Poker position nicknames. Share improve this answer follow answered Jul 5 '13 at 20:48. Gaz Winter Gaz Winter. 1,694 1 1 gold badge 8 8 silver badges 26 26 bronze badges. Add a comment Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged poker-theory or ask your own question. On a poker table of 9, Player sitting immediately next to UTG is called UTG+1 which is also known as an Early Position. So, this order is further known as UTG+2 when the player sits immediately next to UTG+1. Middle Position (MP): This position lets you act before some of the players but not all.
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.
- 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.
- Middle Positions
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.
- 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.
Texas Holdem Position Names
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Position in poker refers to the order in which players are seated around the table and the related poker strategy implications. Players who act first are in 'early position'; players who act later are in 'late position'; players who act in between are in 'middle position'.[1] A player 'has position' on opponents acting before him and is 'out of position' to opponents acting after him.[2] Because players act in clockwise order, a player 'has position' on opponents seated to his right, except when the opponent has the button and certain cases in the first betting round of games with blinds.
Position in Texas hold 'em[edit]
The primary advantage held by a player in late position is that he will have more information with which to make better decisions than players in early position, who will have to act first, without the benefit of this extra information. This advantage has led to many players in heads-up play raising on the button with an extremely wide range of hands because of this positional advantage.[3] Also, as earlier opponents fold, the probability of a hand being the best goes up as the number of opponents goes down.
The blinds are the least desirable position because a player is forced to contribute to the pot and they must act first on all betting rounds after the flop. Although the big blind has a big advantage on the first round of betting, it is on average the biggest money losing position.[citation needed]
Texas hold 'em example[edit]
There are 10 players playing $4/$8 fixed limit. Alice pays the $2 small blind. Bob pays the $4 big blind. Carol is under the gun (first to act). If Carol has a hand like K♥ J♠, she may choose to fold. With 9 opponents remaining to act, there is approximately a 40% chance that at least one of them will have a better hand than Carol's like A-A, K-K, Q-Q, J-J, A-K, A-Q, A-J or K-Q. And even if no one does, seven of them (all but the two players in the blind) will have position on Carol in the next three betting rounds.
Now instead, suppose David in the cut-off position (to the right of the button) has the same K♥ J♠ and all players fold to him. In this situation, there are only three opponents left to act, so the odds that one of them has a better hand are considerably less (only around 16%). Secondly, two of those three (Alice and Bob) will be out of position to David on later betting rounds. A common play would be for David to raise and hope that the button (the only player who has position on David) folds. David's raise might simply steal the blinds if they don't have playable hands, but if they do play, David will be in good shape to take advantage of his position in later betting rounds.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^'Poker Tables'. Carbon Poker. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
- ^'Poker Position'. CardsChat. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
- ^Badger, Steve. 'Changing Position in Poker'. Steve Badger Poker Strategy. Retrieved June 29, 2017.