Poker Position: Why the Button Is Worth Money
The seats at a poker table, who acts when, and how position changes the hands you should play.
The seats
The dealer button moves one seat clockwise after every hand. The two players to its left post the small blind and big blind. At a six-handed table the seats are small blind, big blind, under the gun (first to act preflop), hijack, cutoff and button.
Before the flop the action starts with the player left of the big blind and ends with the big blind. After the flop it starts with the small blind and the button acts last. The button is the only seat that acts last on every street.
Why acting last matters
Acting last means you see what everyone does before you decide. You can check back to see a free card, bet when opponents show weakness and fold to a bet without paying more.
Players out of position have to decide with less information and often cannot realise all of their equity. The same hand is worth more on the button than under the gun.
Ranges widen toward the button
Early in the betting order, many players are still to act, so you need a strong hand. As a rough guide in six-handed games, players open about 15 to 18% of hands from under the gun and more than 40% from the button. The cutoff and hijack sit in between.
The blinds are the exception: you act first after the flop and have already paid, so they are the least profitable seats overall, even though you defend with a wide range because of the discount.
Using it
Play tighter when you are first in from early seats, and attack when the action folds to you in the cutoff or button. When someone raises from early position, respect their range. Against a button raise, a wider range is likely.
To see how a hand does against a tight early-position range, compare it with a range in the range equity tool.
Questions
- What is the best position in poker?
- The button. You act last on every street after the flop, so you always see your opponents' actions first.
- What does under the gun mean?
- The first player to act before the flop, sitting directly left of the big blind. It is the hardest seat to play from.