How Do Blinds Work In Poker
Videos you watch may be added to the TV's watch history and influence TV recommendations. To avoid this, cancel and sign in to YouTube on your computer. How do poker tournaments work? Poker tournaments differ from cash games in that each player pays an entry fee then competes to win a portion of the prize pool. During the event, the blind levels increase steadily at regular intervals. A big blind is a mandatory bet used in poker variations that typically don't have antes, such as Texas Hold 'Em. It is paid by the player two seats to the left of the dealer or the dealer button. The player one seat to the left of the button pays a small blind that is usually half the big blind's size. The dealer button moves clockwise around a.
Paul Phua says the blind also marks potential poker strategy. Depending on your position around the poker table in a casino, or a social poker night where the dealer changes as the “button” moves from player to player, you will have to give certain blinds. Learn to Play Poker in no time: poker tutorial is a great way to learn the card g.
Blinds are a vital component of many poker games and having the right knowledge about them plays a huge role in the overall gaming experience. But what exactly is a blind? Let’s break it all down here. A blind is simply a compulsory or forced bet that is made before any of the cards in […]Blinds are a vital component of many poker games and having the right knowledge about them plays a huge role in the overall gaming experience. But what exactly is a blind? Let’s break it all down here.
A blind is simply a compulsory or forced bet that is made before any of the cards in a poker game are dealt. That is where they derive their name from – players have to pay them blindly without seeing their cards.
There is a lot more that you need to know about blinds but this is definitely a great start. You are now aware that this is a mandatory bet to be placed when joining a poker game. It can be easily be described as the fee or cost of participation in the game.
What’s the Point of Blinds in Poker?
It is safe to say that a poker game cannot begin without blinds. They are in essence what ignite the game by giving the players the incentive to play. Moreover, they are responsible for generating the action in a game.
Once the game kicks off, the main aim during the first betting round is to “try to steal the blinds“. If the player makes a raise during this first betting round and all the other players fold, the player who raised wins the blinds.
Without this type of bet, the game of poker would be very boring and dull since no one would be under pressure to act with their weaker hands. Needless to say, poker is not poker without all of the mind-boggling action that it is associated with.
The Types of Blinds
Now, once you have contributed your mandatory share in a poker game you will be in the blind. What next? Well, your next move will be dependent on the kind of blind that you will be in. We are going to take a look at the two common types of blinds that are likely to be a part of the poker game that you will be participating in.
Small Blind
In some poker games, this simply means the compulsory bet for the player sitting left of the dealer. This is often regarded as the worst position on the table. This is because the small blind usually acts first which puts that player at a disadvantage.
Being in the small blind means that you are in a rather unique situation. Half of your bet will already be in the pot. The implication here is that you are allowed to see the flop in an unraised pot for a discounted price so long as you have the combination of certain poker hands and one of the following from the small blind:
- Queen Ten
- Jack Ten
- King 8s
- King 7s
- King 6s
- King 5s
- King 4s
- King 3s
- King 2s
Keeping all this in mind, it is recommended that you should never call the half bet in the small hand when you do not have a good starting hand. The small blind, during the player’s turn in the preflop, can fold, raise or call. It is thus not mandatory that it calls the big blind.
The size of the small blind is usually tied to the size of the bet. It is always equal to the size of the small bet. For instance, in some poker games where the big blind is $3, the small blind can either be $1 or $2.
The Big Blind
Unlike the small blind, the big blind is placed in the middle of the poker table. Moreover, while not as bad of a position as the small blind, the big blind is not necessarily a good position. However, it is definitely much better than the small blind though.
Being in the big blind means that you will have the opportunity to check and see the flop for free. You will certainly be at an advantage especially if you are not holding any of the hands that apply to the small hand. Even so, to be safe, you will need to raise some hands in the big blind – this is not mandatory but it helps in cementing your win.
In most online poker rooms, the standard buy-in for some poker variants is placed about 100 big blinds which typically translates to $1,000 in a $5-$10 poker game, for instance. This is often the maximum that is allowed for that game.
