• Poker Strategy: The Lojack - Basic Strategy concepts Those who are new to poker rarely get familiar with poker table positions even when they are near to play a real game. They may seem very confused upon hearing terms like ‘hijack’, ‘lojack’, ‘button’ etc.
• The less players acting after you, the better your position becomes. Texas Hold'em position overview. Every time you play a hand in Texas Hold'em (or any other poker variant for that matter), you should always take into consideration your position relative to the dealer button. You may well be surprised at how much of an influence your position.

• Poker Table Positions Lojack
• Poker Positions Hijack Lojack
• Poker Table Seat Positions Lojack

Poker experts might use a lot of nicknames and abbreviations for different positions and seats at the poker table. UTG, cutoff, the hijack, and others are all things that the casual player might not understand. Here they are gathered together so we can go around the table and learn each position's nickname when they have one. Position 1 is the first person to act. In a no-blind game this is the person to the left of the dealer. In a game with one or more blinds, this is the first person to have a choice of acting (fold, call, raise).

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 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.

1. 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.

1. Middle Positions

Poker Table Positions Lojack

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.

1. 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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Table Of Contents

If you watch a lot of poker on Twitch or on television, you've probably noticed how most no-limit hold'em hands are contested heads-up after the flop.

A player opens with a raise, another calls, then it's just the two of them battling for the pot thereafter.

The same is true if you happen to rail online poker games involving better poker players, such as the biggest poker tournaments and Sunday majors.

Unlike perhaps is the case in many poker games with friends and also lower-limit live games, there's often going to be just two players left by the time the community cards arrive.

In heads-up situations, it's obvious enough to point out that one player will be 'in position' postflop and get to act last on all streets while the other will be 'out of position' and have to act first.

If you weren't paying attention, you might assume players spend about half their hands playing from out of position and half playing in position — but that would be wrong.

The truth is, most good players play the majority of their hands in position — by a lot, in fact.

That's because when it comes to starting poker hand selection, good players tend to fold more hands when they would be forced to play from out of position and to get involved more frequently when they can have position.

They do so because they know there are many advantages to having position on an opponent after the flop.

Positions in Poker

The seats around a no-limit Texas hold'em table are usually described as being:

Poker Positions Hijack Lojack

• early position
• middle position
• late position

The location of the button and blinds determines each.

'Early position' (EP) usually refers to the players having to post both the small blind (SB) and big blind (BB), as well as the player sitting to the big blind's left.

That position is often called 'under the gun' or 'UTG.'

At a nine- or ten-handed table, the next seat (UTG+1) might also be considered early position, given that most of the table is in later positions, relatively speaking.

Note by the way that even though the SB and BB act last preflop — after the UTG player and everyone else around to the button — those are considered early position seats since they'll be acting first every betting round after the flop.

'Middle position' (MP) usually refers to the next couple or three seats at the table, leading up to the last two or three seats culminating with the button.

That leaves 'late position' (LP) seats that include the button (the latest position), the cutoff (the seat to the right of the button), and the hijack seat (the seat to the right of the cutoff).

Of course, in short-handed games (e.g., 6-max.) the hijack would probably be better designated middle position.

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As noted, the best no-limit hold'em players generally choose to play most of their hands from late position, fewer from middle position, and least from early position.

Not coincidentally, they also win most of their money playing from later position, with even the best hold'em players tending to be net losers when playing from early position.

Here's a quick list of five reasons why positioning in poker is so important and playing in position is preferable in no-limit hold'em:

1. More free cards

There are times when playing drawing hands when you'd rather not pay the price to get to the next postflop street.

When you have position on your opponent, you have the opportunity to take a 'free card' if your opponent checks to you while you are on a draw, checking behind to see the next community card.

Say you decided to play suited connectors and have on a flop.

Your opponent who has to act first decides to check.

You could bet, but you can also check behind and take a 'free card' to see if you can complete your flush.

If you were first to act, though, you have no assurance when you check that your opponent won't bet and make you pay to stick around in the hand.

