While the relative position can change throughout the hand, the absolute position stays the same once the hand is dealt. 🌜 Let’s take a look at the absolute positions at a 9-handed poker table:
UTG (UNDER THE GUN)
UTG, or Under the Gun, 🌜 is the player seated directly to the left of the big blind and is the first to act preflop. It’s 🌜 one of the worst positions at the table, as you have eight other players left to act behind you. This 🌜 means you should play conservatively, as the chances are high that someone acting after you has a strong hand.
UTG +1
This 🌜 is the position directly to the left of the UTG player and is the second to act preflop. This position 🌜 plays similarly to UTG, as these are the two earliest positions you can get at the poker table. You can 🌜 play a couple more hands from UTG+1, but you still need to play tight.
MP (MIDDLE POSITION)
Not actually the middle of 🌜 the table, middle position refers to being in between early position and late position. Some players refer to this seat 🌜 as UTG+2 and use middle position as a term to encompass this position and the LoJack. Again, this is a 🌜 position where playing tight is right.
LJ (LOJACK)
Even though we’re starting to get closer to the button, the Lojack (LJ) sits 🌜 in that awkward in-between spot–it’s too far around the table to be in early position, but it isn’t in late 🌜 position, either. Some people use this position interchangeably with middle position, which can confuse new players! While you still need 🌜 to be relatively tight from this position, you can afford to play more hands than you would UTG.
HJ (HIJACK)
So-called as 🌜 you’re hijacking the chance for the players in the cutoff and button to steal the blinds. The hijack is where 🌜 players will start to open up their ranges more. While some nittier players will still call this middle position, more 🌜 aggressive players consider it late position. How aggressive you are at the table will dictate how tight or loose your 🌜 strategy is from this position.
CO (CUTOFF)
Before people started playing wider from the hijack, this used to be the “cutoff” where 🌜 you’d begin to loosen your range. One seat to the right of the button, you’ll likely be in position post-flop, 🌜 which means you can raise a wide range of hands. You should have one of your highest .
BTN (BUTTON)
The best 🌜 seat at the table; when you’re on the button, you’re guaranteed to be in position post-flop, and if it’s folded 🌜 to you, there are only two players you need to fold out to win the blinds. Therefore, you should be 🌜 playing your widest range from the button, raising at least 50% of your hands when it folds to you. The 🌜 button is where you’ll have your highest win rate as a player, so it’s essential to play a lot of 🌜 hands from this position.
SB (SMALL BLIND)
From the best to the worst, the small blind is arguably one of the worst 🌜 poker positions at the table. You have to put in half a big blind before you see your cards, so 🌜 you’re already fighting uphill in terms of win rate, plus you’re guaranteed to be out of position post-flop. You should 🌜 play a tight but aggressive strategy when playing from the small blind, but if it folds to you, you should 🌜 raise a wide range to attack the big blind.
BB (BIG BLIND)
The big blind is unique in that you’re the last 🌜 to act preflop from this position and can win the pot immediately if everyone folds. You’ll often be calling raises 🌜 rather than raising yourself, so it’s important to see where the raise comes from when considering your hand. The earlier 🌜 position a player raises in, the tighter their hand will be and the tighter you should be in response.
6-Max
But what 🌜 about if you’re not playing at a 9-handed table? Most online games run in a 6-max format with six players 🌜 at a table instead of nine. This format is gaining popularity in live games as fewer players mean more action. 🌜 So let’s have a look at how the positions are different in 6max compared to a 9-handed table:
1. BB – 🌜 Big Blind
2. SB – Small Blind
3. BTN – Button
4. CO – Cutoff
5. HJ – Hijack
6. UTG – Under The Gun
As 🌜 you can see, the key difference is eliminating the first three positions and making the LoJack the de facto UTG 🌜 position. So while the positions remain roughly the same, there is a significant change in the actions you can take 🌜 from each poker position.
The fact there are fewer players doesn’t really matter: you play each position the same as you 🌜 would at a nine handed table after the first three players fold. As such, your opening range from each seat 🌜 should be the same from each position (eg: Lojack opening range same whether table is 6 handed or 9 handed 🌜 etc) in a no ante games. In a game where every player pays an ante you should actually open slightly 🌜 tighter 6 handed because there are three less antes to win.
