Module 4 · Lesson 18 of 39 · Free
Positions at 6-max and 9-max tables
At a table of nine, the player under the gun acts first before the flop, with eight players still to act behind him. The player on the button has only the two blinds behind him. Every seat has a name, and the name tells you how many players can still act after you.
The hand
A table of nine. The button is three seats to your right, so you sit under the gun (UTG): the first seat to act before the flop.
Predict first
On the flop, if all nine players were still in, how many would act after you?
- Eight, the same as before the flop
- Six: the two blinds now act before you
- None: under the gun acts last after the flop
Show the answer
Answer: Six: the two blinds now act before you
After the flop the action starts with the small blind, then the big blind, then you. The two blinds move from behind you to in front of you: 8 − 2 = 6 players act after you.
Working it out
Before the flop the order at nine is UTG, UTG+1, UTG+2, lojack (LJ), hijack (HJ), cutoff (CO), button (BTN), small blind (SB) and big blind (BB). So the seats have 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and 0 players behind them: 9 − 1 = 8 for the first, 9 − 7 = 2 for the button. A 6-max table, with six seats, drops UTG+1, UTG+2 and the lojack: UTG has 5 players behind, the hijack 4, the cutoff 3. After the flop, as the lesson on the button and the blinds showed, the blinds act first and the button acts last on every round. Players group the seats by position: early (UTG to UTG+2), middle (the lojack and the hijack), late (the cutoff and the button), and the blinds.
That count is why seats matter before the flop. Before anyone looks at a card, the chance that at least one of the eight players behind the first seat at nine holds a pair of jacks or better or ace-king is 22.2%; behind the first seat at six, with five players, 14.4%; behind the button, with two, 6.0%. So the earlier your seat, the stronger your hand must be, and the later your seat, the more hands you can play. The next lesson shows the second reason: after the flop the late seats also act last.
Formula
Players acting after you before the flop = players at the table − your place in the order: 9 − 1 = 8 under the gun, 9 − 7 = 2 on the button
Check your understanding
At a table of six, which seat is two seats to the right of the button?
- The hijack
- The cutoff
- Under the gun
Show the answer
Answer: The hijack
Counting to the right of the button, the cutoff is the first seat and the hijack the second.
At a table of nine, how many players act after the lojack before the flop?
Show the answer
Answer: 5
Before the flop the lojack is fourth in the order, after UTG, UTG+1 and UTG+2, so 9 − 4 = 5 players act after him: HJ, CO, BTN, SB and BB.
At a table of six, with every player still in the hand, how many players act after the hijack on the flop?
Show the answer
Answer: 2
After the flop the order is SB, BB, UTG, HJ, CO, BTN. The hijack is fourth, so 6 − 4 = 2 players act after him: the cutoff and the button.