What is the best position in poker?

The button. It acts last on the flop, turn and river, so the player there sees what everyone else does before deciding. The cutoff is second best.

What is the worst position in poker?

The small blind. It has already put in a forced bet, and after the flop it acts first on every street. Most players lose money from the small blind over time, even good ones.

What does UTG mean in poker?

Under the gun: the seat directly to the left of the big blind. It is the first to act before the flop, with the whole table still to act behind it.

What is the cutoff in poker?

The seat directly to the right of the button. If the button folds, the cutoff acts last for the rest of the hand, so it is the second-best seat at the table.

What are the hijack and the lojack?

The two seats to the right of the cutoff. The hijack is two to the right of the button and the lojack is three to the right. At a six-handed table the lojack is also the under-the-gun seat.

What does "in position" mean?

You act after your opponent on the flop, turn and river. "Out of position" means you act first. Position is relative: the cutoff is in position against the hijack but out of position against the button.

Who acts first after the flop?

The first player still in the hand to the left of the button, usually the small blind or the big blind. Before the flop the order is different: under the gun acts first and the big blind acts last.

Which position acts first in heads-up poker?

With two players, the button posts the small blind and acts first before the flop. After the flop the button acts last, as it does at a full table.

Poker Positions Explained: Table Seats, Names and Order

The nine seats

At a full table of nine players, every seat has a name. The names are set by where the seat is compared with the dealer button, which moves one seat to the left after every hand. So you change position every hand, and over an orbit you play from every seat once.

Early Middle Late Blinds

Seat	Name	Where it sits	Group
SB	Small blind	1 left of the button	Blinds
BB	Big blind	2 left of the button	Blinds
UTG	Under the gun	Left of the big blind	Early
UTG+1	Under the gun +1	Left of UTG	Early
MP	Middle position (also UTG+2)	4 right of the button	Early / middle
LJ	Lojack	3 right of the button	Middle
HJ	Hijack	2 right of the button	Middle
CO	Cutoff	Right of the button	Late
BTN	Button	The dealer seat	Late

Names for the early seats vary between books and sites. Counting back from the button (cutoff, hijack, lojack) is the most common system today, because it works at any table size.

Who acts when

Before the flop the two players to the left of the button post the blinds, and the action starts with the player under the gun. It goes clockwise around the table and ends with the big blind, who acts last because the blind is already a bet.

On the flop, turn and river the first player still in the hand to the left of the button acts first, and the button acts last. That is why the button is the best seat: it acts last on the three streets where the bets are biggest. The rules of Texas Hold'em walk through a full hand round by round.

Why position matters

Acting last is information you get for free. When your opponent checks, bets small or bets big before you decide, you learn something about their hand and can choose the best response. A player who acts first has to guess.

You control the pot size. In position you can check behind to take a free card, or bet when you want the pot bigger.
Bluffs work better. A check from your opponent often means weakness, and you can bet to take the pot.
You win more with strong hands. You can see whether an opponent bets into you before you decide how much to raise.

Players say "in position" when they act after their opponent and "out of position" when they act first. The same hand can be a clear raise on the button and a clear fold under the gun.

Early, middle, late and the blinds

Early position (UTG, UTG+1, MP) acts first before the flop with up to eight players still to come. The chance that someone behind you has a big hand is high, and you will often be out of position after the flop. Play only strong hands here.

Middle position (lojack, hijack) has fewer players behind it. You can open a wider range than from early position, but the cutoff and the button can still raise behind you.

Late position (cutoff, button) is where profits are made. With only the blinds left to act after you, you can raise many more hands and pick up the blinds when everyone folds.

The blinds put money in before seeing their cards and act first after the flop. You will defend the big blind with many hands because you already have a bet in, but expect to lose money from both blinds over time. The goal is to lose as little as possible.

How many hands to play from each seat

A common starting point for a full table, when nobody has raised before you:

Position	Hands to open-raise	Examples of the weakest opens
Under the gun	about 10–15%	77, ATs, KJs, AQo
Middle position	about 15–20%	55, A9s, QJs, AJo
Hijack	about 20–25%	44, A5s, J9s, KQo
Cutoff	about 25–30%	22, K9s, 98s, ATo
Button	about 40–50%	most suited hands, K9o, QTo
Small blind	about 30–40%	when it folds to you

These are rough guides, not exact solver output. The starting hands chart has an opening-guide view that colours all 169 hands by tier, and each hand has its own page with real equity numbers, for example AJo or 76s.

Six-handed and heads-up tables

At a six-handed table (most online cash games) the early seats disappear: the positions are UTG (also called the lojack), hijack, cutoff, button, small blind and big blind. Everyone plays more hands, because there are fewer opponents left to act behind.

Heads-up, the button posts the small blind and acts first before the flop, then last on every later street. The other player posts the big blind.

Questions players ask

What is the best position in poker?: The button. It acts last on the flop, turn and river, so the player there sees what everyone else does before deciding. The cutoff is second best.
What is the worst position in poker?: The small blind. It has already put in a forced bet, and after the flop it acts first on every street. Most players lose money from the small blind over time, even good ones.
What does UTG mean in poker?: Under the gun: the seat directly to the left of the big blind. It is the first to act before the flop, with the whole table still to act behind it.
What is the cutoff in poker?: The seat directly to the right of the button. If the button folds, the cutoff acts last for the rest of the hand, so it is the second-best seat at the table.
What are the hijack and the lojack?: The two seats to the right of the cutoff. The hijack is two to the right of the button and the lojack is three to the right. At a six-handed table the lojack is also the under-the-gun seat.
What does "in position" mean?: You act after your opponent on the flop, turn and river. "Out of position" means you act first. Position is relative: the cutoff is in position against the hijack but out of position against the button.
Who acts first after the flop?: The first player still in the hand to the left of the button, usually the small blind or the big blind. Before the flop the order is different: under the gun acts first and the big blind acts last.
Which position acts first in heads-up poker?: With two players, the button posts the small blind and acts first before the flop. After the flop the button acts last, as it does at a full table.

Want to practise reading hands at the showdown? Try the which hand wins quiz or the odds calculator.

Last updated November 1, 2026.