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2. Pot control

Acting last on every postflop street usually helps you control how big or small of a pot you end up playing.

If you wish to play a small pot and an opponent checks, you can check behind, and if your opponent bets you can just call and close the action.

If you want to play a bigger pot, you can bet or raise when the action is on you.

When out of position, you can't check and be sure your opponent will check and let you see the next card for free. Nor can you bet and be sure your opponent will fold or only call you (thus keeping the pot small).

3. More bluffing opportunities

Having position on an opponent is so valuable, it can often make up for having a relatively weak hand.

In other words, your literal hand strength may be weak, but by getting to act last you have a lot more leverage when trying to represent stronger poker hands.

Following the best poker tips out there, that translates into more chances to bluff when your opponent who is out of position demonstrates weakness by checking to you.

You raise from the button and get called by the big blind, the flop comes , and your opponent checks.

If you bet and your opponent doesn't have an ace or king (or perhaps a six), you'll likely earn a fold, thereby making your actual hand strength somewhat irrelevant.

Poker Table Seat Positions Lojack

You could have , , or , it doesn't matter — using position in poker won you the hand, not the cards.

4. Calculating pot odds

Say you are in a four-way hand holding , the flop comes , and you are second to act.

There is 1,500 in the middle and the first player leads with a bet of 500. With your open-ended straight draw you'd like to call and see the turn.

If you were last to act, you'd know for certain what your immediate pot odds were — you're trying to win 2,000 and need only call 500, so your pot odds are 4-to-1.

With players still to act behind you, you can't make this calculation.

You don't know if the other two players will just call also (making your pot odds even better), or if one might raise and force you to pay even more to stick around (making your pot odds potentially much worse).

If you were in position and acting last, though, you could know precisely what your pot odds were going forward.

5. Knowing your opponent's action

This is the biggest advantage to having poker position (and frankly covers all of the advantages listed above) — namely, being able to know how your opponent is going to play a given postflop street before you have to make your decision how to play it.

You are more informed knowing that while your opponent can always be trying to deceive you (be always on the lookout for poker tells!), a check usually means they are not so enthused by the board while a bet indicates interest.

When playing from position, a lot of strong players use an opponent's action as a primary factor when deciding how to play each street.

Conclusion

The mere fact that the button moves each hand to ensure everyone at the table gets an equal opportunity to play from all the available positions should tell you that position matters in poker.

If it didn't, there'd be no need to spread the positional wealth evenly in this way.

Playing from out of position can occasionally have advantages, too. From out of position you can check-raise, and use that move as a powerful postflop play.

Also, sometimes acting first enables you to prevent other players from acting, say in a multi-way pot where an early position bet or raise might force others out of a hand.

However, the advantages of playing poker in position are much greater.

Poker positioning is a big reason why the seating arrangement at a table can be so important.

It is much better not to have strong, difficult players on your left and in position on you for most hands than to have them sitting on your right where you get to have position on them most of the time.

Position in poker is one of the most important factors affecting your chances to find out how to win at Texas hold'em more often.

Playing with position on your opponents both reduces your risk and increases your chance at rewards. Help your own cause by playing more hands in position, and try not to help your opponents and play fewer from out of position.

FAQ

By using position to your advantage, you can play hands with useful information about your opponent's play even before the flop is dealt. For more information about why position is important (and how to use it to your advantage), check out this page.

Positions at the table are split into three parts:

• Early positions: The two blinds and the player sitting at the Big Blind's left.
• Middle positions: The next couple / tree seats at the table.
• Late positions: The Button and the two players sitting at the button's right (the cutoff and the hijack, respectively).

Experienced players consider 'late positions' to be the best ones in the game since these allow you to act last after all the other players have already exposed their play.

Early positions are often seen as the worst position in poker as they require you to act with no information on your opponent's play.

The hijack is the player who sits at the immediate right of the cutoff (the player at the Button's right).

The 'Under the Gun, or UTG, is the first player to act and is the one who at the left of the Big Blind.

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