You will often hear online poker players, particularly when discussing their position at the table in a hand, discussing ‘the button,’ which in live poker cash games and online is represented by a white puck-like object that goes around the table. The button is also known as the dealer position, and means that the player with the button will act last on all rounds of betting (except for preflop, where the blinds act after). This is an extreme advantage to the discerning player, as when you are on the button you are guaranteed to have more information than anyone else at the table when it comes time for you to bet. Thus, being on the button is the most coveted spot in the game of poker.

A lot of poker players, when on the button, will raise with any two cards any time it comes around unraised to them. This, in effect, is like betting the odds, as you have a significant advantage being on the button. It is much easier to win a pot from this position than anywhere else on the table. Frequently (and especially at less advanced tables) a raise from the button can win a pot by position alone, though this kind of play has become so known it is expected.

In general, though, the button is where you want to be. Quite a number of pots can come not only just from raising preflop on the button, but from betting when it is checked around to you on the flop, giving you almost a default winning station to play from. Playing position, and from spots of power, is how the game of hold em is played best.