The table
Poker positions
Poker positions are the seats at the table, named by the order they act in, counted from the dealer button. A six-handed table has the button, the small blind, the big blind and three more seats: under the gun (early position), the hijack (middle position) and the cutoff. Acting last gives you information.
The drawing below is a six-handed table with every position named. After it: who acts first on each street, why your seat changes which hands are worth playing, and all nine positions at a full table.
A six-handed table, seat by seat
Play moves clockwise. The button marks who deals the hand; the two blinds sit to its left, and the other seats are named by counting from the left of the big blind.
Who acts first
The order changes only once in a hand, when the flop comes. It's the rule most often argued about at home games, so it's worth seeing in writing.
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Preflop
The seat to the left of the big blind starts: under the gun. The blinds act last, because their chips are already in.
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On the flop, turn and river
The first player still in the hand to the left of the button starts: the small blind, if they haven't folded. The button always acts last.
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Heads-up
With only two players, the button posts the small blind and acts first before the flop; after the flop it acts last, as always.
The four groups
- Early position
- The first seat to the left of the big blind, under the gun. Before the flop it opens the action knowing nothing about anyone, with five players still to act behind it.
- Middle position
- The next seat, the hijack at a six-handed table. It has seen what under the gun did, but four players are still to act.
- Late position
- The cutoff and the button. They see almost everyone act before deciding, and the button acts last on the flop, the turn and the river.
- The blinds
- They put chips in before seeing their cards: the big blind posts one big blind, and the small blind usually half that. Before the flop they act last; after the flop they act first on every street.
Why your seat matters
Acting last is called having position, and what it gives you is information: you see what the others do before you put in a chip. If everyone checks, you know nobody wanted to bet; if someone bets, you decide knowing what it costs to continue. Whoever acts first is deciding in the dark, on every street.
And the more players left to act behind you, the more likely one of them holds something better. That's why players enter fewer hands from early position than from the button: not because the cards change, but because what you don't know changes.
Your cards
The same hand, two seats
With king-ten of spades under the gun, five players are still to act behind you and you know nothing about any of them: if you play, any of them can hold an ace with a big kicker and have you beat for the rest of the hand. With the same cards on the button, you've already watched four players fold, only the blinds are left, and you'll act last on every street. Same cards, different decision.
At a full nine-handed table
A full table of nine has three more seats, counted the same way from the left of the big blind: two in early position, three in middle position and two in late position, which are still the cutoff and the button. The blinds don't change.
All nine positions, with their abbreviations
In the order they act before the flop. These are the labels you'll hear at the table and see in hand histories, charts and videos.
| Acts | Abbr. | Position | Group |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | UTG | Under the gun Opens the action before the flop. | Early |
| 2 | UTG+1 | Under the gun +1 The seat after UTG. | Early |
| 3 | MP | Middle position Also called UTG+2. | Middle |
| 4 | LJ | Lojack Three seats before the button. | Middle |
| 5 | HJ | Hijack Two seats before the button. | Middle |
| 6 | CO | Cutoff The seat just before the button. | Late |
| 7 | BTN | Button The dealer seat, last to act after the flop. | Late |
| 8 | SB | Small blind First to act after the flop. | Blind |
| 9 | BB | Big blind Last to act before the flop. | Blind |
Where early position ends and middle position begins isn't written down anywhere: some players count the third seat, UTG+2, as early. And at a six-handed table the first player to act is still called under the gun, even though that seat sits three places before the button, where the lojack sits at a full table.
The button moves one seat to the left after every hand, so everyone passes through every position. No seat is yours for long: what matters is knowing where you are in each hand.
In the course
Positions, played
The course teaches position in three places: the blinds and the button in the first path, the order after the flop in path 5, and the seats at six- and nine-handed tables in path 10. Each lesson builds on the ones before it, so you start with the cards.
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Path 1 · The table comes alive
Blinds and button
You'll know who speaks first on every street, and why, without memorising rules.
8 min
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Path 5 · Reading the flop
Who acts first
You will recall who decides first after the flop and see what information acting last gives you.
6 min
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Path 10 · Playing in a card room
Six and nine
You will name the positions at a table of six and at one of nine.
6 min
Common questions
What is the best position in poker?
The button. From the flop on it acts last on every street, so it decides after seeing what everyone else did. The worst is the small blind: it puts chips in without seeing its cards and acts first after the flop.
Who acts first in poker?
Before the flop, the player to the left of the big blind, under the gun. On the flop, turn and river, the first player still in the hand to the left of the button, usually the small blind. The button acts last from the flop on.
What does UTG mean in poker?
Under the gun: the seat directly to the left of the big blind, first to act before the flop. It's the seat where you know the least about everyone else, because all of them act after you.
Why are the blinds a bad position?
Because they put chips in before seeing their cards and, after the flop, they act first on every street. Before the flop they act last, which is their one advantage, and it's why the big blind can call with more hands than other seats.
What are the 9 positions in poker?
At a full nine-handed table, in the order they act before the flop: under the gun (UTG), UTG+1, middle position (MP), lojack, hijack, cutoff, button, small blind and big blind. The first two are early position, the next three middle position, and the cutoff and the button late position.
How does the dealer button move?
One seat to the left at the end of every hand, clockwise. The blinds move with it, so each player posts the small and the big blind once per orbit and passes through every position.
Before your seat, your cards
Your seat changes which hands are worth playing, but first you need to read the ones you're dealt. The course starts with the cards, gets to the button and the blinds within the first path, and to six- and nine-handed tables in path 10.
First lesson · 6 min The cards Every card has two facts: rank and suit. You'll learn to read both, and which one says which card is worth more. Play nowNo sign-up · No money · In your browser
