Post Behind the Button or Not

When being seated in a cash game it is an ongoing discussion if blinds should be posted behind the button or not. As in much poker discussion there are a lot of aspects to look into before make up your mind what you prefer.

Second best position

Posting behind the button let you invest your big blind in the second best position available at the table which is clearly and advantage compared to investing it in the big blind which is the second worst position at the table. Furthermore players only invest 1 big blind and this in position compared to 1.5 big blind out of position.

However at the same time you notify the table that you are not a newbie to the game which could cost a lot more money long term in the session. Another argument for not posting in position behind the button is that with money already invested in the pot then it is more than tempting to 3 bet in limit poker. 3 betting are necessary if the pot has already been raised to force the big blind out of the pot. This aggressive approach will create a fair amount of fluctuations to your bankroll but it is advisable to play very aggressive if posting in position.

Blinds: $5/10	Take the blinds out of position	At a Cost Per Hand of:	Post blind behind in position	At a Cost Per Hand of:
	$15 total:		$10 total:
10 players	10 hands	1.50	7 hands	1.43
9 players	9 hands	1.67	6 hands	1.67
8 players	8 hands	1.88	5 hands	2.00
7 players	7 hands	2.14	4 hands	2.50
6 players	6 hands	2.50	3 hands	3.33
5 players	5 hands	3.00	2 hands	5.00
4 players	4 hands	3.75	1 hand	10.00

In a 10 handed game there will be a cost saving per hand if posting in position. Any other scenario is either break even or more expensive for the getting the positional advantage. All in all we recommend taking the blinds as normal with the one exception where the table has a monster fish playing. In this scenario we recommend to pay the big blind at any point in time.