Free poker tool
Poker Position Trainer
Drill the six seats and the order they act in until naming them is automatic.
Position trainer
Twelve questions on seat names and action order. Keyboard friendly — tab to an answer and press enter.
Question 1 of 12
Which position is highlighted?
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Why position is the first thing to learn
Acting last means you have seen what everybody else did before you commit. That information advantage repeats on every street of every hand, which is why the same cards are worth more on the button than under the gun.
Before any of that can be used, the seats and their order have to be automatic. That is what this trainer drills.
How the order works
Six-handed the seats are, clockwise from the dealer button: button, small blind, big blind, under the gun, middle position, cutoff.
Preflop the blinds are already posted, so action starts to their left — under the gun first, big blind last. Postflop the order restarts from the small blind, which is what makes the button last to act on every street after the flop.
- Preflop order
- UTG → MP → CO → BTN → SB → BB
- Postflop order
- SB → BB → UTG → MP → CO → BTN
Common mistakes
- Assuming the blinds always act last
- They act last preflop only. Postflop they are first, which is the whole reason blind hands are difficult to play.
- Treating the cutoff as a late seat like the button
- The cutoff still has the button behind it. It is a strong seat, but it is not the last one to act.
- Counting seats from your own chair
- Position is defined relative to the dealer button, which moves every hand. Your seat number never enters into it.
Practical examples
- UTG versus BTN
- UTG acts first preflop; UTG acts first postflop. The same seat is first on both, so nothing changes after the flop.
- SB versus CO
- CO acts first preflop; SB acts first postflop. The order flips after the flop, which is the part that catches beginners out.
- BB versus MP
- MP acts first preflop; BB acts first postflop. The order flips after the flop, which is the part that catches beginners out.
- Who is in position postflop
- Only BTN — the button acts last on the flop, turn and river.
Key terms
- In Position Advantage
- Acting last provides informational advantage and better equity realization.
- Out-of-Position Challenge
- OOP must check more, protect ranges, and use larger sizes to compensate.
Key takeaway
Two orders, six seats, and they never change. Learn them once and every strategy discussion afterwards becomes easier to follow.
Frequently asked questions
What are the poker positions at a 6-max table?
Clockwise from the dealer button: button, small blind, big blind, under the gun, middle position, cutoff. Preflop the order runs UTG → MP → CO → BTN → SB → BB.
Who acts first postflop?
The small blind. Postflop action restarts from the left of the button, which is why the button is last to act on the flop, turn and river.
Why is the button the best seat?
Because it acts last on every postflop street, so it always makes its decision with the most information. StackedPoker's concept registry puts the in-position edge at roughly 10% more equity realised with symmetric ranges.
Related
Concepts, lessons and tools that build on this page.
- Free toolPoker Starting Hand QuizTen hands, graded against a real preflop chart — with the chart's exact mix shown every time.
- ConceptPositionIP realizes ~10% more equity than OOP with symmetric ranges.
- Free toolPoker Bankroll CalculatorHow many buy-ins your roll covers, what your own rule asks for, and when to move up or down.
- Free toolPoker Equity CalculatorExact hand-versus-hand equity: every remaining runout dealt and counted, not simulated.
- LessonHow Poker WorksThe absolute-beginner rules of Texas Hold’em, taught fast so the real course can begin.
- GlossaryPoker Terms Starting With O4 poker terms beginning with O, defined with examples and linked to the lessons that teach them: Open-Ended Straight Draw, Out-of-Position Challenge, Overbet (>100% Pot), Overbet Spot.
Source: Seat names and action order are the rules of the game. The value of position quotes the StackedPoker poker-theory concept registry's position entry; the trainer asserts nothing further.