What Are Poker Blinds: Basic Details!

Introduction Of Blinds In Poker

Poker is unarguably the most popular card game among gamblers with many variants. As such, there are even dedicated poker rooms in many casinos. It is more of a strategy-based game where players apply mathematical skills in combination with logical analysis to turn the table. You can click here to know more about some of the best poker rooms in Vegas

Like most card games, poker is driven by a set of rules, including blinds that punters are bound to follow. If you are any familiar with poker, you might have heard of blinds. Or, if you are new to the game, you probably have wondered about what are blinds in poker?

A blind is the first action in the game of poker before any cards are dealt. Blinds are fixed wager money that constitutes a pot, but they are placed without seeing a single card and so are called blinds. It is also termed as a forced or compulsory bet in a flop-style poker.

The purpose of poker blinds is to make players take a chance instead of playing safe. Poker blinds are positional and keep changing, which means each player at the poker table will have to play blind at some point in the game. 

A poker game would have two blinds, but these will vary from zero to three, depending on the casino. For your information, players making blinds sit to the very left of the dealer. After players place their blinds, the card dealer (button) deals the cards, and the real action begins with the player with no bets in place.

Now that you have an overview of how do blinds work in poker, it is time for you to learn about different types of blinds and how they are determined in poker.

Types Of Blinds

A poker table has a name for each player participating in the game, including the card dealer, also called the poker button. The naming goes clockwise, with the most popular ones being poker blinds. There are two common types of blinds – a small blind and a big blind.

A small blind is a bet placed by the player sitting immediately to the left of the dealer, while the player seated to the left of the small blind player is required to place a big blind.

The amount of the bet placed under a small blind and a big blind vary more often. In simpler words, a big blind is exactly double the amount of a small blind. Blinds make poker more interesting by minimizing any chance of players folding their hands without placing a single bet. In the first poker round, the player on the left of the big blind gets the first betting opportunity, but the following betting rounds begin with the player making the small blind.

How Are Blinds Determined In Poker?

It is the casino (land-based or online) that determines the size of blinds in poker. The mandatory wagers are proportional to the betting limits of the game. Typically, a small blind is almost half the size of the big blind or minimum bet at the table.

For example, a Limit Hold’em poker with a $2/$4 bet size will have a small blind and big blind of $1 and $2, respectively. But in a no-limit poker game with the same bet size, the small blind and big blind would be the minimum bet amount, i.e., $2, and the maximum bet amount, i.e., $4, respectively.

Blinds in a poker game ensure that the remaining participants will engage in the betting even if they are not dealt any premium cards. It is also a requisite poker move, or else players will not be dealt any cards.

It is worth mentioning that the above-mentioned blind structure is not a casino standard, and gaming houses are free to make any changes as and when required. So, do not get surprised if you ever found a live casino offering similar small and big poker blinds.

Conclusion

Understanding blinds is not a big deal or a thing to worry about ‘why me’ because everyone will find themselves in the same situation at least once in the same game. The rules of blinds are pretty simple, and all you need is to remember placing the desired small or big blind on your turn.