How your position affects the strength of your cards

1. Introduction

Imagine that you're Chuck Norris! You struggle through the thick undergrowth of the Vietnamese jungle with thirty orphans and a nameless Swedish supermodel in tow. You're freezing, totally drenched and the kids are crying in fear.

All of a sudden, an enemy soldier jumps into your way with a knife and runs towards you. The supermodel screams: "Chuck". You think: "WTF". Then you realize that YOU are Chuck Norris, and before it's too late, you strike your opponent down with one of your sensational roundhouse kicks.

Two more opponents approach from another corner and you kick them down as well. But now, more and more opponents are streaming from different directions. At some point you realize that you haven't enough legs for roundhouse kicking all of your opponents and then, even you, the unique Chuck Norris, have to say goodbye to your Swedish supermodel!

It's similar in poker. If you have been thinking that the strength of your hand depends only on the cards you are holding, you're wrong. It also depends where your seat is, thus on how many opponents are still to act behind you. This is called position. You'll learn in this article what position is and how it is determined.

2. What is your position at the poker table?

When you hold two kings, there is only one hand which is better than yours: two aces. When there is only one opponent behind you, how big is the chance that he holds two aces? And what if there are even 9 more opponents to act behind you? Actually the chance isn't that big with 1:23, but definitely higher than with only one opponent. The more opponents to act behind you, the bigger the chance someone is holding a strong hand.

The position of the dealer determines whose turn it is in a betting round. If you know when you have to act in a betting round, you also know how many opponents have to act behind you. Position = the distance from the dealer button.

IMPORTANT
Your position is your distance from the dealer button. It specifies how many player might still act after you and therefore have an effect on the relative strength of your cards.

QUIZ

QUESTION 1: The positions of the players at a poker table depend on...?

a) the seat of the current dealer.
b) the amount of the chips.
c) the information who has won the last hand.

QUESTION 2: Your position influences...?

a) the chance to win the tournament.
b) the relative strength of your hand.
c) your karma.

3. The positions

Since your position determines whether you have to act early or late in a betting round we differentiate among several groups of positions:

Blinds

Late

Middle

MP2

MP3

Early

UTG

UTG+1

UTG+2

In this graph, the current dealer is named BU. This means Button and that's because there is always a special chip in front of the dealer which is called dealer-button. You determine your position by counting all ten seats, starting from the current dealer, counter-clockwise:

Two late positions
The dealer himself as well as the player to his right hand side (counter-clockwise) are sitting in the late position since they act very late in the betting round.
Three middle positions
The next three players (counter-clockwise) are in middle position.
Three early positions
The next three positions (counter-clockwise) are in the early positions because they act very early in the betting round.
Two blind-positions
Last but not least we have the two blinds. They must pay the blind amounts and build their own position group because they act last in the first betting round and then they act first in the following betting rounds.

IMPORTANT

Starting from the dealer, there are the following positions:

2 late positions
3 middle positions
3 early positions
2 blind-positions

QUIZ

QUESTION 3: How many early positions are on a poker table with 10 seats?

a) 1
b) 2
c) 3

QUESTION 4: How many middle positions are on a poker table with 10 seats?

a) 1
b) 2
c) 3

QUESTION 5: The position of the dealer is also called button (BU). What is the name of the position in front of the button?

a) Cutoff (CO)
b) Under the gun (UTG)
c) Button (BU)

QUESTION 6: Which positions belong to the late positions?

a) The big blind, the small blind and the button (BU).
b) The big blind and the small blind.
c) The button (BU) and the Cutoff (CO).

4. If someone is leaving the table

One question is still open: What to do when players drop out of the tournament? Which positions have to be removed?

The answer: You start with the early positions, because the late positions can keep on acting after their opponents in the betting rounds. So if the first player drops out of the tournament, the first early position has to be removed. If the second player drops out, the second early position has to be removed. If the third player leaves the table, there are no more early positions.

QUIZ

QUESTION 7: If players leave the table, which positions have to be removed at first?

a) The early positions
b) The middle positions
c) The late positions

QUESTION 8: When four of ten players have left the table, how many middle positions do we have at the table?

a) 1
b) 2
c) 3

5. Conclusion

Your position is the distance from the current dealer. The earlier your position is, the more opponents there are that can act behind you. That's the reason the earlier your position is, the better your cards must be. After all, it's like in the example with Chuck Norris: several opponents may still lurk behind you, which is to say: better hands.

LINKS

	Related articles: How do you play a tournament? Which hands are profitable after the flop ? Your strategy when having a lot of chips Your adjustment when the blinds increase A special move: Blindsteals A special move: Stealreraises Your strategy when the blinds get very big. How do you go your way: The bankroll management
	Discussion forum: Here you can ask experts and discuss with other players about this topic
	Videos: SNG and tournament videos
	Live-Coaching: Sit and Go coachings

6. Appendix: Answers

Question 1: The positions of the players at a poker table depend on...?	a)	the seat of the current dealer.

Question 2: Your position influences...?	b)	the relative strength of your hand.

Question 3: How many early positions are on a poker table with 10 seats?	c)	3

Question 4: How many middle positions are on a poker table with 10 seats?	c)	3

Question 5: The position of the dealer is also called the button (BU). What is the name of the position in front of the button?	a)	Cutoff (CO)

Question 6: Which positions belong to the late positions?	c)	The button (BU) and the Cutoff (CO).

Question 7: If players leave the table, which positions have to be removed at first?	a)	The early positions

Question 8: When four of ten players have left the table, how many middle positions do we have at the table?	b)	2