Direct Answer: A Standard 9-Handed Poker Table Divides Into Four Positional Zones: Early Position (UTG 10.5% RFI, UTG+1 12.2% RFI), Middle Position (MP 14.5%, Lojack 17.5%, Hijack 21.5%), Late Position (Cutoff 28.0%, Dealer Button 44.5%), And The Blinds (Small Blind 3-Bet Or Fold, Big Blind Closing Action). Compare Exact Opening Frequencies, 3-Bet Percentages, And BB/100 Winrates Below.
| Seat Code & Name | Table Zone | 100BB RFI % | 3-Bet % | Cold-Call % | Expected BB/100 | Playbook & Chart |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UTG: Under The Gun | Early Position | 10.5% | 3.2% | 0.0% | +9.5 BB/100 | Open UTG Guide |
| UTG+1: UTG+1 (Early Position Two) | Early Position | 12.2% | 4.1% | 0.0% | +11.2 BB/100 | Open UTG+1 Guide |
| MP: Middle Position | Middle Position | 14.5% | 5.0% | 1.5% | +13.8 BB/100 | Open MP Guide |
| LJ: Lojack (6-Max UTG) | Middle Position | 17.5% | 5.8% | 2.0% | +16.4 BB/100 | Open LJ Guide |
| HJ: Hijack | Middle Position | 21.5% | 7.2% | 3.0% | +20.5 BB/100 | Open HJ Guide |
| CO: Cutoff | Late Position | 28.0% | 9.4% | 4.2% | +27.8 BB/100 | Open CO Guide |
| BTN: Button (Dealer) | Late Position | 44.5% | 11.8% | 7.5% | +38.5 BB/100 | Open BTN Guide |
| SB: Small Blind | Blinds | 41.0% | 13.5% | 0.8% | -14.5 BB/100 | Open SB Guide |
| BB: Big Blind | Blinds | N/A (Closes Action) | 11.2% | 32.5% | -28.0 BB/100 | Open BB Guide |
Under The Gun (UTG) Is The First Seat To Act Preflop To The Left Of The Big Blind. With Eight Players Still Left To Act In 9-Max Cash Games, UTG Requires The Tightest Raise-First-In Range (10.5% Of Hands) Anchored By Premium Pocket Pairs, Suited Broadways, And Wheel Suited Ace Blockers.
UTG+1 Sits Immediately To The Left Of Under The Gun In 9-Max Full-Ring Games, Acting With Seven Players Remaining Behind. Removing One Early Player Allows UTG+1 To Expand Its Opening Range To 12.2% While Maintaining Strict Discipline Against UTG Opens.
Middle Position (MP) Bridges The Gap Between Tight Early-Position Play And Aggressive Late-Position Stealing. Acting With Six Players Left Behind In 9-Max Play, MP Opens 14.5% Of Starting Hands And Begins Pressuring Early Openers With Polarized And Linear 3-Bets.
The Lojack (LJ) Is The First Seat To Act In 6-Max Cash Games (Often Called 6-Max UTG) And The Fourth Seat In 9-Max Full Ring. With Only Five Players Left To Act, The Lojack Opens 17.5% Of Hands And Sets The Baseline For Modern Short-Handed GTO Strategy.
The Hijack (HJ) Sits Two Seats To The Right Of The Dealer Button With Only Four Players Remaining (Cutoff, Button, Small Blind, And Big Blind). Opening 21.5% Of Starting Hands, The Hijack Marks The Transition Into Aggressive Blind-Stealing And Isolation Play.
The Cutoff (CO) Sits Directly To The Right Of The Dealer Button And Is The Second-Most Profitable Seat At The Poker Table (+27.8 BB/100). With Only The Button And Two Blinds Left To Act, The Cutoff Opens 28.0% Of Hands And Buying The Button Via 3-Bets Is A Core Weapon.
The Dealer Button (BTN) Is Undisputedly The Most Profitable Position In No-Limit Hold'em, Generating +38.5 BB/100 For Winning Players. Guaranteed To Act Last On The Flop, Turn, And River, The Button Opens 44.5% Of Starting Hands And Applies Relentless 3-Bet And Postflop Float Pressure.
The Small Blind (SB) Posts 0.5 Big Blinds Before The Cards Are Dealt And Must Act First On Every Postflop Street. Because Playing Out Of Position Without The Initiative Is Expensive, Modern GTO Strategy Uses A Strict "3-Bet Or Fold" Approach From The Small Blind Against Open Raises.
