
What Are the Different Positions in Poker?
If you are interested in knowing the game of poker, you should know the basics of the game. That is because all of the casinos in the world, including Newtown Casino in Malaysia, offer traditional poker games, as well as some of its many variants.
With that being said, there are many positions in poker that come with many different nicknames. This, alone, confuses many newbie players.
So today, I am going to talk about the different positions in a typical game of poker so that you will be well-aware of them the next time you will play in an actual poker game- whether you are going against your friends in a friendly game at home or if you are going against other poker players in the casino.
The Early Positions
The first four seats that you can find directly to the left of the big blind is are collectively referred to as the Early Position. I am now going to enumerate the different seats in this position:
- Small Blind- This position is directly to the left of the button position (or the dealer in some games). Even though they directly succeed “the button”, they are actually the second to the last player to move in the first round. However, they are the ones who will go first in the succeeding rounds.
- Big Blind- The person directly to the left of the small blind is actually in the big blind position. Players in this predicament would normally pay double the amount that the small blind makes.
- Under the Gun- The next position left of the big blind is known as the UTG or the Under the Gun position. This position is considered as favorable since you can make some of the best bets.
- Under the Gun +1 (and more)- Directly to the left of the original UTG is the next UTG, added with the suffix “+” corresponding to the number of players that play the game.
The Middle Positions
These positions are the next three seats that directly follows the early position seats. They do not have a specific name, but are rather referred to as the Early Middle Position, Middle Position, and Late Middle.
The Late Positions
This corresponds to the last remaining seats on the table. They are:
- Hijack- This position got its name from the fact that the player could potentially steal the blinds preceding them and hijacks the actions that are going to be done by the positions following them.
- Cutoff- This position is directly to the right of the button position (or the dealer, in some games). It originally got its moniker from the fact that the player in this position would “cut” the cards right before dealing them to the players involved.
- Dealer- Also known as the “button”, the dealer is considered to be the most advantageous position in the game of poker. In a traditional poker game, the dealer will be the one holding the deck at the start of the game. In a formal casino game, there will be a specific position that tells you that they are the “dealer”.