Button Position In Poker

3/23/2022

Button Position Poker
Button Position In Poker Player
Button Position In Poker Lingo

Button - last player to act after the flop in Texas Hold'em and Omaha Hold'em. The blinds act last after the button pre-flop. Cut-Off - the position directly to the right of the button. Small Blind - the position directly to the left of the button. Acts second-last pre-flop, first in all other betting rounds.

Giovanni AngioniKristy Arnett

Having position or being on the button is a huge factor in poker especially in games like Pot Limit. There are several other buttons used in casino poker games to indicate the state of play. They include, but are not limited to, big blind button, kill button, missed blind button, short buy button, all-in button, overs button, out button, absent.
I'm somewhat perplexed on the positions in poker. As I browse, some websites give different/contradicting versions on the description of the positions. For example, some sources say the early positions consists of the small blind, big blind, and UTG (under the gun), while others say it is made up of UTG, UTG+1, and UTG+2 and that the SB.
When you sit down at a poker table, the first thing to look out for is the dealer button. This small white disc shows you who the dealer is, so you can work out your own table position (where you are in the betting order). To the left of the dealer, the first two seats are called the small blind and big blind.
The seats nearest to the are called early position or EP for short. The seats nearest to the right of the button are called late position or LP for short. The seats in between these will be called middle position or MP. Poker table position diagram.

The PokerNewsTalking Poker series is a collection of articles and videos created to help beginners understand how to play poker.

Each Talking Poker episode focuses on a particular poker term.

We start from a clear, to-the-point definition to help you understand what each poker term means, and then we share an example of the strategic concept to which it refers.

This way, you can start using the term and implementing the related strategy into your game.

In this episode of the Talking Poker series we focus on a term that refers to one of the positions in poker — 'under the gun.'

Definition

'Under the gun' (or 'UTG') refers to the position to the immediate left of the big blind in flop games like Texas hold'em and Omaha poker.

The under-the-gun player is the first to act before the flop. The term refers to the pressure that goes along with having to act before anyone else in the hand.

An Example of Under the Gun in Poker

Player A is directly to the left of the button and posts the small blind.
Player B is on the left of Player A and posts the big blind.
Player C sits to the left of Player A.

The cards are dealt and Player C, playing under the gun, acts first.

Strategic Considerations

Pros generally advise players to play tighter in early position, especially when under the gun.

The reason is that the rest of the table gets to act after you preflop, then after the flop all players who are not in the blinds who choose to play the hand will continue to have a positional advantage on you throughout.

Because the under-the-gun player is at a substantial positional disadvantage, he or she can gain back some edge back by playing a better range of poker hands.

For example, instead of raising with a hand like as a player might do when opening from the button, the under-the-gun player should instead be inclined to fold such a hand.

Watch and Learn

For more about playing from under the gun, here is a video by PokerXFactor coach Chris Wallace.

In this poker video, Wallace presents a formula by which to guide starting hand selection from early position in cash games, including when playing UTG:

Frequently Asked Questions

Button Position Poker

What does 'Under the Gun' means in poker?