There are four named positions at a poker table. The Dealer position, the early position, the middle position, and the late position. The dealer position, also known as ‘on the button’ because of the dealer button that is passed around, is the most coveted. After the flop takes place the dealer is the last to act, so they are able to watch the other players before having to make their decision. This does mean though, that as they are the only player to get information on all the other players before making a move, that aggressive play is expected. The majority of hands can be considered for play here, apart from trash hands such as 9 2, 10 4 offsuit.

For example, an opponent has the Jack of spades and of diamonds, whilst you have the Queen and King of hearts and are the dealer. Your opponent raised $20 before the flop and you called. The flop then shows the 2, 3, and 5 of hearts. You both check the flop and the turn shows the 8 of spades. Your opponent checks, you raise by $20 and then they call. The river then shows the jack of clubs and your opponent raises by $50. Watching them, it would be safe to assume they have three of a kind. However, with a King-high flush, you raise to $100, they call, and you win. As your opponent was betting first, they were hard pressed to guess what the dealer had.

The early position is made of the 3 positions to the left of the dealer and are the least advantageous as they are the first to act after the flop and so have no chance to get information on the other player’s before making a decision. In this position it is best to only play with strong hands such as high ranking pairs or suited royals. Anything less, at an aggressive table, and you should think about folding and waiting for a better hand. One thing that the early position does favour is bluffing. Because of your lack of knowledge about the other players cards, betting from this position can imply you have a strong hand. It can however, be picked up on by other players and end badly, particularly with experienced players at the table.

The middle position is made up of positions 4, 5, and 6 to the left of dealer. In this position the disadvantage is not as great, and there is greater flexibility to play with lesser hands. Hands such as pairs 5 through to 9, suited connectors from 5 6 on up, unsuited connectors from 5 6, 6 7, on up. This covers the majority that can easily be remembered, though more hands can be played. In this position, if you have a playable hand and you feel that other players will fold, it is better to raise than call if no one is in the pot.

Positions 7, 8 and 9 to the left of the dealer make up the late position. These is the best position at the table, after the dealer. It is easy from here to gather information about the other players and the cards they hold. This is a good position in which to play aggressively from, particularly if not many have entered the pot. If, however, there are a lot of players, wait until you have a strong hannd before playing aggressively. Another advantage of the late position is the ease of being able to play cards such as 5 8, J 7 or Q 8. Suppose you have 5 8 in the late position and the flop is 2 6 7 unsuited and all other players check. If it is a non-aggressive table then you should definitely raise as this gives you the opportunity to gain control of the pot as well as keeping in check other raises.

Though the concept is advanced, the basics of poker seating are easy enough for anyone to remember and use to their advantage.