You raise to $5 and the big blind calls.
He checks, you bet $5 and he calls.
He checks again. In position you can check behind, keep the pot small and see the river for free.
Poker positions: why your seat decides what you can play
Updated November 2026
Your position is where you sit relative to the dealer button, and it decides who has to act first. The later you act the more you've seen, which is why the simplified charts we train open 45 hands in 100 on the button and only 16 in 100 from the first seat.
This is a six-handed table. Flip between the two streets and watch the order change.
Who acts when
The number on each seat is the order of play
What are the six seats called?
Start from the button and go round clockwise. The button is the dealer's seat, and it moves one place to the left after every hand, so everyone gets a turn.
BTNthe buttonacts last after the flop
SBsmall blindforced half-bet, acts first after the flop
BBbig blindforced full bet, acts last before the flop
UTGunder the gunacts first before the flop
HJhijacktwo seats before the button
COcutoffone seat before the button
At a full nine-handed table you add three more seats between UTG and the hijack (UTG+1, middle position and lojack). The logic stays the same.
Why is acting last worth so much?
Because poker is a game of missing information, and the last player to act gets the most of it. On the button you see what everyone else did before you decide, on every street.
If they check, you can take a free card or bet. If they bet, you know the price before you commit, and you decide how big the pot gets. The player in front of you has to guess about all of it.
Same cards, different seat, different hand.
After the flop
The small blind goes first. The button always goes last.
Why should you play fewer hands from early seats?
Because more players still have to act behind you, and every one of them might wake up with a big hand. Take ace-jack offsuit, a hand that feels strong. We dealt the rest of the table 600,000 times and counted how often someone behind you holds a pair of tens or better, or ace-queen or better.
From under the gun that's nearly 1 time in 5. On the button it's 1 time in 13. Same hand, but one of those raises runs into a monster more than twice as often.
So the charts get wider as you move round the table. The button opens almost three times as many hands as the first seat.
Share of all starting hands opened from each seat
The simplified 6-player charts in our trainer, 100 big blind stacks
The same game from two seats
Red squares are the hands each seat opens
The full grids, seat by seat, are on the preflop charts page.
What about a full table?
With nine players, three more seats go between the first seat and the hijack. Players group the table into early, middle and late position.
EarlyUTG, UTG+1, UTG+2
Middlelojack, hijack
Latecutoff, button
Blindssmall, big
Full-ring games ask for tighter starts because of that line. From the first seat at a nine-handed table, someone behind you holds a big hand 28 times in 100.
What does "in position" mean?
You're in position on another player when you act after them on the flop, turn and river. It only depends on the two of you. Pick your seat, then his.
The button is in position on everyone. The small blind is out of position on everyone once the flop comes, and that's why it's the hardest seat at the table.
What's the plan from each seat?
Your seat is red. The green seats still get to act after you before the flop.
- Under the gunPlay only your best hands. Five players have yet to act, and you'll be out of position against most of the ones who call.
- HijackOpen a little more. Four players are behind you, and now the blinds start to be worth attacking.
- CutoffA good seat for raising. If the button folds, you'll act last for the rest of the hand.
- ButtonPlay the most hands at the table, because you act last on every street after the flop.
- Small blindMostly raise or fold. A call gets you a cheap look and the worst seat for the rest of the hand.
- Big blindDefend by price. You're getting a discount, and you'll have to act before whoever raised.
How does position change the way you bet?
A continuation bet, or c-bet, is a bet on the flop by the player who raised before it. In position you get to decide after your opponent has already checked.
Our own solver, on a simplified betting tree, shows how often the button bets when the big blind checks to it.
How often the button bets after a check
Button raised, big blind called, by type of flop
High flops get the most continuation bets, because the raiser holds more big cards. On low flops the big blind connects more often, so the button checks far more.
Acting last also lets you set the size of the pot. With a medium hand you can check behind and keep it small, and the player who has to go first doesn't get that choice.
How do I play out of position?
Tighter, and with a plan. Hands that need cheap cards get expensive when you act first, so fold more of them before the flop.
After the flop, check more often and raise your good hands, since a raise takes the size of the pot back into your hands. Calling down without a plan is how the small blind loses most of its money.
Same hand, two seats
In positionYou see his move, then decide how big the pot gets.
Out of positionYou go first and have to guess.
What is stealing the blinds?
A steal is a raise from a late seat that's mostly hoping everyone folds. The blinds have put in 1.5 big blinds between them, and that money is the target.
You risk2.5 bb
You can win1.5 bb
They must fold63%
That's the worst case, where you give up every time someone calls. You'll often win after a call as well, which is why late seats can open hands you'd never play from the first seat.
What does the same hand look like from two seats?
Take king-ten offsuit. From the first seat our chart folds it, and on the button it's a raise.
From the first seat, five players can still wake up with something better. King-ten gets dominated a lot: ace-king and king-queen both have you beaten with the same king, so you'd win small pots and lose big ones.
On the button only the two blinds are left. They fold a lot of the time, and when one of them calls you'll act last on every street.
King-ten offsuit
From the first seatFold
On the buttonRaise
Now play it out in a $1/$2 game.
If the button had called your raise from the first seat, you'd be the one acting first, guessing what he's about to do.
Does my position change during a session?
Every hand. The button moves one seat to the left after each deal, so you play every seat once per round. Before you look at your cards, get in the habit of counting how many players are behind you.
Your seat, hand after hand
UTGBBSBBTNCOHJ
The button moves left every deal, so your seat steps through all six.
Some live games have a straddle, an optional raise posted by the player under the gun before the cards are dealt. It makes the pot bigger, and that player acts last before the flop.
What's the deal with the blinds?
The blinds are forced bets that give everyone something to fight for. They cost you money every round, so nobody profits from those two seats over time; the aim is to lose as little as you can.
What the blinds cost you
Big blinds you pay each time the button goes round a 6-player table: 1.5, or 25 per 100 hands
The big blind does have one thing going for it: you already have chips in, so calling is cheap. The pot odds page shows how to price that.
Can you find your seat without looking?
Twelve spots in three rounds: name the seat, say who acts next, then work out who's in position.
Questions players ask about positions
What is the best position in poker?
The button. You act last on every street after the flop.
What is the worst position?
The small blind. You've put money in and you act first after the flop.
Who acts first before the flop?
The player to the left of the big blind, called under the gun. The big blind acts last.
Where should I sit at a live table?
Try to get the most aggressive players on your right. Then you'll see what they do before you have to act.
What does early position mean?
The seats that act first before the flop. At six-handed that's under the gun; at nine-handed it's the first three seats.
Does position matter in tournaments?
Yes, just as much. Tournaments change how you value chips, and the order of play stays the same.
How the numbers on this page were worked out
For the chart of who wakes up behind you, we took ace-jack offsuit out of the deck and dealt two cards each to five other players 600,000 times. A big hand means tens or better, ace-king or ace-queen, which is 4.68% of all starting hands.
The opening percentages come from our trainer's charts, which are simplified: one clear answer per hand and no mixed strategies.
Know someone who plays every hand from every seat?
Send them this page, or keep the cheat sheet for your next session.