Poker Position Names
In Texas Hold’em, the person who starts or goes first is dependent on what stage of the hand being played. Before the flop, the first person to act is the player seated directly to the left of the Big Blind. This seat is often referred to as Under The Gun (UTG). After the flop, the first person to act is the player seated in the Small Blind (SB) position. Thereafter, the order stays the same for the rest of the hand through the Flop, Turn, and River.
Table of Contents
Position in poker refers to the order in which players are seated around the table and the related poker strategy implications. Players who act first are in 'early position'; players who act later are in 'late position'; players who act in between are in 'middle position'. A player 'has position' on opponents acting before him and is 'out of position' to opponents acting after him. Poker Terms - Common Phrases and Acronyms. In poker, there is practically a library of poker terms that are commonly used. For the uninitiated, these terms can sound like a completely different language, when a poker player says, 'I flopped a belly buster on a rainbow board', when they are really saying that they have an inside straight draw, after the dealer dealt the first three cards, all.
What Is the Exact Order of Play?
The order of play is based on how the players are seated at the table. There are typically 6 seat names in poker. UTG (also known as first position) is divided up into multiple seats (UTG, UTG+1, UTG+2) for games larger than 6-handed.
Here is what a 6-max poker table looks like. In the chart, the seats are called Under The Gun (UTG), the Hijack (HJ), the Cutoff (CO), the Button (BTN), the Small Blind (SB), and the Big Blind (BB).
Pre-Flop Order
Before the flop, the last player to act is always the Big Blind.
On a 6-handed table, the order of play would be UTG, HJ, CO, BTN, SB, BB. Once the first player acts, play continues around the table in a clockwise fashion until it reaches the Big Blind, who acts last on the first round.
On a 9-handed table, the order of play would be that the UTG starts followed by UTG+1, UTG+2, UTG+3, HJ, CO, BTN, SB, BB.
Post-Flop Order
On the Flop, Turn, and River, the last player to act is always the Button.
Accordingly, on a 6-handed table, the post-flop order of play would be the SB starts followed by the BB, UTG, HJ, CO, and BTN.
Are There Any Exceptions?
The post-flop order never changes. However, the pre-flop order of play can be slightly altered if there is a player who straddles. A straddle is when the player seated just to the left of the Big Blind (usually UTG) posts a double big blind bet in front of him prior to the cards being dealt.
Essentially, he is buying the right to act last before the flop. In the case of a straddle, the person seated just to the left of the “straddler,” goes first pre-flop once the straddle has been wagered.
What Is the Dealing Order?
The first person to act after the flop is also the first person to receive a card; the small blind. The easy way to remember this is that the dealer must always deal clockwise to his or her left.
Who Goes First in Heads-Up Play?
The pre-flop order also changes in a heads-up match. Instead of the Button acting last before the flop, he or she acts first instead. The easy way to remember it is that the Big Blind always goes last before the flop. And, in the case of heads up, the Button is the Small Blind, and therefore acts before the Big Blind player.
During post-flop, nothing changes heads up. The button still acts last, even though technically he or she is the Small Blind.
Dealing Order For Heads-Up Play
In heads-up play, the Big Blind is dealt to first and the Button 2nd. The button always receives the last card when dealing no matter how many players are seated at the table.
What’s the Order of Play Three-Handed?
The same rules apply whether there are 3 players or 10. Before the flop, the player to act first is just to the left of the big blind. In the case of three-handed play, that would be the button. After the flop, the small blind acts first as always.
Who Bets First?
After the flop and before action is opened, any player can perform one of two actions. They can either bet or check. Of course, the person who acts first has the first option to bet.
When Does a Poker Hand End?
There are a couple of ways that a poker hand can end. First, someone can bet and all the other players fold. This can happen on any street. The second time a hand can end is when the action closes on the river and showdown is achieved. In the latter case, all live hands are revealed and the winner is determined.
Who Shows Their Cards First at Showdown?
Once the hand has ended on the river and showdown has been achieved, the order that each player reveals their hand is exactly the same as the post-flop betting order. The first person to reveal is always the first person to the left of the Dealer and the last person to reveal is the player on the button.
