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Dealer Button
The button (or dealer button) is the small circular object that is placed on the table to indicate the order of play. In poker, automatic bets are used in games to increase the temptation for players to get involved in the hand and ensure money is in the pot. Without automatic bets, players would simply wait for the top 
hands before they play. To get round this there are two automatic bets that need to be posted, the big and small blind. The big blind is usually twice the value of the small blind and all players take a turn to post both the small and big blinds.
In any game, to keep track of who's turn it is to post these automatic bets a dealer button is used. The dealer button goes round the table clockwise with the player immediately on the left of the dealer button, posting the small blind. The next seat to the left of the small blind would post the big blind. In essence these automatic bets ensure that there is some money in the pot. Once the hand is over, the dealer button would move one place clockwise round the table. The person who was on the big blind would then post the small blind.
In most poker tournaments, the blinds steadily increase throughout the game (see tournament blinds structure) so as the tournament progresses, players need to play more hands or risk their stack dwindling away paying the blinds.
The Button (Position)
The 'button' is also the position (the position that has the dealer button) that carries the most benefit due to the fact that the player on the button is the last to act. He will get to observe the entire table before having to make a decision on whether to play the hand. The button also 
represents the best place to steal blinds, especially if there has been no action before you.
Players will also not give you credit for having a hand in this position, particularly if you are an aggressive player. If you are aggressive, raising from the button will just look like you are trying to steal the blinds and players will be more likely to defend their blinds with marginal hands.
If the action folds round to you, as there are fewer players who might have a hand and this allows you to raise and steal the pot (which would be the value of the big and small blind). For more on this please visit our guide on table position, which goes into this in greater detail.
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