Beginner's Tips: Behind The Blinds

It’s one of the first questions that new players have when sitting down to play Texas Hold ‘Em for the first time: “What are these blinds and why do I have to pay them?” Let’s take a look at how blinds work and how they ensure that a game of Texas Hold ‘Em runs smoothly and gives players a reason to get in on the action.

What are poker blinds?

In draw and stud poker games, each at a table player pays an ante of the same amount to participate in a hand, but hold ‘em games do not have an ante. They have been replaced by blinds, which serve a dual purpose: they fund the pot to increase player participation and establish the betting levels for the game. In online poker rooms like ours, blinds are indicated by a dollar amount next to the table’s game type.

The Elements

The blinds structure has three components: the dealer button, the small blind, and the big blind. The button indicates which player will be the last to take action in any given hand and moves clockwise after each hand. The player to the immediate left of the button is the small blind and they have to place a bet that is half of the amount of the big blind. The big blind is the equal of the minimum bet at the table you’re sitting at.

How Blinds Are Played

At the beginning of a hand, the dealer button moves to the player to the left of the previous holder and with it, the big and small blinds. In this example, we’re going to use a game with a $2 minimum bet. After the dealer button moves, the player in the small blind position adds $1 to the pot and the big blind adds $2 to the pot. Cards are dealt to players and play begins with this $3 seeding the pot. It’s not uncommon for players to attempt to get the blinds by being aggressive very early in a hand and forcing others out of play, particularly in larger-stakes games. This is called “stealing the blinds” and can be very profitable when used judiciously.

Blinds In Tournaments

We’ve seen how poker blinds work in regular table games and how they help ensure there’s action at any given time, but they become and even more powerful element in tournaments, helping control how long the event will last. This is achieved by having the blinds increase at predetermined moments during play. For example, the blinds may increase by half every fifteen minutes. This serves an important purpose in that it keeps dead wood from clogging up the tables by ensuring that players actually play in the event, as the blinds can quickly overwhelm a passive player’s chip stack completely.

Understanding Poker Blinds

I hope this overview has helped newbie’s understand why they’re having to hand over money before they even get their cards. Of course, the best way to understand how poker blinds work and how to use them is to sit down and play. If you’re still not sure about playing for real money, Bodog Poker offers you the chance to play online poker for free.


:thumbsup

It’s one of the first questions that new players have when sitting down to play Texas Hold ‘Em for the first time: “What are these blinds and why do I have to pay them?” Let’s take a look at how blinds work and how they ensure that a game of Texas Hold ‘Em runs smoothly and gives players a reason to get in on the action.

What are poker blinds?

In draw and stud poker games, each at a table player pays an ante of the same amount to participate in a hand, but hold ‘em games do not have an ante. They have been replaced by blinds, which serve a dual purpose: they fund the pot to increase player participation and establish the betting levels for the game. In online poker rooms like ours, blinds are indicated by a dollar amount next to the table’s game type.

The Elements

The blinds structure has three components: the dealer button, the small blind, and the big blind. The button indicates which player will be the last to take action in any given hand and moves clockwise after each hand. The player to the immediate left of the button is the small blind and they have to place a bet that is half of the amount of the big blind. The big blind is the equal of the minimum bet at the table you’re sitting at.

How Blinds Are Played

At the beginning of a hand, the dealer button moves to the player to the left of the previous holder and with it, the big and small blinds. In this example, we’re going to use a game with a $2 minimum bet. After the dealer button moves, the player in the small blind position adds $1 to the pot and the big blind adds $2 to the pot. Cards are dealt to players and play begins with this $3 seeding the pot. It’s not uncommon for players to attempt to get the blinds by being aggressive very early in a hand and forcing others out of play, particularly in larger-stakes games. This is called “stealing the blinds” and can be very profitable when used judiciously.

Blinds In Tournaments

We’ve seen how poker blinds work in regular table games and how they help ensure there’s action at any given time, but they become and even more powerful element in tournaments, helping control how long the event will last. This is achieved by having the blinds increase at predetermined moments during play. For example, the blinds may increase by half every fifteen minutes. This serves an important purpose in that it keeps dead wood from clogging up the tables by ensuring that players actually play in the event, as the blinds can quickly overwhelm a passive player’s chip stack completely.

Understanding Poker Blinds

I hope this overview has helped newbie’s understand why they’re having to hand over money before they even get their cards. Of course, the best way to understand how poker blinds work and how to use them is to sit down and play. If you’re still not sure about playing for real money, Bodog Poker offers you the chance to play online poker for free.


:thumbsup

It’s one of the first questions that new players have when sitting down to play Texas Hold ‘Em for the first time: “What are these blinds and why do I have to pay them?” Let’s take a look at how blinds work and how they ensure that a game of Texas Hold ‘Em runs smoothly and gives players a reason to get in on the action.

What are poker blinds?

In draw and stud poker games, each at a table player pays an ante of the same amount to participate in a hand, but hold ‘em games do not have an ante. They have been replaced by blinds, which serve a dual purpose: they fund the pot to increase player participation and establish the betting levels for the game. In online poker rooms like ours, blinds are indicated by a dollar amount next to the table’s game type.

The Elements

The blinds structure has three components: the dealer button, the small blind, and the big blind. The button indicates which player will be the last to take action in any given hand and moves clockwise after each hand. The player to the immediate left of the button is the small blind and they have to place a bet that is half of the amount of the big blind. The big blind is the equal of the minimum bet at the table you’re sitting at.

How Blinds Are Played

At the beginning of a hand, the dealer button moves to the player to the left of the previous holder and with it, the big and small blinds. In this example, we’re going to use a game with a $2 minimum bet. After the dealer button moves, the player in the small blind position adds $1 to the pot and the big blind adds $2 to the pot. Cards are dealt to players and play begins with this $3 seeding the pot. It’s not uncommon for players to attempt to get the blinds by being aggressive very early in a hand and forcing others out of play, particularly in larger-stakes games. This is called “stealing the blinds” and can be very profitable when used judiciously.

Blinds In Tournaments

We’ve seen how poker blinds work in regular table games and how they help ensure there’s action at any given time, but they become and even more powerful element in tournaments, helping control how long the event will last. This is achieved by having the blinds increase at predetermined moments during play. For example, the blinds may increase by half every fifteen minutes. This serves an important purpose in that it keeps dead wood from clogging up the tables by ensuring that players actually play in the event, as the blinds can quickly overwhelm a passive player’s chip stack completely.

Understanding Poker Blinds

I hope this overview has helped newbie’s understand why they’re having to hand over money before they even get their cards. Of course, the best way to understand how poker blinds work and how to use them is to sit down and play. If you’re still not sure about playing for real money, Bodog Poker offers you the chance to play online poker for free.


:thumbsup

Nice post Manne. The blinds are there to induce action and boy do they. Especially late in the tourny action.