Of course, if a player only has to show their hand if they want to. Many players will choose to “muck” or throw away their hand instead of showing if they are sure they have no chance of winning the hand at showdown. This is sometimes a wise choice in order to not give away information about your hand.
Is It Better to Act First or Last?
Poker Table Position Names Hijack
Being in position (acting last) is much better than being out of position (acting first) in poker. Poker is an informational game and the person that gets to act last has more information than everyone else. I wrote a detailed article on position; check it out for more details.
What Is the Best Position at a Poker Table?
Since we have established that acting last is most advantageous in poker, the Button would be the best seat at the table. However, in reality, the seat name is irrelevant, as long as you are acting last. Therefore, let me refine my definition slightly: the best seat in poker is any seat that has you acting last in the current hand on the current street. For example, if it is blind versus blind after the flop, then the player in the Big Blind has the best seat possible for that hand.
Why Is It Called the Dealer Button?
When poker began the players had to deal the cards. In order for everyone to get equal opportunity to share the burden of dealing, the moving dealer button was born. Today, in casinos and even in some home games, there are dedicated dealers to speed up play, enforce the rules, and lessen the likelihood of cheating.
Why Do the Blinds Act Last Before the Flop?
The exact reason that the blinds act last before the flop has been lost to history. However, one could deduce that the reasoning is simple. Since the blinds are the only players to pay to play a particular hand, it only makes sense that they should be rewarded by being given an informational advantage via acting last. This theory is bolstered by the existence of “straddles” where one can essentially “buy” position before the flop.
Who Goes First in Pot Limit Omaha?
There is no difference between Texas Hold’em and Pot Limit Omaha (PLO) when it comes to the order of play. In fact, the order of play is the same for every poker game that has two blinds and a dealer button.
When playing a poker game, some positions are more profitable compared to others. To distinguish the poker positions, every seat has a name with unique characteristics. As such, every poker position involves a different strategy to help the player to remain competitive and profitable. While the best play isn’t tied to specific cards, the player must account for his position when choosing a strategy.
Here are some of the positions available:
Big blinds (BB) – The big blind pays with two at the bottom left.
Small Blind (SB) – The small blind pays with one to the bottom left.
Button (BTN) – The best position on a table, it’s on the right side of the blinds.
Cutoff (CO) – This is the second-best position in a poker table, located right of the Button.
Hijack (HJ) – Located right of the Cutoff. This position is also known as the Middle Position on a six-max poker table.
Lojack (LJ) – On a six-max table, this position is known as Under the Gun (UTG), located at the Hijack’s right.
Middle Position (MP) – Situated right of the Lojack, this position is exclusively found on a full ring.
Under the Gun (UTG) – Found exclusively on full ring tables, this features the three earliest poker positions, UTG+2, UTG+1, UTG.
The Button’s Role
On a poker table, the positions are not fixed. However, their relationship to the Button dictates each seat’s position, moving a seat clockwise after every hand. In live poker games, the Button is marked with a plastic disc and represented graphically when playing online. However, in home games where there’s no designated dealer, the seat holding the dealer button deals with the current hand.
Learning About Poker Positions
Poker Table Seat Position Names
Poker positions are used to define the position that the players sit to the dealer and also dictates whether you’ll be first or last to place the wager.
- Early Positions
These are players sitting three seats next to the dealer. They’re considered the worst poker positions since they’re the first to act without knowing how the other players will play their hands. For instance, you’ll have to decide whether to raise, bet, fold, or check with limited information about the other players. That’s why it’s always advisable to play the best cards while you’re in these positions. That means cards that are powerful enough to carry the day without help from fancy moves by other players.
- Middle Positions
As the name suggests, the middle positions represent the three seats at the center of the circle. At this position, you get to see the moves that players in the early position make before you act, though there are still several other players that will play after you. Generally, you can relax when playing in the middle position compared to the early position. However, you still need to be careful.
- Late Position
This is the best poker position, as it allows you to have enough information about all the other players before you make a move. Unless you’re the Button, it can be advantageous to raise the hand more aggressively than when sitting in the positions next to the dealer. Additionally, the players in late position can take the hand simply by betting, especially if no one has placed a bet in the round.
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