggressively. It’s recommended to play your widest range and open 40% or more of your hands. This show of confidence and strategy may lead both blinds to fold, so you get to win the whole pot.

Not to mention, you have the advantage of having watched every player in the hand act before making your decision.

The Blinds

The blinds are the two players who put in the small and big blinds. These are located to the left of the dealer button, and they act last before the flop, but first for the rest of the betting rounds.

1. Small Blind (SB)

This is a very unfavourable position to hold, as you’re more or less going in blind. In this placement, you have to put in half a big blind before you see your cards. You’re also guaranteed to be out of position post-flop.

However, experts still recommend playing a lot of hands even if the odds are stacked against you, so you can still win some money back. You should maintain an overall aggressive play, but if it folds to you, you should play a wide range — similar to the button — in order to attack the big blind.

2. Big Blind (BB)

The big blind is a very privileged position, though it’s not without its shortcomings. On the plus side, you’re the last to act pre-flop, so you can win the pot straightaway if everyone folds. However, you can rarely open raise yourself, so you’ll have to react to what the opponent raises. If a player raises from an early position, they’ll have a tight hand, so you should have an even tighter response.

Same as the small blind, it’s imperative to act aggressively from this position. Don’t just call from the big blind, because you could play out of position, which is quite disadvantageous.

What’s the Best Position in Poker?

The late positions are universally agreed upon to be the most profitable and advantageous in poker. In particular, the cutoff and button put you in the best place post-flop and can help you execute steals. You can open with very weak hands and still win the blinds, without even getting involved in post-flop showdowns.

Other Poker Positions & Bets

In addition to what we’ve already presented, there are two other poker positions that typically receive less attention, but are worth understanding as well.

The Straddle

The straddle is an optional bet, meaning not all poker variations will offer it. A player will voluntarily invest twice the big blind amount into the pot before the cards are dealt. The one to the left of the big blind will typically make the straddle. Then, the other players will either call or raise the bet. Each poker room has different rules on the straddle’s role and time to act. For example, some may not allow them to act out of position, while others don’t allow them at all.

The Ante

“Ante” comes from the Latin word for “before”, and refers to all bets made pre-flop. The ante is a mandatory bet that all players must make before any cards are dealt — usually a small sum. Not all poker games will have this requirement, though it is prevalent in organised tournaments and at high-stakes tables. You’ll also find it as a forced bet in draw poker and stud poker.

The idea is that, because each player paid an ante, if they fold, they lose money. This provides everyone at the table with an incentive to play the hand instead of folding. It may also prompt a more aggressive play.

Positions in Poker: Our Conclusion

Poker positions are incredibly important and a topic worth exploring by advanced players. After all, your spot determines how many free cards you get, how much control you have over the pot, the opportunities to bluff and, most importantly, the amount of information you have to predict the opponents’ next moves.

We hope our poker positions guide has cleared things up and equipped you with the best tools for a winning strategy! All that’s left now is to head to our best online poker sites page and find your new favourite poker casino.

Poker Positions Sources

1. The Theory of Poker — Published in 1978, professional poker player David Sklansky explores the ins and outs of how to think like a poker player and play like one.
2. Poker.org — An independent media company focused on uplifting poker players and their voices.
3. The Challenge of Poker — A 2002 paper that looks at how poker is being used as a test-bed for artificial intelligence.