Position

Position describes your seat at the table relative to the dealer button, and it fixes the order every player acts in each betting round after the preflop deal. The blinds and the seats right after the button act early; the seats closest to the button, especially the cutoff and the button itself, act last.

Acting later is valuable because it gives you information for free: every opponent who acts before you has already shown a fold, a call, or a raise, so you weigh your decision against real evidence instead of guessing. That is why the same starting hand can be a clear raise from the button and a clear fold from under the gun, even though the cards never change.

Worked example. At a nine handed table, under the gun acts first preflop with eight players still to act behind, while the button acts last, after all eight opponents have already shown their hand. On the flop, the button again acts last of anyone still in the pot, seeing every check or bet before deciding.

Because of this edge, opening ranges widen steadily from under the gun through to the button, and postflop aggression, bluffing, and thin value bets all get easier the closer you sit to the button.