The Rules for Using Blinds
Naturally, the use of blinds in the game of poker is governed by a set of rules. These rules are pretty simple and straightforward making easy for everyone to understand. We have broken them down in a manner that is as simple as possible.
Poker Ante And Blinds
The very first rule you will need to know is that for every round in a poker game, every player must get an opportunity to be in the dealers position.
In addition to that, each and every player at the poker table will be required to meet the total amount of the blind obligations. This is just further affirmation that the blind bet is indeed mandatory. For heads-up play where there are only two blinds, the player who is the small blind is also the dealer.
Next, the player who posts a blind will have the choice of raising the pot at the first turn to act. It is worth noting that this does not apply to games where there are “Dead” blinds – these kinds of games use dead chips which are not a part of a player’s bets.
In cases where a new player wants to join the poker action, there is a set of rules to be followed.
The new player can either wait for the big blind or post an amount that is, at least, equal to the big blind after which they will be dealt a hand.
Furthermore, the new player cannot be dealt any cards in between the dealer and the big blind. The new player will, therefore, need to wait until the blind passes.
In summary
- Small blinds is the ‘fee’ or ‘compulsory bet’ for the first player left of the dealer.
- Big blinds are placed in the middle of the table, this is collected from the second player left of the dealer.
- Once a blind is paid players are dealt cards.
- Paying blinds puts players at a disadvantage for that hand.
- Blinds players are betting without seeing their hand, where as all other players are able to.
- These players can act first in each poker round of betting, expect for the pre-flop.
- Tags:
Antes and blinds are forced bets that keep players in action at the poker table.
If you grew up in the 1970s and 1980s, like I did, you’re probably more familiar with antes than blinds. If you’re from a later generation, you probably learned to play Texas holdem at a younger age than I did. In that case, you might have learned about how blinds work before you became familiar with antes.
The concept behind both antes and blinds is simple, though:
If there’s no money on the line, you’d fold practically forever until you got a great hand. The game of poker would slow to a crawl.
But with forced bets on the table, there’s always an incentive – even if it’s a small one – to play any given hand.
Here’s how antes and blinds work in poker:
Antes Are Forced Bets that You Make on Every Hand
In games like draw and stud poker, it’s customary to bet an ante on every hand. In fact, if you haven’t paid your ante, you don’t get a hand at all.
Poker games are generally played for specific limits, and the antes are based on those limits. Low stakes games have tiny antes, while higher stakes games have correspondingly higher antes. The antes are always smaller than the minimum bets.
If you’re playing in a friendly home game with $1 and $2 limits, the ante might be a quarter. You’d put an ante in the pot before ever being dealt a hand. During the first round or 2 of betting, you’d be required to bet in increments of $1, and during the final round or 2 of betting, you’d be required to bet in increments of $2.
If you’re at a table with 6 players, you have $1.50 in the pot before anyone even sees their cards. Also, you must play at least about 1/6 of the time, or you’ll lose so much money in un-contested antes that it will be hard to break even – much less stand a chance of making a profit.
In a 5-card draw game, you only have 2 rounds of betting. With the stakes described, you’d bet 25 cents to get a hand. Before the draw, you’d bet and raise in increments of $1, and after the draw you’d bet and raise in increments of $2.
Sometimes, you’ll play in a 5-card draw game where the betting limits are the same before and after the draw, but the principle about the ante stays the same, it’s small compared to the size of your minimum bets.
Blinds Are Forced Bets You Make After a Pre-Defined Number of Hands
Modern poker players tend to play Texas hold’em exclusively, and in Texas hold’em, you have 2 forced bets – a small blind and a big blind.
And you don’t have to make these bets every hand. Instead, the blinds rotate around the table as the game continues. You only pay the blinds when it’s your turn.
As with an ante, a blind is a smaller bet than the betting limits, but a blind is usually larger than an ante. Instead of paying for every hand with antes, you’re paying for all your hands with the blinds.
