The 'Cut Off'

The Cut off is the last player to act before the button in a hand and is one of the best positions (immediately right of the dealer) to be in a hand. Unlike the player under the gun who needs to make a decision before seeing what any other player does, the player in cut off is the second last to bet and can see what each player does before he makes up his mind how to play the hand.

It's a position that generally sees a raise, if play is folded round, mainly as there are fewer players left to act . As we've covered in a number of other articles (see table position), being last to act (.i.e. the button) provides the most positional advantage as you get to see what all players get to do before you. From cut off and the button, you have the opportunity to steal more blinds than you do in earlier position.

Cut off and the button also provides another benefit in that players will give you less credit for a hand in this position, especially when you're the initial raiser - this presents a great opportunity when you hit a hand in this spot.. Players will often play back at you which will be exactly what you are looking for sitting on a monster hand.

You should use careful consideration when deciding whether to steal from late position. There are a number of key factors that you should take into account like how loose the game is and whether there are any player who aggressively defend their blinds left to act. Note that where you are playing in a loose game or have an aggressive defender of blinds, you should not try to steal with too many marginal hands.