Poker table positions are key concepts to understand in the game.
The position known as Under the Gun (commonly abbreviated as UTG) refers to the first player to act in the preflop betting round. This position is always to the direct left of the big blind.
Let’s take a look at how poker positions work, and how the UTG position fits into the equation.
UTG and Poker Table Positions
In Texas Hold’em, Omaha, and many other poker games played at the Lodge, the games revolve around a system of a button and blinds. The small blind and big blind are positions that place mandatory bets before each hand begins.
Under the Gun is always to the direct left of the big blind. After the cards are dealt, the preflop betting round begins.
UTG is always the first player to act in the preflop round. The UTG player gets the option to either call the big blind amount, raise, or fold. After UTG acts, the action moves to the next player on the left.
Let’s take a look at a poker position graphic (courtesy of Upswing Poker) and see how UTG and the other table positions line up:
Poker table positions are generally grouped into early position (EP), middle position (MP), and late position (LP).
In a nine-handed game, UTG refers to the first player to act preflop. The next player to the left (the second player to act preflop) is often referred to as UTG+1, and the next player to act is UTG+2. The UTG positions make up the EP spots at the table.
No matter how many players are at the table, UTG can always refer to the first player to act preflop. For example, in a six-player game, the LJ position could be referred to as UTG.
UTG Strategy and Final Thoughts
In general, the UTG position requires the tightest opening range of any position at the table. In other words, you want to play less hands from UTG than any other position.
This is because you’re first to act preflop, and every other player at the table gets to act after you. All players at the table have a positional advantage over UTG, and position is one of the biggest advantages a player can have in Hold’em and Omaha.
Conversely, the player on the BTN is the last player to act in all postflop rounds. Because of that advantage, the BTN can play a much wider range of hands (in terms of optimal poker strategy) compared to UTG.
In all postflop betting rounds, the action begins with the SB, or the next player to the left that’s still in the hand. If you’re in a hand from under the gun, you’ll usually going to be playing out of position against one or more players in the postflop betting rounds as well.
For more on poker table positions, check out this article from Upswing:
