The late position, especially the one closest to the dealer button is the best. LPs get to act last in each betting round, and gives you time to asses your opponents’ moves.
When you sit down at a poker table, your position matters a lot. It isn’t just about where you’re physically seated. Your distance from the dealer plays a big role in strategy and decision-making.
The poker seating positions determine how much information you can gather before making a move, and even what hands you should play.
In this article, we’ll tell you more about:
In poker, your seating position determines how strong your play can be. Sometimes even a bad hand can be played well depending on how far you are seated from the dealer. For example, a late position gives you an advantage by allowing you to see what other players do. Based on this, you can decide whether to call, raise, or fold. An early position has a disadvantage as you are required to act first with very little information.
Poker seating positions can be categorized into three main groups:
These positions are decided on how close or far away are you from the dealer. Understanding these positions is an important part of strategy. Armed with this knowledge, you’ll be able to play a wide range of hands and even bluff with more confidence.
Below, we break down the poker seating positions and how to take advantage of each of them.
The early position or EP refers to the first one to act after the big blind. This seat includes under the gun (UTG), the seat to the immediate left of the big blind in games like Texas Hold’em and Omaha poker. In some cases, early positions can also be UTG+1 and UTG+2 depending on the table size.
Being in an early position means you have to act as soon as the big blind is placed. This is often a disadvantage because you don’t know what cards other players might be holding.
The biggest challenge of playing from an early position is the lack of knowledge. Early positions have to bet first so you don’t get to see how other players react to different moves. In this case, it is best to play tighter and be more selective with your hands. However, playing well from and early position also has some advantages. Suppose you raise the big blind and the next player calls (matches your current highest bet to stay in the hand). The other players may assume you have a strong hand. This can give you control over the round and make it easier to dictate the action post-flop.
However, there’s a downside to this strategy. You’re more likely to face a 3-bet (re-raise) from later positions. This can put pressure on you if you’re bluffing with a marginal hand. There’s also a risk of being outplayed by players in later positions. They have the advantage of information and have more time to decide whether to raise, call, or fold.
Don’t bluff from early positions. That’s because it’s hard to follow through your bluff, especially on the river and turn cards (the community cards that are placed face up after the first card).
Middle position (MP) in poker refers to the seats that come in between the early and late positions. In a 9-handed game, the lo-jack (LJ) is considered middle position. In a 6-handed game, MP is just the one seat between the two early and two late positions.
Playing from the middle gives you slightly more flexibility because you have the benefit of seeing the moves of the early position players. This gives you some room to make a decision. However, you still have at least two more players after you left to act, which means you can’t play too loosely.
Since you have some space to think on your move, you can widen your range slightly. For example, you can isolate weak players that like to limp, ie those who like to play safe by matching the minimum bet. If an early position player limps, raise your bet. Weak players are passive and don’t like confrontation. So, when you raise and re-raise, this increases pressure on them, which they are ill-equipped to handle. They will most likely fold, allowing you to take the pot easily.
Raising has a disadvantage and you should be prepared for a 3-bet. Three bet happens when two players raise after a big blind. This means, in the next round, you will have to bet a large stake to keep your hand in the game.
Another thing to note is that if the early position players fold, your seat becomes the early position by default.
Late position is the seats on the right of the dealer button. The game moves clockwise from the dealer button and LPs are the last ones to play. This is the best seat position in poker as it gives you the most amount of information on how every player moves.
For example, everyone checks to you, ie, they refrain from betting. In this scenario, you can bet aggressively, even with a marginal hands. This reopens the action and the other players will be forced to match your bet. If they are weak players they will likely fold and you will take down the pot.
Another advantage of a late position is that you can steal blinds. If you’re on the button or cutoff and the players before you fold, a raise will force the blind to continue play. Many players don’t know how to defend their blinds so they often fold, meaning you can pick up a lot of uncontested pots.
Also, late positions are in control of the pot. You can dictate the size of the pot because you act last. Moreover, if you’re on a draw, you can check back and get a free card instead of having to call a bet.
The small blind (SB) and big blind (BB) ensure there’s money in the pot before the action starts. These players are required to commit chips before seeing their cards, making them the most challenging poker seating positions to play from.
The small blind is the first person seated on the left of the dealer button, and the big blind sits on the left of the small blind. The small blind starts the game by putting in their chips before the cards are dealt. This is followed by the big blind, who has to bet double.
These two seating position in poker act first after the flop (the first three community cards dealt face up on the poker table). So, naturally all other players have a big advantage because they can check, ie skip their turn.
Another challenge is that the blinds have to put money into the pot, even if they have weak hands. This means you’ll end up defending a hand you wouldn’t normally play from other positions.
Moreover, late position players have the advantage of stealing the blinds, so this puts pressure on you to defend their chips.
Play a very tight range of hands. Don’t call too often in the post-flop and wait for a strong hand to raise.
To defend your blind, you first need to consider your pot odds, ie, how often you need to win the pot in order to profit in the long run by calling. Let’s say the pot is £100 and the player before you bets £50. This makes the total pot £150. You will have to call £50. So your pot odds are 150:50 or simplified as 3:1. The final equity comes to 25% (£50 call/ total pot value £200). So, you must win at least 25% of the time in order to profit or 1 in 4 times. Assess the strength of your hand based on this criteria. You can fold a few hands and take risk a few times.
Don’t be afraid to re-raise (3 betting) to protect your blind. Late-position players often raise in order to steal the blinds. However, if you re-raise, they will be forced to either fold or play a bigger pot and risk their equity. Always be on the lookout for frequent stealers and occasionally 3-bet them with a strong hand like suited broadways.
However, if you miss the flop, ie, you are not able to create a strong hand with the first three community cards, it is better to fold rather than chase expensive draws.
Every position has its strength. For example, if you like to bluff as a part of your strategy, a late position is the best. You can also do value betting from late positions, ie, betting big on a strong hand.
Live online poker games give you an option to pick your seat. So, if you have this option, position yourself to the left of aggressive players. This gives you time to act after them and avoid tricky situations.
Observe the table dynamics before choosing a seat. If there’s a weak player who folds too often or calls too much, sit to their left to exploit their moves.
You should also consider your playing style. If you like to play aggressive, choose a late position. Middle and early positions work better for conservative players.
Your seat at the poker table can be a game changer, literally! Now that we’ve described the poker table seat position names take advantage of this information and avoid tricky spots.
The late position, especially the one closest to the dealer button is the best. LPs get to act last in each betting round, and gives you time to asses your opponents’ moves.
Ideally you should have the tight players on your left and the aggressive or loose players on your right. This way, you will have the best position. If the tight player is raising, it is an indication they have a strong hand and you have time to decide your next move. And having the aggros on your right gives you time to see what their plan is.
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