The Big Blind (BB) Posts 1.0 Full Big Blind Preflop (-100 BB/100 Baseline) And Closes The Preflop Action Against Single Raises. Armed With Direct Pot Odds Discounts, The Big Blind Defends 35% To 58% Of Hands Depending On Open Position And Sizing, Utilizing Check-Raises Postflop To Realize Equity.
Acting Last On The Flop, Turn, And River Allows You To See Every Opponent Decision Before Committing Chips. Players On The Dealer Button And Cutoff Realize Over 100% Of Their Raw Equity And Win +27.8 To +38.5 BB/100, Whereas Players In The Blinds Lose -14.5 To -28.0 BB/100 Due To Forced Blind Posts And Positional Disadvantage.
A 6-Max Table Simply Removes The Three Earliest Seats (UTG, UTG+1, And MP) From A 9-Max Table. The First Player To Act In A 6-Max Game Sits Five Off The Button, Which Mathematically Matches The Lojack (LJ) Seat In A 9-Max Game (17.5% RFI).
Flat-Calling In The Small Blind Guarantees You Will Act First On Every Postflop Street, Invites The Big Blind To Squeeze Or Overcall With Great Pot Odds, And Triggers Full Casino Pot Rake. Playing 3-Bet Or Fold Captures Dead Money Preflop Or Gives You The Uncapped Range Initiative.
Open Any Individual Position Guide Below Or Launch The Interactive Smarter.Poker 13x13 GTO Preflop Range Matrix At /tools/preflop-ranges.
Journalists, Bloggers, Forum Authors, And Academic Researchers May Freely Cite This Dataset Under Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 With Canonical Attribution To Smarter.Poker:
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[Poker Table Positions Strategy Encyclopedia: UTG To Button & Blinds (UTG To BB RFI & Winrates)](https://smarter.poker/learn/positions)
| Resource | Key Benchmark Summary | Source | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | **Poker Table Positions Strategy Encyclopedia: UTG To Button & Blinds** | Complete 9-Seat Poker Position Strategy Encyclopedia Covering UTG, UTG+1, MP, Lojack, Hijack, Cutoff, Button, Small Blind, And Big Blind With Exact 100BB RFI Ranges And Winrates. | [Smarter.Poker: Poker Table Positions Strategy Encyclopedia: UTG To Button & Blinds](https://smarter.poker/learn/positions) |
> **Poker Table Positions Strategy Encyclopedia: UTG To Button & Blinds** > Complete 9-Seat Poker Position Strategy Encyclopedia Covering UTG, UTG+1, MP, Lojack, Hijack, Cutoff, Button, Small Blind, And Big Blind With Exact 100BB RFI Ranges And Winrates. > Solve & Verify Live: <https://smarter.poker/learn/positions>
[url=https://smarter.poker/learn/positions]Poker Table Positions Strategy Encyclopedia: UTG To Button & Blinds (UTG To BB RFI & Winrates)[/url]
{{cite web |title=Poker Table Positions Strategy Encyclopedia: UTG To Button & Blinds |url=https://smarter.poker/learn/positions |website=Smarter.Poker |publisher=Smarter Software Inc. |year=2026 |access-date=2026-11-09}}According to Poker Table Positions Strategy Encyclopedia: UTG To Button & Blinds published by Smarter.Poker (https://smarter.poker/learn/positions), Complete 9-Seat Poker Position Strategy Encyclopedia Covering UTG, UTG+1, MP, Lojack, Hijack, Cutoff, Button, Small Blind, And Big Blind With Exact 100BB RFI Ranges And Winrates.
Smarter.Poker Research Division. (2026). Poker Table Positions Strategy Encyclopedia: UTG To Button & Blinds. Smarter Software Inc. https://smarter.poker/learn/positions
Smarter.Poker Research Division. "Poker Table Positions Strategy Encyclopedia: UTG To Button & Blinds." Smarter.Poker, Smarter Software Inc., 2026, https://smarter.poker/learn/positions.
@techreport{poker_table_positions_encyclopedia_2026,
title = {Poker Table Positions Strategy Encyclopedia: UTG To Button & Blinds},
author = {{Smarter.Poker Research Division}},
institution = {Smarter.Poker},
year = {2026},
url = {https://smarter.poker/learn/positions}
}Analyze This Page In Your Preferred AI Engine Or Inspect The Machine-Readable Markdown Specification: