Poker Positions Explained

Position is the invisible stake in every hand: the player who acts last gets more information, controls the pot, and realizes more of their hand's equity.

At a nine-handed table the seats are: the blinds (small and big), early position (under the gun and UTG+1), middle position (MP and the lojack), and late position (the hijack, cutoff, and button).

Two rules organize everything. One: play more hands the later you act. Two: the same hand plays differently from different seats, exactly as it plays differently against different opponents.

The guides below give each seat its own playbook, and note where live low-stakes games differ from online charts, because they truly differ: live $1/$2 plays looser, with wider opens and far more multiway pots.