Follow position, heads-up action order, effective stacks and stack-to-pot ratio without mistaking a seat label for a strategy.
For watching standard 52-card no-limit hold’em. All hands, stacks and event examples here are fictional, not accounts of Nolan’s results. No live-play assistance or recommended betting ranges.
Start with the button, not the camera angle
The dealer button marks a playing position even when a professional dealer handles the cards. With three or more players, the first preflop action belongs to the player left of the big blind. Later streets begin with the first remaining player left of the button. Folded players and players with no chips left to bet are skipped.
“In position” means acting after another player, not sitting closer to the camera. The button has the last initial decision after the flop when still in the hand. A raise can send action around again; “last to act” does not mean that nobody may respond to that player’s bet.
PokerStars Learn: positionsRead a six-handed or nine-handed label
These are common naming conventions, not universal seat names. At a six-handed table, the first seat is also sometimes called the lojack. At nine-handed tables, middle-position labels vary. Count the players and locate the button rather than trying to memorize one graphic.
| Players dealt in | Common labels in order |
|---|---|
| Six | UTG → HJ → CO → BTN → SB → BB |
| Nine | UTG → UTG+1 → UTG+2 → LJ → HJ → CO → BTN → SB → BB |
| Two | BTN/SB → BB |
UTG is under the gun; LJ, lojack; HJ, hijack; CO, cutoff; BTN, button; SB, small blind; BB, big blind. With only two players dealt in, the button is also the small blind: that player acts first preflop and last on later streets. This is different from a nine-handed deal in which everyone but the button and big blind folds. The original blinds do not get reassigned midway through a hand.
Poker TDA: 2026 rules, version 1.0The advantage is information, not a stronger card
Consider a fictional flop with only the cutoff and button remaining. The cutoff must decide before seeing whether the button intends to check or bet. The button can use that observed action. If instead only the cutoff and big blind remain, the cutoff acts after the big blind. The same seat label can therefore be in position against one opponent and out of position against another.
A late seat is not a promise of winning. The cards, prior action and stack sizes still matter. Nor does checking prove weakness: a player can check a strong hand, a medium hand or a hand with little showdown value.
Two different measurements of a stack
Big blinds describe a stack relative to the forced wager. Stack-to-pot ratio, usually SPR, compares the effective remaining stack with the current pot. It is commonly quoted at the start of the flop. State when it was measured: chips already bet are not still in the player’s stack.
PokerStars Learn: stack-to-pot ratioFor two players, the smaller stack limits what they can contest against each other. A larger opponent cannot make a player wager money outside the chips permitted in play. With three or more players, different stack sizes can create side pots; one headline SPR is not a complete description.
Check your reading
The cutoff and button see a flop. Who has position?
The button acts after the cutoff. “Cutoff” is often called late position, but it is still out of position against the button.
Only two players were dealt in. Does the button wait until last preflop?
No. The button is also the small blind and acts first preflop, then last on the flop, turn and river.
A player has 12,000 left with a 3,000 pot. Is that a 4 BB stack?
No. Four is the stack-to-pot ratio. You still need the big blind to find BB depth. At a 400 big blind, 12,000 is 30 BB.
References and limits
PokerStars Learn: positions; Poker TDA: 2026 rules, version 1.0; PokerStars Learn: stack-to-pot ratio.
References checked October 5, 2026. The examples and calculations are original teaching illustrations. Rules depend on the event; a definition or simplified model does not establish the best action in a real hand. External references may contain commercial offers. No purchase is required for this guide.
Published . Prepared with AI assistance. Use these materials for viewing and study away from live play.