Every seat at this table
| Seat | Group | Acts pre-flop | Acts after the flop | Opens about |
|---|
Opening figures are rough first-in raising ranges for a cash game with 100 big blinds, as a share of all 1,326 starting hands. Players use slightly different names for the middle seats; the order never changes.
- Maths reviewed by Josh Miller
- Tested by Diana Westfield
This poker positions chart shows every seat at the table with its name, when it acts before and after the flop, and roughly how many hands players open from it. Pick a table size from heads-up to ten-handed, tap a seat for a short explanation, and use the table below for the full order. The names change a little from room to room, but the order never does.
Poker table positions, seat by seat
| 9-max seat | 6-max seat | Group | Opens about |
|---|---|---|---|
| UTG (under the gun) | (not used) | Early | 11% |
| UTG+1 | (not used) | Early | 12% |
| UTG+2 | (not used) | Early | 14% |
| Lojack (LJ) | UTG | Middle | 17% |
| Hijack (HJ) | HJ, often called MP | Middle | 21% |
| Cutoff (CO) | Cutoff | Late | 28% |
| Button (BTN) | Button | Late | 45% |
| Small blind (SB) | Small blind | Blinds | 40% |
| Big blind (BB) | Big blind | Blinds | Defends |
Opening figures are rough first-in raising ranges for a 100-big-blind cash game, as a share of all 1,326 starting hands. Tournaments with short stacks and very passive home games both shift them.
Why position matters so much
Before the flop, the action starts left of the big blind and goes round to the blinds. After the flop it starts with the small blind and the button acts last. That last seat is worth a lot: on every street you see what everyone else did before you choose, so you bet more of your good hands, bluff at the right moments and lose less with the bad ones. It’s the reason a hand like K-9 suited is a fold under the gun at a full table and a comfortable open on the button.
A useful way to think about the opening ranges is “how many players are still to come?”. Under the gun at nine-handed, eight players can wake up with a big hand behind you; on the button, only the two blinds. Fewer people left means the hands you open don’t need to be as strong, which is why the percentages roughly double every seat or two as you move towards the button.
Names you’ll hear for the same seats
The early seats are UTG, UTG+1 and UTG+2, sometimes called EP. The lojack and hijack are the middle seats, and in older books or at 6-max you’ll hear “MP” (middle position) for the hijack. The cutoff got its name from being able to cut off the button by raising first. In heads-up the button posts the small blind and acts first before the flop, then last on every later street, which confuses almost everyone the first time.
Once you know where you’re sitting, the CasinoCalcs poker starting hands chart shows which hands to play from each seat, and the poker trainer lets you practise those decisions with feedback.