Poker Positions: Unreal Advantages

Do you know that on the playing table there will be a symbol D, also known as the mobile dealer button, which plays a decisive role in the positions in Poker?

The meaning of each position affects the decisions of the players and some hold the greatest advantage in the game.

I bet that many people do not know this, or have never even thought about it.

Positions in a 9-player Poker table

A 9-player Poker table is the standard playing table for Texas Poker, applied in Poker rules for international competitions.

a) Are the positions at a 9-player Poker table fixed?

First, players must understand that the positions at the Poker table are not fixed; they completely depend on the movement of the dealer button.

In each hand, the dealer button will move once, and the positions of each player will change again.

You may be in the middle action group in the previous hand, in the early action group in the next hand, and in the late action group in the following hand.

b) Specific positions in 9-player Poker

These positions are counted when the table is full, in a clockwise direction (as this is also the direction of play in Poker). They include:

• Bottom/BT (Dealer): This is the position holding the dealer button. This position is extremely advantageous because in most rounds, they are the ones making the final action decision. Only in the first round does the Bottom position act almost last.
• Small Blind/SB (Small Blind): Immediately to the left of Bottom, this is the player who puts the small blind into the pot first without playing. This player also acts first in the Flop, Turn, and River rounds.
• Big Blind/BB (Big Blind): Continuing clockwise, to the left of SB is the Big Blind position, which puts in the big blind.
• Under the Gun/UTG: Continuing to the left of BB is the UTG position, which is the player who acts first in the Pre Flop round.
• Under the Gun + 1/UTG+1: Sitting immediately to the left of UTG. The second player to act in Preflop.
• Middle Position/MP: Considered as the middle position at the table, in the middle of the action round.
• Middle Position + 1/MP+1: To the left of MP.
• HiJack/HP: The next position after the Middle group.
• Cut off/CO: Quite advantageous because in rounds 2-3-4, they are the ones making the second-to-last action choice.

Thus, if we consider a round of action in the Flop, Turn, and River, the positions are arranged as follows: SB => BB => UTG => UTG +1 => MP => MP +1 => HJ => CO => BT.

Positions in Poker and Action Advantages

Except for the Preflop round, the UTG position will act first, but in the following rounds, SB is always the pioneering position.

At the online Poker table of 9 players, the positions are divided into three action groups with their own advantages and strategies.

1. Early Position / EP

The front position at the table, is the group that must make the first action choice, including: SB – BB – UTG – UTG +1.

EP is quite disadvantaged because it has to act first and does not have much information about the opponents, so the characteristics of this group are:

• Very few hands to play.
• Usually decisively Fold when holding low cards.
• Once they Raise, it is usually a strong hand.
• The most common action is Check: Waiting to see how the opponent decides before continuing to play.

2. Middle Position or MP

The middle position at the table, the next group acts after the first group including MP – MP + 1 – HJ.

MP at least has a basis for choices, having more information about the opponents. Common characteristics are:

• More hands to play.
• Usually chooses to Call or Raise (Raise happens less often).
• This position is often all-in more in the later rounds like Turn or River.

3. Late Position or LP

LP is the last group to act in a betting round, including 2 positions Cut out (CO) and Bottom (BT).

Being at the end gives a significant advantage as they have information about all remaining opponents. The characteristics of this group are:

• A lot of hands to choose from.
• If an opponent Raises, this group usually chooses to Call.
• If the opponent Checks, this group will definitely Raise and has a very high chance of winning the POT because the opponents usually do not have strong hands.

Positions in Poker if the table does not have 9 players

Not every Poker table has 9 players, especially when it gets to the later rounds of a tournament, the table may only have 8-7-6-5 players left.

At that time, the positions are divided as follows:

• For an 8-player table: Remove the UTG + 1 position, leaving only SB – BB – UTG – MP – MP + 1 – HJ – CO – BT.
• For a 7-player table, remove UTG + 1 and MP + 1. The remaining positions are: SB – BB – UTG – MP – HJ – CO – BT.
• For a 6-player table, remove the MP position: SB – BB – UTG – HJ – CO – BT.
• For a 5-player table: SB – BB – UTG – CO – BT.

See more: How to calculate Poker odds: Formula for calculating Outs & Odds (Very easy)

Conclusion

If playing Poker just for fun, you can play however you want, but if betting professionally or chasing rewards, a solid understanding of positions in Poker and their advantages is essential.

Remember to apply it effectively. Also, be sure to understand the formula for SPR in Poker to manage risks at the table.