PLO Position Strategy: Why the Button Prints Money

If you ask any winning PLO player what the single biggest edge factor is in the game, most will give you the same answer: position.

Not hand selection. Not reading blockers. Not river bet sizing. Position.

In PLO, acting last is not just an advantage — it is the foundation that all other strategy gets built on.

Why Position Matters More in PLO Than NLHE

In Hold'em, position is important. In PLO, it is critical.

Here is why: in PLO, the sheer number of possible hand combinations means the postflop texture is almost always complex. Boards hit everyone. Draws are everywhere. Hand strength is rarely obvious — even to the person holding the hand.

Acting last means:

• You see how everyone else responds to the board before you commit. In NLHE, one check-raise gives you a lot of information. In PLO, four players checking before you means something very different than in Hold'em — and you get to process it.
• You control whether pots get big or small. As the last to act, you decide if a pot grows or stays contained. Out of position, that control belongs to someone else.
• Your equity realises better. You can see more cards cheaply when you are ahead, and get out cheaper when you are behind.

A standard PLO equity edge of 55/45 on the flop can become closer to 65/35 in terms of realised equity when you hold position. That gap is significant over thousands of hands.

The Information Advantage With Four Cards

Every player in PLO holds four cards. That means on any given board, every player has more possible hand combinations hitting the texture than in Hold'em.

When you are out of position, you face an opponent who may be holding any of dozens of strong combinations — and you have to act first, without knowing which one they have.

When you are in position, they have to act first. That check, that small bet, that pot-sized raise — all of it tells you something before you put a single chip in.

In PLO, reads and tells derived from betting patterns matter enormously. Position is what gives you access to those reads in real time. Out of position, you are flying blind and hoping.

Button vs. Blinds: Equity Realization Differences

Let's make this concrete.

Say you hold a decent but not premium hand — something like J-T-9-8 double-suited. Playable for sure. But how playable?

From the button vs. two blinds:

You have position on every street. You can see how the blinds respond to the flop before deciding. If the board misses you and the blinds show strength, you can easily fold without losing chips you did not have to put in. When you hit, you can extract maximum value with the information advantage working in your favor.

From the big blind vs. a button raiser:

You are out of position for the entire hand. Even when you hit a piece of the flop, you have to act first — and a good button player will apply constant pressure. You cannot see whether their flop bet is top set, a combo draw, or complete air before you have to respond.

Same hand. Dramatically different situations.

Studies and solver simulations consistently show that hands played in position have significantly higher equity realisation rates than the same hands out of position. In PLO, that delta is larger than in NLHE because multiway pots are more common and the complexity of postflop decisions is higher.

How to Widen Your Button Ranges

Because position is so valuable in PLO, you can and should play more hands from the button than from any other seat.

Hands that are marginal or unplayable from early position become genuinely profitable on the button.

Button-specific hands worth playing:

• Medium double-suited rundowns: Hands like 8-7-6-5ds or T-9-8-7ds are marginal from under the gun but comfortably profitable in position against multiple opponents.
• Suited connected holdings with pairs: A hand like 9-8-7-7 with a suit is awkward to play out of position. On the button, you can often see a cheap flop and fold when it misses.
• Speculative four-card combinations with multiple draws: Hands that need to hit in specific ways to be strong are better realized in position, where you can control the price of seeing streets.

What you are not doing is calling every hand. You are recognizing which marginal hands become profitable specifically because of positional advantage — and adding those to your button range while still folding true trash.

The general principle: any hand that needs to realise equity to be profitable benefits from position. On the button, more hands fall into the profitable category.

Position and Pot Control in PLO

One underrated aspect of positional advantage is pot control — specifically, the ability to keep pots manageable when you are uncertain.

In PLO, it is common to hit the flop and still not be sure you are winning. You might have top two pair on a board with a flush draw and straight draws everywhere. That is a hand where your equity against a range can vary wildly.

Out of position: You face a bet and have to decide — call, raise, or fold — without knowing where you stand. Calling might be right. But you are now in a spot where you have committed chips and still have no information.

In position: If it checks to you, you can check back and see a turn for free. If there is a bet, you have their bet sizing and timing as information before you act. You can call, raise, or fold with better information than your out-of-position counterpart had.

Pot control in position means you can manage stack-to-pot ratios more effectively — staying in pots cheaply when uncertain, and building pots aggressively when confident.

Practical Adjustments at a 6-Max Live PLO Table

Here is how to think about each position at a six-handed live table:

UTG (Under the Gun):

Open strong. Premium hands, strong rundowns, premium pairs with backup. You will be out of position on most opponents most of the time. Do not open trash hoping to outplay everyone.

HJ (Hijack):

Still relatively early. Expand slightly from UTG — add some double-suited connected hands and hands with premium pairs. Fold the garbage. Position is still a disadvantage against most of the table.

CO (Cutoff):

This is where you start opening up. You have position on the blinds and button has position on you. Strong, medium-strength, and some speculative hands with good connectivity are all worth a raise.

BTN (Button):

This is your seat. Play it aggressively. You have position on every player you enter the pot with (except in 3-bet pots where a blind leads). Widen your opening range, defend against re-raises with more hands, and look for spots to isolate weaker players.

SB (Small Blind):

You have position preflop on the big blind only, and out of position postflop against the entire table. Play tight. This is a leak seat for most players.

BB (Big Blind):

You get a discount to call, but you are out of position postflop. Defend reasonably against single raises with hands that play well in multi-way pots. Against 3-bets, be selective — you are playing an uphill battle postflop.

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FAQ

How much more valuable is position in PLO vs. NLHE?

Significantly more. In NLHE, a skilled player can navigate difficult spots out of position with relative frequency. In PLO, the combination of complex board textures, more possible draws, and multi-way pots makes positional disadvantage compounding. Most PLO winners show substantially higher win rates in position than out of it.

Should I always open the button in PLO?

Not always — but you should open it frequently. Fold the hands with no connectivity, no suit work, and no pair backup. Play everything that has a genuine draw to good hands and can realise equity. The button earns money primarily because you get to see what everyone does before committing.

What is equity realisation in PLO?

Equity realisation is the percentage of your raw all-in equity that you actually capture in real play. A hand might be 40% equity in an all-in scenario, but only realise 30% of that due to being forced off its draw. In position, equity realisation is higher because you have more control over when and how much you commit.

Is it ever right to play a weak hand from the blinds?

Sometimes, with a large enough discount. Calling one raise multiway from the big blind with a speculative hand is occasionally correct when your hand has good multi-way value. But do not play weak out-of-position hands just because they are cheap — you will bleed chips slowly.

How does position interact with pot odds in PLO?

Position gives you better information when facing pot odds decisions. Out of position, you call a bet without knowing if a bet is coming behind you. In position, you see all bets first, then decide. That information makes your pot odds calls more accurate — and your folds cheaper.

Can you compensate for bad position with hand strength?

Partially. Premium hands like AAKK double-suited are profitable from any seat. But even strong hands play better in position. The hand strength floor required to play out of position is higher in PLO than in Hold'em — and the gap between in-position and out-of-position win rates is larger than most players expect.