Here’s an example:
You’re playing in a $4/$8 Texas hold’em game. Normally the small blind in this game would be $2, and the large blind would be $4.
The large blind is usually about the same as the minimum bet during the first 2 rounds of betting, and the small blind is half that size (or less).
In a $3/$6 game, for example, the small blind might be $1, while the large blind might be $3. Sometimes this is done to keep the numbers even.
Antes and Blinds in Poker Tournaments
How To Do Blinds In Poker
In a poker tournament, you buy in for a dollar amount, but you’re given a specific number of chips to play with. These chips have no absolute value – they’re just an indicator of how well you’re doing during the tournament.
For example, you might buy into a tournament for $11 and get 1500 chips.
Most poker tournaments now are Texas hold’em tournaments, and they usually start with small blinds that increase in size as the tournament continues. They might be 5/10 for 10 minutes and double in size every 10 minutes.
This increase in the size of the blinds forces action on the part of the poker players. Eventually you must take risks and win pots or the blinds will cause your stack to dwindle to nothing.
In a lot of multi-table Texas hold’em tournaments, the blinds are also accompanied by an ante in the later stages of the tournaments. This adds a time factor to the tournament to force aggressive and looser play.
Antes in Table Games
Many casino table games are now based on card games. Such games often have an “ante” bet as part of the action. A casino game is one where the house is banking the action; you’re not playing against the other players at the table. You’re playing against the casino.
In such games, the ante is just the first bet in the game. Mississippi Stud is a good example. Here’s how it works:
You make a bet called an ante, and then you get 2 cards. You and the other players at the table also share 3 community cards, which are dealt face down in the middle of the table. You get to look at your cards before making a series of bets – 3rd street, 4th street, and 5th street.
After each bet, another card is revealed, and the bets pay off according to the pay table based on the strength of your hand.
You also have the option of folding, which means you forfeit your hand but don’t have to make further bets.
Antes in Blackjack Games and Other Table Games
In Oklahoma, the casinos use the word “ante” to refer to a fee they charge to play the game. For example, if you bet $5 on a hand of blackjack, you must put up $5.50. That extra 50 cents always goes to the casino. It’s not a real ante. It’s not a bet at all because it’s impossible to win.
That’s the difference between a fee and a bet.
This holds true for the craps and roulette games available at Oklahoma casinos, too. The size of the so-called ante changes based on the limits you’re playing for. The higher the limits, the more the ante is.
Also, the ante has a devastating effect on the house edge. If you bet $5.50, you’re always going to lose the 50 cents regardless of how the hand goes. That adds 10% to the house edge right off the bat.
It takes a game with a low house edge – blackjack – and turns it into a game with a huge house edge.
With perfect basic strategy, the house edge for blackjack is usually only between 0.5% and 1%.
Add that fee on there, and the house edge skyrockets.
One way to ameliorate this effect, though, is to bet more per hand. If you bet $10, you still pay a 50 cent ante, but that only represents 5% of your stake instead of 10%.
Propotionally, it’s a better deal for you.
I think it’s disingenuous to call these fees “antes” because the word implies that you’re placing a bet.
It’s not a bet if the house gets to keep it every time.
It’s a fee.
A Note about the Etymology of the Word “Ante”
The word “ante” is Latin for “before.” That makes sense because it’s a bet that you must make before you can join the poker game.
I recently got to use “ante” in a different context. I’ve been re-watching Breaking Bad with a friend, and I pointed out that we were going to watch the “penultimate” episode that night. He didn’t know what I meant, so I explained to him that “penultimate” means “next to last.”
The “ultimate” episode, of course, is the last episode.
But the “antepenultimate” episode is the episode before the penultimate episode.
Conclusion
It’s impossible to play poker well unless you understand the implications involved in antes and blinds. Antes might be more old-fashioned, but they’re becoming a part of Texas hold’em tournaments to speed up the game and encourage looser, more aggressive play.
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