Blinds are forced bets that are made by players in a flop style poker game which is any game of poker that has community cards such as Texas Hold’em and Omaha.

In most games Ante’s are placed at the beginning of the game before the game even begins, but in some games, the Ante will fall away and it is only after the first round of cards have been dealt that the blinds will come into play and be placed on the table.  There are normally two blinds, the small blind and the big blind.  The big blind is the person sitting immediately on the left of the disc and the small blind is the person to the left of the big blind. Betting will start with the big blind, and if all players call on this round (Live Blind) then the big blind is offered an opportunity to raise.  If he raises, another round of betting will ensue, but if he checks, this particular round of betting will be finished and the subsequent cards will be dealt which would bring in the next round of the game.

At the beginning of each game, the house will decide how much the big blind is, which will dictate what the small blind is as the small blind is normally half of the big blind.  However if the big blind is $5, then the small blind will either be $2 or $3, as it will be rounded off to the nearest dollar as most online poker rooms do not offer chips in 50c.

When playing the blinds in tournaments, each player has to be very careful as in this type of game, the blinds are increased by a predetermined percentage at each betting round.  If not calculated correctly, the blinds could quite easily consume the players’ chips or stack.

How poker blinds are played could well determine the outcome of your game especially if you are a novice player with little to no knowledge of the strategy surrounding the blinds. Playing the blinds is definitely for the more experienced player who can think quickly.  It is very easy for players to find themselves in a position where they are holding a good poker hand but are forced to fold as they lack the bank-roll to support the betting requirement.