Is UTG the new button?

Poker Strategy / Marcus Bateman / 02 February 2010 / Leave a Comment

Under the gun as the new button

When poker first exploded, conventional wisdom was that you needed to have a much tighter range from early positions in hold'em than you did if folded to you in later positions

This is a phrase often heard at the tables and on forums about how the game is evolving. Predominantly used in tournament poker (although still a phrase relevant to cash poker), the concept that under the gun is the new position to steal from is an interesting and important concept to understand in terms of poker evolving, and one which throws a lot of light on how to adjust your game.

When poker first exploded, conventional wisdom was that you needed to have a much tighter range from early positions in hold'em than you did if folded to you in later positions. As so many more players were likely to have a hand behind you when in early positions (which they clearly do not if they fold before you have a chance to act, as frequently happens on the button), combined with the fact that if called you frequently had to play the pot out of position, meant it was crucial to only really play big hands from under the gun.

However, like all conventional wisdom in poker, good players started noticing that not only were most players opening very tight from early position, but they were also expecting most other players to do so as well. This meant that they were giving far too much respect to good players raising under the gun, and frequently folding hands that they should never have been letting go of against the actually quite ride range of these players.

Not only were their steal attempts getting through much more easily than they should, but they actually ended up being in position frequently for the rest of the hand. As most players with no investment in the pot would just fold without a monster, the only players who would tangle with you would tend to be in the blinds, meaning that they were always out of position against you for the rest of the hand, making your life considerably easier if you are called.

In poker, the best moves are frequently ones which people simply cannot believe you are making without certain hands. At the time, no one believed a good player was ever raising junk from under the gun, and so gave far too much respect to their bets, a point which good players spotted and started to exploit. As this phrase became more common place, so general recognition of this practice has spread, with fewer and fewer players giving this total respect to early raises (a point which in itself is now probably ripe to be exploited), and the game moves on. Always remember that poker is an endless game of adaptation, and being able to spot the shifts in thought like this is crucial to staying afloat in the long run.