The under the gun position in poker is the player in the earliest position, the one required to act first. It is abbreviated as UTG. In games with blinds, such as Texas Hold'em or Omaha, it is the player seated just to the left of the big blind. The under the gun player must act first pre-flop in a game with blinds. This is a discussion on Under the Gun within the online poker forums, in the Learning Poker section; What is your range under the gun? Do you small raise broadway cards out of position?

Under The Gun Poker Strategy Guide
Under The Gun Poker Strategy List
Cut Off Poker
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Kristy Arnett

Each week, the Talking Poker series will highlight a particular poker term. We’ll give you a clear, to-the-point definition of the term and an example of the strategic concept to which it refers, so that you can start using the term and implementing the related strategy into your game. This week we focus on a term referring to one of the positions at the table — “under the gun.”

Definition

The “under the gun” player is the first to act before the. Home Strategy Poker Terms Under the Gun. Under the Gun. Get the latest poker news, poker strategies, and special offers sent directly to your inbox. Under the gun isn’t the best position to play from, but it’s not the worst. An ideal UTG strategy will lean heavily towards value plays and will avoid speculative bluffs. Stick to a tight opening range and continue postflop only if you’ve got a legit hand. Oct 26, 2010 Jon Friedberg hosts a special poker strategy packed episode of Under The Gun, brought to you by UB.com. Jon discusses his Under The Gun cash.

“Under the gun” (or “UTG”) refers to the position to the immediate left of the big blind in flop games like hold’em and Omaha. The under-the-gun player is the first to act before the flop. The term refers to the pressure that goes along with having to act before anyone else in the hand.

Under The Gun Poker Strategy Guide

Example

Player A is directly to the left of the button and posts the small blind. Player B is on the left of Player A and posts the big blind. Player C sits to the left of Player A. The cards are dealt and Player C, playing under the gun, acts first.

Strategic Considerations

Pros generally advise players to play tighter in early position, especially when under the gun. The reason is that the rest of the table gets to act after you preflop, then after the flop all players who are not in the blinds who choose to play the hand will continue to have a positional advantage on you throughout.

Because the under-the-gun player is at a huge positional disadvantage, he or she can gain back some edge back by playing a better range of hands. For example, instead of raising with a hand like as a player might do when opening from the button, the under-the-gun player should instead be inclined to fold such a hand.

Watch and Learn

Under The Gun Poker Strategy List

For more about playing from under the gun, here is a video by PokerXFactor coach Chris Wallace in which he presents a formula by which to guide starting hand selection from early position in cash games, including when playing UTG:

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PokerNews Staff

Have you ever played under the gun? This unique poker table position presents its own set of challenges to players of all levels and styles. When the pressure is on, the game really heats up. It can get downright fiery, but you don’t want to be the one getting burned. That’s why you need to know exactly what under the gun really is, what it entails for gameplay, and how you can tweak your style to optimize strategy in this position.

What Does it Mean to be Under the Gun?

You may have heard the term before. To be “under the gun” means to be subjected to immense pressure, such as when you go in for a big exam at school or you have a particularly difficult presentation to make at work. Though it has a contested origin and etymology, it has always evoked colourful imagery and been one of the better-sounding terms of your favourite game.

In poker, playing under the gun (UTG) also implies having to perform under pressure. The term UTG is generally reserved for flop games such as Texas Hold ‘em or Omaha variations and can be used with a 6 or 9-max game. When the game becomes more shorthanded, the term isn’t used as much.

Players in the UTG position are seated directly to the left of the player in the big blind. This means that if you’re under the gun, you’ll be the first one to make a move before the flop and the third one to make a move after the flop.

Since you have to make your play first, you won’t have the benefit of watching the other players and what they do. You won’t be able to get a read on them before you make your betting decisions. To make it even worse, they’ll be able to get a read on you almost immediately and be able to bet accordingly.

It’s inevitable that even casual players will find themselves under the gun at some point. When it’s your turn, you need to be ready for it. That involves learning how to win with your UTG play, including optimizing your overall gaming style and tweaking your strategy to fit the position.

Developing Your UTG Playing Style

It’s important to realise your situational disadvantage when playing under the gun. Since you’re the first to act, you need to be careful. You don’t have the freedom or the control which comes with playing from other poker positions. Whether or not you’ll be successful in this position depends largely on the strength of your cards, more so than on your bluffing skills or your powers of deduction—you’ve got very little room for bluffing UTG, and even less room to try and make deductions considering you’re the first to make any play.

Because you have to rely on your cards, you really only want to play the best ones. Be conservative with the cards you play, but once you do decide to take the plunge, you should take it all the way. Play aggressively with higher ranking hands. Open raise immediately rather than limping in. You’ll build the pot up substantially like this. After all, players with good hands (or hands they think are good) will call your raise anyway. Why not win as much as you can?

While playing UTG requires you to be much more aggressive than other positions, it also requires more flexibility. The position is difficult to play at first, but it gets more predictable once you get a general read on your table.

For example, if you’re playing against ultra-conservative people, feel free to loosen up a bit. If you know your opponents won’t make a move unless they have a very strong hand, you’ll know that your hands don’t actually have to be goliath-level in order to win. You could even end up taking the pot with a mediocre hand.

On the other side of the equation, adjust your game for ultra-aggressive and loose players. Don’t get weaker, get smarter instead. Come in full-throttle, or take yourself out of the equation entirely. There’s no need to risk your chances of winning with limping or weak plays; you need to stand strong without playing head games.

Remember that even as you take advantage of other peoples’ predictability, you need to ensure you don’t become a predictable player yourself. Your UTG plays should vary depending on your hand, while your strategy and style should be adjusted depending on the other players at the table.

Tips to Consider for Optimising Strategy

Cut Off Poker

If you’re playing poker from under the gun, you should tighten up your game, especially your starting hands. UTG players must play only the best starting hands—this means you can use about 10% of your hands to open. In a 6-handed game, you can use a bit more than this, as there are fewer players to act after you.

Besides tightening up your range, you need to consider what to do in the event that straddling is allowed. A straddle is a bet which is most often twice the big blind, made immediately after the big blind. Like the blinds, it is made before the card