Poker Positions

Why position matters

Poker is a game of incomplete information. Acting last gives you the most information: you watch every opponent check, bet or fold before you must decide. Acting first means guessing blind. Over thousands of hands that difference is worth a great deal of money, which is why strong players happily fold hands in early positions that they would play on the button.

The six-seat table

Positions are named by their distance from the dealer button. At MoonLight Poker’s six-seat tables there are six:

Grouped simply: early (UTG), middle (hijack), late (cutoff and button) and the blinds.

Full-ring names

At a nine-seat table, three extra seats appear between under the gun and the hijack: UTG+1, UTG+2 (early) and the lojack or middle seats. The principle is the same: the closer to the button, the later you act and the more hands you can profitably play.

How to play each position

• Under the gun: play only strong hands: high pairs, strong aces and big suited broadways. Several players still act behind you.
• Hijack: widen a little with more suited hands and medium pairs.
• Cutoff: a good seat to steal the blinds. Many more suited and connected hands become playable.
• Button: the widest range. If it folds to you, raising with a wide range is often profitable.
• Small blind: awkward. You act first after the flop, so avoid marginal hands; raise or fold more than you call.
• Big blind: you already have a stake, so you can defend against small raises with many hands, but still fold the weakest.

Position after the flop

The player who acts last after the flop is “in position”. In position you can check behind to take a free card, bet when opponents show weakness, and control the size of the pot. Out of position, bets by opponents are harder to read and you will sometimes face tough decisions with marginal hands.

Notice how bots at our tables loosen up as they get closer to the button. When you play, try this yourself for a session: tighten up in early seats, widen on the button, and compare how your results feel. Then jump in and play.