If you’re not a poker pro, you might be wondering — what’s a blind in poker? The poker pros (us) are here to help.
So, what’s a blind in poker?
Blinds are similar to the ante, but the entire table doesn’t have to contribute. We have blinds because Hold’em or Omaha are often played sans ante, so blinds mean players can fold without placing a bet.
Basically, there are two blinds — the small blind and the big blind, with the small blind being placed to the left of the dealer, and the big blind on the left side of the small blind (you following?) Blinds are part of a player’s bet and are usually made before players look at their cards (hence the name blinds) and spur action & play.
If you’re playing with two blinds, the small will be made from the players to the right of the button (dealer), and the big will be made by the player two positions, clockwise from the button. In the case you play with more than two blinds, the small blind will be to the left of the button.
Here’s an example — if you play a Limit Poker Game, your small blind is half of the smaller bet, and the big blind is double that. For example, if you play a game of $5/$10 Limit Poker, the small blind is $2.50 and the big blind is $5. The position and amount bet is the main difference between small and big blinds.
Rules for Poker Blinds
Here. are some rules to keep in mind when using or playing with poker blinds:
- The blind amount goes in the pot before the hand starts
- If the pot isn’t raised when action comes to the blind, a player can finish their blind by making the small blind full in that round.
- Cash games: blinds are useful for cash games, and make sure all players pay something.
- You can play without blinds — the minimum bet must be the lowest denomination chip in-play, and you can toss one chip in and consider it a call, and usually, all players have to post an ante.
- It’s a good idea for new players to wait for the big blind
- In poker tournaments, the blind increases at certain points in time, where in cash games, the blind doesn’t have to increase.
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