A Beginners Guide To Blinds

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In Texas Holdem Poker, the big and little blind are the required bets that must be made in every hand of the poker game. These bets are called the blind bets because they must be made before the players are able to see the 'flop' of the first three cards by the dealer. The blind bets are predetermined amounts. Small blind is always half the amount of the big blind bet. Usually, the larger the stakes of the game, the higher the blind bets are.

The blind positions rotate with each deal. If you do not have dedicated dealer for your game, the person to the left of the dealer at the poker table is usually the 'small blind' and the person to the left of the small blind is the 'big blind' bet.

All other players at the poker table must match the big blind or fold if they wish to stay in the game and see the flop of the first three cards by the dealer.

One thing that often happens to new players is that they feel the need to defend their blind bets. They often continue to bet even on a poor hand just because they already have money in the pot. This is a poor strategy. The blinds are forced bets and you should not adjust your playing strategy just because you were forced to put money into the pot. If you have a bad hand - fold! Unless of course you plan on bluffing :).

The only exception I would make to this rule is if you are the small blind, and no raises have been made on the big blind bet. Since it won't cost you much extra to see the flop, go ahead and match the big blind bet to stay in the game. Once you see the flop, then you can better analyze if it's worth throwing any more chips on the poker table.

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