What is Position

As in most poker games, position matters a great deal in no-limit Texas Hold’em. However, many new players fail to appreciate the importance of position, not realizing what a great advantage it can be to see what your opponent has done before having to act.

How Position Works

No-limit Texas Hold’em is a game in which the relative positions of the players change with every hand. Before a hand starts, a dealer’s button is placed before one of the players, indicating that the player -- often referred to simply as “the button” -- has the most advantageous position at the table.

In order to keep things fair, the button is moved one seat over after every hand (to the left) so everyone playing gets an equal opportunity to enjoy this advantage.

To the left of the player on the button sit the players with the worst position at the table, the ones posting the small blind and big blind. After the flop, these players will be forced to act before anyone else and thus, unlike their opponents, won’t be able to know what other players’ plans are for the hand when they make their decisions.

Before the flop, the player sitting to the left of the big blind -- or “under the gun” -- is the first to act. Moving in a clockwise fashion around the table, the players then take turns until the button, small blind, and big blind act.

Once the betting is closed and the flop is dealt, action on the flop, turn, and river begins with the small blind or the earliest-positioned player still in the hand. And the player sitting in latest position gets to act last on all of the post-flop streets.

Positions at the Table

Here is how the positions are usually referred to, from earliest to latest. First, you have the small blind (SB), big blind (BB), and under the gun (UTG). These are the worst positions. Next, there are early position (EP) and middle position (MP) seats. Finally, you have the cutoff (CO) and the button (BU), which are the best positions.

The UTG player acts first before the flop with the action then proceeding around to the players in the blinds who act last. Thus, the blinds are technically at an advantage before the flop, but will be forced to act first on every street after the flop.

Therefore, if the SB and BB are thinking ahead, their correct strategy is to be cautious before the flop as they may encounter difficulty playing from out of position later on. Meanwhile, the players in late position (CO and BU) get to see everyone else’s actions before making decisions, so they have the most powerful positions at the table.

Later Position is Better

For example, let’s say a player in early position is dealt Ah Ts before the flop and decides to raise. Everyone then folds to the player on the button who calls with Jd Td. The blinds fold, and the flop comes 7d Ac Qd.

The EP player flopped top pair, but the button has a flush draw and could end up with the best hand, depending on the turn and river cards. Even though the EP player does have the best hand, being out of position makes things difficult for him. Especially when he bets and watches as the button player raises!

It is hard for the EP player to know how to proceed here. In fact, raising with A-10 offsuit probably is not such a great idea when sitting in early position, since even when you do hit an ace, it’s hard to combat pressure coming from players acting after you. Percentage-wise, the EP player is much more likely in this case to end with the best hand after the turn and river cards are dealt. But can he handle continuing to call more bets from the button player?