Poker positions determine the order in which you act during a hand, and that order is the single biggest structural advantage you can have at the table.
Players who act last collect more information, control pot sizes, and win more money over time, not because they are better at reading hands, but because they see more before they have to decide.
I have coached hundreds of players who lose money in positions they should be winning from, and in almost every case, the root cause is the same: they play the same hand the same way regardless of where they are sitting.
That is the mistake this guide will fix. Once you understand what each position demands, your preflop decisions get cleaner, your postflop decisions become easier, and your win rate improves without learning a single new concept.
Download Poker Positions PDF Guide
What Is Position in Poker?
Before we can discuss any specifics, we must first explain what a poker position is and how it is determined.
The actual seat you have decided to take at the table does not matter for poker position, as every player gets to play every position exactly once per orbit.
Instead, your poker position in hand is determined relative to the position of the dealer button, which moves by one spot to the left of every hand.
Generally speaking, poker positions can be grouped in the following way:
- Early Position
- Middle Position
- Late Position
- The Blinds
Each of these position groups requires a different preflop and postflop strategy, with tighter play generally recommended in earlier positions and more aggressive play in later positions.
Now that you understand the concept, let’s take a more detailed look at all the positions you can find yourself in and discuss the basic strategic implications.
How Positions Differ Based On Table Sizes
One thing that confuses many players is how positions shift when moving from a full-ring (9-handed) game to a 6-max game. The position names stay the same, but which seat fills which role changes significantly.
In a 9-handed game, you have:
- three early positions (UTG, UTG+1, UTG+2),
- two middle positions (Lojack, Hijack),
- two late positions (CO, BTN),
- and the two blinds.
In a 6-max game, the table shrinks to:
- UTG (which is also effectively UTG+1 from a full-ring perspective),
- Lojack (HJ acts as the second seat),
- Hijack,
- CO,
- BTN,
- and the two blinds.
The practical result is that in 6-max, every position is shifted toward late position relative to full ring. What was a middle position opening range in a 9-handed game becomes closer to an early position range in 6-max, because you still have the same number of players left to act behind you.
What I tell students making the jump from full ring to 6-max: do not assume that sitting in the Hijack in a 6-max game gives you the freedom of a Hijack at a full table. You are effectively playing from the UTG+1 spot in terms of how many players are behind you. Adjust accordingly.
| Position | 9-handed role | 6-max equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| UTG | First to act preflop | UTG (tightest seat) |
| UTG+1 | Second to act | Lojack |
| UTG+2 | Third to act (EP) | Hijack |
| Lojack | First MP seat | Cutoff |
| Hijack | Second MP seat | Button |
| CO | Late position | — (absorbed into BTN or SB) |
| BTN | Best seat | Best seat |
Early Position
The table positions to the very left of the blinds are called early seats. Typically, the two players sitting next to the blinds are considered to be in early position.
The first position to the left of the big blind is called “Under the Gun” (UTG) and is the least favorable preflop position. The player to UTG’s left is labeled UTG+1.
At a 6-handed table, only these two players are considered in early position; in full-ring games, the player to the left of UTG+1 can also be considered an EP player.
Playing from UTG or UTG+1 means you will always be the first player entering the pot, with everyone else still left to act behind you.
Early Position Strategy
The single biggest mistake I see students make from an early position is playing too many hands. It feels passive to fold 87s from UTG, but it is the correct play. Being in an early position means the whole table is still left to act behind you, and there is a real chance someone is sitting on a monster.
I would rather fold a marginal hand preflop than spend the next three streets playing out of position against a range that has me crushed.
With this in mind, it is important to play a tight range of hands from early seats, consisting mostly of very strong holdings and a few speculative hands for balance.
You will still want to open all big pairs, all big aces, and suited Broadway cards. However, you should fold most of your offsuit hands, as well as various suited connectors and gappers, except for the premium ones.
While this kind of approach might seem too tight, and folding 87 suited from UTG might seem like overkill, this is definitely the strategy that works best from an early position.
Middle Position
Moving further to the left, we arrive at the middle position. Typically speaking, the two positions to the left of UTG+1 are considered middle positions in full-ring games, while the one position to the left of UTG+1 is considered a middle position in 6-Max games.
Labeled as Lojack (LJ) and Hijack (HJ), these positions give you a bit more liberty than UTG and UTG+1, although the distinction becomes less impactful in 6-Max games, where Hijack also acts as UTG+1.
Middle Position Strategy
As you move into the middle position, the temptation is to open up your range significantly because it feels like you are no longer in the early seat. In my experience, this is where intermediate players leak the most chips.
The middle positions, Lojack and Hijack, are not LP. You still have the CO, BTN, and both blinds behind you, and any one of those players can wake up with a strong hand or a well-timed 3-bet. Opening up too wide here is a frequent and costly mistake.
As you move further away from UTG, your opening range can expand slightly as fewer players remain behind you.
With fewer opponents left to act, the odds of someone sitting behind you with a monster or playing back at you go down.
Yet, the middle position still doesn’t offer too much wiggle room, as you must still play a reasonably tight preflop range.
Introducing all pocket pairs, some additional suited aces, and an occasional suited connector to your range is acceptable, but opening much wider than this is usually not a good idea.
Late Position
Late in the game, the game becomes genuinely enjoyable. I have played millions of hands from the CO and BTN, and the edge those seats provide never gets old. This brings us to the late position at a poker table, the ideal seat you want to be in.
While both positions are considered as LP, it is worth noting that the Dealer position is infinitely more profitable than Cutoff, as it guarantees you will be in position for all remaining streets, regardless of other players’ actions.
