Why is Button Considered Dominant position?

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KingzandSharkz

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Hi everyone im new to poker and learning the fundementals. Currently learning about position. I am a little confused as to why on the button is the dominant position. i understand they are last to voluntarily wager a bet; but although the big blind is forced to post the blind. wouldnt that be dominant position cause they trully are last to act? just wondering cause everything says the button is dominant and thats where most of a players money will be made.obviously im missing something so any input would be appreciated thanks.
 
Robochick

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To answer why the blinds are not the best position: you are made to contribute to the pot and you are the first to act on all rounds after the flop. Although you have the advantage in the first round of betting; statistically, it is the position you are most likely to lose money. Statistics show that a stubborn insistence of defending your blind, without regard to your hole cards, is a losing proposition in the long run.

Good luck at the tables.
 
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Edison A

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BUTTON is considered the best position of the table because you have the advantage of seeing the development of the hand and bets, good cards accompanied by a good position as the BUTTON help you win a hand, as long as you know to take control of hand
 
Robochick

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BUTTON is considered the best position of the table because you have the advantage of seeing the development of the hand and bets, good cards accompanied by a good position as the BUTTON help you win a hand, as long as you know to take control of hand
Exactly, the key is information and the button has the information advantage. I agree with Mack, to profit on the button takes good cards and skill.
 
Edison A

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Exactly, the key is information and the button has the information advantage. I agree with Mack, to profit on the button takes good cards and skill.
playing in BUTTON does not guarantee that you will win the hand !, but without a doubt it is a great position to play poker
 
PHX

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The Button is last to act on flop, turn and river. It gives us an advantage playing from the button as we get to see what our opponent does before we act. The more information we have the better decision we can make.
 
This Fish Chums

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Making the most out of the button

The button is the dominant position for 4 reasons, all of which either involve a great hand or being good at bluffing.
First, when you have a great hand you are last to act and therefore can determine a raise based on the rest of the tables actions. This is much more advantageous due to the ability to have much more information on how everyone else is betting.
Second is if you are a great bluffer. you can play weak cards from this position with the intent of reading the rest of the table before making that well-timed bluff.

But it is also very strong before the flop as well. You don't get to go last, but you get to go near the last to act with the last to act positions already having chips in the pot. So, although not as powerful, it can be used to a great advantage before the flop as well for another two reasons.
Third, before the flop you can bully the entire table with a raise. the fact that there are two players with chips already in the pot, if you raise you are telling the table that you believe you have a better hand than people who already have money in the pot. This can be a very powerful weapon for someone who is a good bluffer.
Fourth, you can safely disguise great hands with a flat-call. Many people expect the button to bet big with a big hand. So if you just call the last bet, they will assume you have weaker holdings than normal which may entice them to give you action after the flop. In other words, on the button you can trap well before the flop.

If you do not have a good hand, and you are not a good bluffer, then you should fold the button just like you would fold any other position because you do not truly have the advantage.
 
BlackMamba

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Batton in poker provides the player with the most information about the opponents, as most of them make a decision before the player taking the place. Therefore, the poker player sitting on the Button, by the time he reaches the course, already knows how most of the opponents came – whether they entered the auction and in what quantity, what size did the bets. This knowledge allows you to choose the optimal hands to enter the auction and the size of rates. Button is less likely to risk money than the rest of the position, because if someone has increased and the rate is unacceptable for his cards, he throws them. The button also gets the opportunity to play a wider range of hands with less risk. For example, it can often enter into trades with speculative hands. The fact is that the probability that the opponents sitting after him – on the blinds, increase – low. Therefore, if the rates of previous opponents allow to play speculative hands, he can enter with them into the auction, almost without fear that someone will offer an even greater rate. Therefore, in this position the widest range of hands, especially to enter into trades with limp or call a small raise. It's a great position for «Steal» and «Squeeze».
 
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It is considered the best position because you and the last one are on the flop, turn and river. So you save a lot of chips on occasions like when your opponent increases and you calculate that he can have the best hand you can fold. you can see what your opponent will do before you make any decisions like pay or raise. This usually gives you the advantage of raising with not so good hands because you can act last and make your opponent fold and a lucrative position, different from the big blind where you have money in the pot every time regardless of whether your hands are good or bad generates a loss in the long run. All big regulars are losers in the big blind in the long run this and fact.
 
XYZ2123

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The button is considered the dominant position because you're basically last to act preflop (except for the blinds who have already put money in) and last to act on every postflop street, giving you the most information about the possible holdings of your opponents based on their actions.
 
vinnie

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the big blind is forced to post the blind. wouldnt that be dominant position cause they trully are last to act?

The big blind is only last to act pre-flop, when the pot is small and the remaining stacks are large. There is a lot of play left in the hand, and the big blind won't have position for most of it. The button will always be last to act on the remaining streets, when the pot is large and the remaining stacks may (or may not) be significant.
 
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KingzandSharkz

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I just want to say thank you to everyone for all the feed back im blown away by how many people are willing to give their input. I am aspiring to make this a profitable hobby to start. TO be honest i have been playing micro stakes for a few months and though have my share of wins over the long haul has been a losing proposition, but unlike making excuses after further reading and self analysis i can be honest with myself and understand that it all comes down to me not just variance .i understand i have many leaks which i am in the process of fixing and nomatter what level will have thousands of hands ahead of me full of bad beats. i am taking the proper steps now to restart my education from scratch and make sure i fully comprehend what i am reading all the way back to position hence why im asking all these questions.

