Playing in position

Two players can hold the same cards and win very different amounts with them, just because of where they sit. Acting last means seeing what everyone else did before you decide, and over many hands that's worth more than almost anything else at the table. This guide explains what position is, why the button is the best seat, and how to play from each part of the table.

What position means

The order of play in Hold'em is fixed by the dealer button, which moves one seat to the left after every hand:

• Before the flop, the player after the big blind acts first and the big blind acts last.
• From the flop on, the first player still in after the button acts first, and the button acts last.

When you act after an opponent on the flop, the turn and the river, you are in position on them. When you act before them, you are out of position. The order never changes during a hand, so whoever is in position after the flop stays in position to the end.

New to the button and the blinds? The short Position lesson on our learning path lets you tap through the seats, and how poker blinds work covers who posts what.

The seats, early to late

Seats are named by where they sit in the order. At a full table of nine, before the flop:

Behind: players still to act before the flop if everyone before you folded. At a table of six the first three seats go: the lojack acts first, and is called under the gun there.

The cutoff sits just before the button: if everyone folds to it and it raises, the button loses the chance to. The hijack, one seat earlier, can take that chance from both of them.

Why acting last wins more pots

1. You decide with more information. When an opponent checks, they've told you something about their hand. When they bet, you know the price before you choose. They had to guess what you would do.
2. You control the size of the pot. With a medium hand you can check behind and keep the pot small. With a strong one you can bet and build it. Out of position, a check can be met with a bet you didn't want to face.
3. You can take a free card. If you're drawing and your opponent checks, you can check too and see the next card at no cost.
4. You close each round. When the others check to you, your check ends the betting, so a medium hand can see the next card, or the showdown, without facing another bet.
5. Their weakness shows. A check is often a sign of a hand that missed, and you're the one who gets to respond to it.

Most flops miss

Here is why that last point matters so much. With two unpaired cards, none of the three flop cards matches either of your ranks 67.6% of the time, about two flops in three. Your opponent is in the same boat.

So most pots after the flop go to whoever is willing to bet for them, and that decision is far easier when you act second. Out of position you have to bet into a player who might have hit, or check and hand them the initiative. In position you see their check first, and a bet often takes the pot with nothing.

An example from the button

Everyone folds to you on the button. You raise with a suited hand, and only the big blind calls:

You have a flush draw: 9 hearts left in the deck make your flush. The big blind acts first and checks.

• Take the free card. Check behind and the turn costs you nothing. It brings a heart 19.1% of the time, 1 in 5.2.
• Or bet. Their check suggests the king missed them. A bet can win the pot right now, and if they call you still have the draw.

Now swap the seats. Out of position, you'd have to act first without knowing what they'll do. If you check, they may bet and charge you to draw. If you bet, they may raise. Either way you choose blind, while they choose after seeing you. Over two cards to come, the draw makes a flush 35.0% of the time wherever you sit; position decides how cheaply you get to see them and how much you win when it comes.

The blinds: paid in, out of position

The blinds act last before the flop, but that's the only round they do. From the flop on, the small blind acts first against everyone and the big blind acts second. They've paid in without looking at their cards, and then play the rest of the hand at a disadvantage.

• The big blind gets a good price: often it only needs to call part of a raise to see the flop, so it can defend with more hands than any other seat.
• The small blind has the worst of both: it has paid less, so its price is worse, and it's out of position against every player. Play fewer hands here than the discount tempts you to.

Using your position

• Play fewer hands early, more hands late. Under the gun, 8 players are still to act behind you; on the button, 2. Our guide to starting hands explains why fewer hands are worth playing with more players behind.
• Raise when it's folded to you late. From the cutoff or the button, only the blinds are in your way, and they'll be out of position if they call.
• Out of position, keep pots smaller with medium hands, and be ready to check and call rather than bet into a player who acts after you.
• Watch who acts after you. A player on your left who raises often makes your seat worse; one who plays passively makes it better.
• Count the seats every hand. Before you look at your cards, find the button and work out how many players act after you. It becomes automatic quickly.

Position works together with the maths of draws. When you know your outs, poker odds and outs shows when a call pays, and the free card from position makes many more draws worth seeing.

Questions