Some Definitions

In all Hold'em decisions, your position and the position of your opponents
can have a big impact on the strategies you decide to use. Position refers to the
order in which a player has to act. Your position will change each hand as the
"button" is moved around the table. In a ten-handed Hold'em game, early position is
defined as the first three players to the left of the big blind, middle position is the
next three players, and late position consists of the last two players. The first player
to act in early position is said to be under the gun. The player in seat 10 is often
referred to as the button or dealer. The player before the button is often called the
cutoff.
Note the order of seats and position below:
Seat 1 Small Blind
Seat 2 Big Blind
Seal 3 Early Position - Also known as under the gun
Seat 4 Early Position
Seat 5 Early Position
Seat 6 Middle Position
Seat 7 Middle Position
Seat 8 Middle Position
Seat 9 Late Position - Also blow as the cutoff
Seat 10 Late position - Also known as the button or dealer
Learn these positions well as they will be referred to throughout the text. Once the
flop is dealt, position is used as a relative term to describe when you have to act.
For example, if you are in the small blind, you are acting in "early" position after the
flop since you must act first. A player sitting in seat 5 could be acting in "late"
position if he is the last player who has to act.
There is a glossary in the back of the text if you come across a term that you do not
understand.
One note about the use of the pronoun "he." For simplicity, I use "he" throughout
the text to refer to all players of both sexes.
This book is meant to be read and studied many times. You will find that as you
gain more experience, you will be able to better understand some of the concepts
with each new reading of the book. Hopefully it will serve as a reference to your
play for many years to come.