HomeLast week we touched on the basics of position; defining the different categories of position and what they meant. This week, we explain what some of the words and phrases that poker players using when talking about position mean. Whether you are playing live and talking to your opponents or using the chat box at an online poker site, it is always a good idea to appear as knowledgeable as you can about the game, or your opponents may perceive you to be inexperienced and single you out as a target. So, although these terms are not an essential part of poker strategy by any means, it doesn’t hurt to be aware of them so that you can understand what players are talking about when they use them.
Having Position
If you have position on another player, it means that you get to act after them in a hand.
Under the Gun (UTG)
This is the term used for the player that acts first pre-flop, i.e. they are to the immediate left of the big blind.
UTG + 1
The player to the left of the under the gun position is sometimes referred to as being UTG + 1.
On the Button
The player on the button is the player to the immediate right of the small blind. In live play, this would be the dealer for the hand, but obviously this is not relevant to online poker.
Cut-off
One position to the right of the button is known as the cut-off position. The term is used because the player in this position is able to cut off any steal that the button might be planning. We’ll talk more about blind stealing later in this series.
Hijack
This is the position one to the right of the cut-off. It is so called because the player in this position is able to hijack any plans the players in the cut-off position or on button have to steal the blinds.
There’s nothing too difficult to understand in this list, but you should try and remember these terms if you can. Please check back in a week’s time for the next article in this series on position in poker.