Playing in LP is much easier than playing in other positions, as your postflop advantage allows you much looser preflop play and a lot more room for fancy moves.
Late Position Strategy
As you move into a late position at the table, you will start opening your range significantly, adding a variety of suited hands, offsuit connectors, and more to your raises.
What’s even more, you will often be faced with early or middle position raises or limps when you are in LP, and you will have the ability to apply pressure, steal pots away with 3-bets, or call to see flops in position.
Being in position, especially on the button, will allow you to play more hands profitably and outplay your opponents on every street to follow.
For this reason, it is crucial to play aggressively from the late position and take the initiative before the flop is even dealt.
If you do it right, your ability to over-realize your equity when playing in position will turn late-position play into a money-making machine.
The Blinds
The final two positions at any poker table are the blinds. The Small Blind (SB) and Big Blind (BB) are the only two players who must put money into the pot without looking at their cards.
Being in the blinds puts you at a significant disadvantage, as you are forced to invest money with random cards.
What’s even more, you will play every following street out of position, which is what makes blinds play one of the most complicated elements of the game of poker.
Small Blind Play
When you are seated in the blinds, you will see the entire table act before the action is on you. It is worth noting that there is a significant advantage between being in the SB and the BB.
As an SB player, you will sometimes have the opportunity to attack the BB, as all other players will fold. This is especially common in 6-Max play.
When the pot is unopened in the SB, you should play with a wide range, as you only need to get through one player to steal the blinds.
If you face raises from one of the players who acted before, you will usually be well advised to 3-bet or fold, as calling in SB leads to several major problems.
For starters, you will play the entire hand out of position 100% of the time. Furthermore, calling gives the BB a good price on an overcall, which makes the pot 3-way instead of heads-up. Finally, the BB is incentivized to 3-bet as a steal more often with a wider range, but will always have a position on you if you call.
By always 3-betting or folding in the SB, you will play fewer pots against two players, not be exploited by the BB who knows you don’t have a monster hand, and win many pots right then and there.
Big Blind Play
Your BB strategy should consist of many calls against small raises from early and late positions, mixed in with a few 3-bets with your strongest hands and best bluffing candidates.
You will have to play the hand out of position against most players from the BB, but the amazing pot odds you will often get before the flop still make it a good idea to defend wide.
The diagram above lists the names of each position in a 9-handed poker game.
Impact of Poker Position on Postflop Play
If poker were played entirely preflop, position would matter less. But there are three streets after the flop, and the bets keep growing on each one. The edge you gain from acting last does not stay flat. It compounds with every street.
Here is a concrete example of how position changes a hand. Suppose you are holding 98s on a board of J-7-3 rainbow.
Out of position, you face a bet and must decide: call and risk being bet off your draw on the turn, or fold and lose the pot.
In position, your opponent checks to you. Now you can take a free card, semi-bluff, or simply check back and protect your equity. All three options are available. The player OOP has one bad option and one expensive option. The player IP has three reasonable ones.
That information advantage is what the position actually means on the felt.
Playing out of position, you will be in complete darkness as to the way other players connected with the flop, giving you a distinct disadvantage in that betting round.
Moving into the turn and river, you will always have to act first, which will make it harder to bluff, harder to bluff catch, and harder to get away from losing hands.
The decisions you made before the flop will start compounding as each street passes. Opening too wide from EP, for example, will lead to some terrible spots on turns and rivers, making you regret ever being in hand.
Of course, you will need to learn how to navigate both in-position (IP) and out-of-position (OOP) scenarios if you want to become a complete Texas Hold’em player, but you should always remember that you want to play way more pots in position than out of it.
Advantages of Playing in Position
Having a position over your opponents is one of the biggest advantages you can have at a poker table. What I find when I review student hands is that position mistakes are almost always invisible to the player making them.
They do not show up as obvious blunders; they show up as marginally incorrect decisions that compound over hundreds of hands into a significant loss. Here is what you are actually getting when you play in position:
#1. Act Last: Acting last in a hand is a massive advantage. You get to see your opponent’s actions and adapt to them in any way that benefits you.
#2. Pot Control: By being last to act, you will have a chance to control the size of the pot. Calling instead of raising, skipping bets, and making bets of the size you prefer are all some of the ways you can control the pot size.
#3. Take Free Cards: When playing OOP, you are sometimes forced to bet with draws, as you don’t want to be priced out of the pot by your opponent betting. IP, you will often get to check behind and take a free card, allowing you to draw for free or protect yourself against check-raises.
#4. Extra Value: Being in position will allow you to make thin value bets that might seem dangerous OOP. Once your opponent has checked the river, their range will often be capped.
#5. Close the Action: If there are no players to act behind you, you know you are closing the action. Making a multi-way call with a drawing hand will be easier, as you know you won’t get squeezed out.
Mastering concepts like playing in position can help you win money and trophies at the poker table.
Final Thoughts on Poker Position
Of all the concepts I teach, position is the one that produces the fastest measurable improvement. It does not require memorizing new hand combinations or solver outputs. It requires adjusting a decision you are already making based on a single piece of information you always have available: where you are sitting relative to the dealer button.
What I ask every student to do first is track which position they are in when they lose the most money. In almost every case, that position is somewhere in the blinds or early position, and the reason is always the same: they played too many hands they should have folded.
It may take some time to fully adjust to playing differently from each position, but the results you achieve are well worth it.
Start studying positional GTO poker strategy today, one position at a time, and we can promise you your results will improve as your positional awareness increases, and you make more correct plays from each position at the table.