With that said i have noticed a significant amount of multi tablers and even regs at most tables daily on . I have tried to tighten up my hand range to the top 15-20 percent from opening position and try and play a more abc approach i understand that makes me weak and predictable to a point and have tried to mix in my steals from CU and other positions dependant on my read of opponents. i feel alot of the time the multi tablers are just playing the top10-12% range and wait for fish to call same with the rest of the table. perhaps this is just my read. as well i understand many people are using huds and do they really get a substantial amount of info on me from palying a few hundred hands i know it creates profile of me. i understand i write alot but i am eager to learn and currently devoting all my spare time to study and hand analysis. i recently placed 1061 outta 24000 ppl. and missed a seat at a satelitte for 250k placing fifith outta 279 people i understand i dont have enough games to be reult oriented just yet but im happy with the results so far. so yeah any opinions or advice for starting off at the micros is appreciated from. how to find weaker tables etc. as well i understand that the tourneys ive been in are probably soft.


THANKS AGAIN EVERYONE


Kz&Sz
 
ssory83

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Late position
Cutoff (CO) and Button (BU). After those in this position, I only "talk" the blinds. and that just before the flop, because once the board descends, the players in these positions will act the last. As a result, they will store all the data provided by others.
 
cranberry

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After the flop the last bet will be on the button. In addition, the button - an excellent position to "steal" the blinds using bluff and semi-bluff, especially in tournament play.
 
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Hi everyone im new to poker and learning the fundementals. Currently learning about position. I am a little confused as to why on the button is the dominant position. i understand they are last to voluntarily wager a bet; but although the big blind is forced to post the blind. wouldnt that be dominant position cause they trully are last to act? just wondering cause everything says the button is dominant and thats where most of a players money will be made.obviously im missing something so any input would be appreciated thanks.

The button is considered to be an advantage because post flop you can see if your opponent checks or bets before you make a decision.


Those slight advantages give you extra info that could either save you money or rake in a big pot.
 
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In the button. you have the third best position preflop, and the best position on the flop turn and river. The big blind only has position on the flop and almost always will be oop in three streets. If all the money is going in preflop, then yes, you'd rather be in the big blind, but with big stacks, the button always has the advantage.
 
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CallmeFloppy

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It's true that you are the last one to act as the big blind on the pre-flop betting but as others have pointed out, you will be one of the first to act on the rest of the action. This means you have the least information at your disposable as each card is flipped.

Also on the pre-flop, if someone makes a raise, you are now forced to make a decision with money already in the pot that you may or may not have wanted to put there to begin with. If someone raises, you now have to decide to defend or fold giving you the opportunity to make a mistake. Then you will need to act first on the next round without understanding how the flop hit your opponent. If you defended with A5 suited and a rainbow board comes with an ace, how do you feel about your hand? If you check and your opponent bets with a history of making C-bets, do you really know what they have? All this uncertainty is what makes this a tough place to play and why most lose money over the long haul.
 
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button

As the posters said above on the button you can steal the blinds pre flop. But you can also call on the button pre and steal a bigger pot postflop a lot when it is checked around to you .
 
korneel

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When your on the button and have a good hands, it's nice that you are last to act.
 
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The big blind is last to act preflop (unless ofcourse there are raises/folds).

The button is last to act flop, turn & river. It's a huge advantage.

The small blind is the worst position. You act first after the flop, and have to put money in preflop and still have the Big Blind to act after you. I have a very loose range in the button and very tight range on the small blind.
 
Eric Salvador

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Once preflop is over and the flop is out that's when poker is truly played. Until you get to higher stakes there will be a lot of preflop jamming because players cant play post flop properly
 
es530

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Hi everyone im new to poker and learning the fundementals. Currently learning about position. I am a little confused as to why on the button is the dominant position. i understand they are last to voluntarily wager a bet; but although the big blind is forced to post the blind. wouldnt that be dominant position cause they trully are last to act? just wondering cause everything says the button is dominant and thats where most of a players money will be made.obviously im missing something so any input would be appreciated thanks.
Hi. For me, the best position is to speak last. I like to play in position because I know I have many advantages. I find it very funny when I'm playing, so someone in the top positions opens and I do a 3bet with T9s in the middle positions and they think I have a hand and they make a 4bet or go all in they do not know how obvious the force comes in on your hands and kills your premium hands. because most of the time I take my hand and discard it, except on those days when I think I'm a medium. my intention is not with him yet, my intention with him is secondary, the first intention is to steal the position of the button and face him in position.
every time I can steal the position, my intention goes to him if he pays me wanting to keep me on hand with a pair of aces or kings I just want to hit my seven or two pairs or rather,
and collect all the money. So the advantage is in playing last and the button is the most obvious position. but you can sit in any position besides the blinds and have the right to sit on the (button). please avoid playing in the blinds. Good luck and welcome to the forum.
 
IcyNicy

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The button position is considered dominant because after the preflop stage exactly your position will become the last. So from the last position it's easier to make decisions cause by the time it's your turn to act you already know what your opponents are up to. And then you may play accordingly.
 
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