Poker Positions Explained: Every Seat, In Order

Poker positions are the named seats around the table, defined by when you act in the betting order. Going clockwise from the dealer button they are: small blind, big blind, under the gun, middle position, lojack, hijack, cutoff, and the button. The later you act, the more information you have — so the seats closest to the button are the most powerful, and the blinds are the weakest.

Why positions exist

The betting order in Hold’em is fixed for a reason: it keeps the game fair over time by rotating who has the advantage. After the flop, action always starts to the left of the button and ends on the button. That means the button-side seats consistently get to act with the most information, and the blind-side seats act blind. Because the button rotates, everyone shares the good and bad seats equally across a session.

Understanding the order is the foundation of every strategy decision. Before you ask “is my hand good?” you should ask “where am I sitting?” — the answer changes whether the same two cards are a raise or a fold.

Every position, in order

Here is a full 9-handed table, from the first player to act pre-flop to the last:

Order	Position	Abbrev.	Post-flop action	Strength
1	Under the gun	UTG	Early	Weakest non-blind
2	UTG+1	UTG+1	Early	Very tight
3	Middle position	MP	Middle	Below average
4	Lojack	LJ	Middle	Improving
5	Hijack	HJ	Late-ish	Good
6	Cutoff	CO	Late	Second best
7	Button	BTN	Last	Best seat
8	Small blind	SB	First post-flop	Weak, forced bet
9	Big blind	BB	Second post-flop	Weak, forced bet

The small and big blind act first after the flop even though they act last before it — that pre-flop “option” is small comfort, because they’re stuck acting first for the three most important streets.

The three groups

Rather than memorize nine seats individually, group them by how they play:

• Early position (UTG, UTG+1, MP): Everyone acts after you post-flop. Play a tight, strong range — you have the least information and the most players to get through.
• Late position (LJ, HJ, CO, BTN): Few players left to act, and you’ll often have last action. Open wide, steal blinds, and apply pressure. These are your money seats.
• The blinds (SB, BB): You’ve posted forced bets and you act first after the flop. Defend selectively and play cautiously — this is where most players leak chips.

For the detailed play of the individual seats, see under the gun, the cutoff, and playing the button.

6-max vs full ring

Short-handed 6-max games simply remove the early and middle chairs. The order becomes: UTG, HJ, CO, BTN, SB, BB. With fewer players, every seat is effectively “later” than its full-ring equivalent, so ranges widen across the board — even UTG opens looser at 6-max than at a 9-handed table.

Worked example: the same hand in three seats

You hold K♣ J♦, and it folds to you. Watch how the seat alone decides the play:

• Under the gun: Fold. Eight players still to act, and KJo plays poorly out of position against the strong hands that call an early raise.
• Cutoff: Raise. Only three players remain, two of them out-of-position blinds. KJo is a comfortable, profitable open here.
• Button: Raise, and raise a wider range than this. With last action guaranteed, KJo is nowhere near the bottom of your button opens.

Identical cards, three completely different decisions — driven entirely by position.

How position shapes your range

The single most important consequence of the seating order is how many hands you should play from each spot. The rule is intuitive once you see it: the more players who act after you, the more likely one of them holds a strong hand — so you need a stronger hand yourself to enter the pot.

• Under the gun, eight players can still wake up with aces. Play roughly the top 10–15% of hands only.
• In the cutoff and button, far fewer players remain, and many of the ones left are stuck in the blinds. Open 25–45% of hands.
• In the blinds, you’ve already invested and act first post-flop, so you defend based on price, not hand strength alone.

This widening-by-position is why a hand like A♠ 9♦ is a fold up front but a comfortable raise in late position — the seat, not the cards, decides.

How to use this at the table

1. Name your seat before you look at strategy. Position first, hand second.
2. Tighten in early seats, loosen in late ones. This single adjustment beats most casual players.
3. Attack the blinds from the cutoff and button when it folds to you.
4. Defend your blinds selectively — being forced to post doesn’t mean you must play.

Positions are the map the rest of poker is drawn on. Once the order is second nature, move on to seat-by-seat play in the poker positions hub, or see how it fits the whole game in Texas Hold’em.