Blinds Poker Texas Holdem

Ignition Poker (play) Blinds are used in Texas Hold ‘Em instead of buying into the ante. Two players in a game of Texas Hold ‘Em put money in the pot without seeing their cards, which is why they are called blinds. There is a big blind and a small blind (half of a big blind). Poker Beginners Guide: Blind Bets The two players to the left of the button (dealer) in a game of hold'em are required to place compulsory bets before the cards are dealt. These are known as blind bets because they are placed 'blind', before the players have even seen their cards. You can use the poker clock to set/track the time and blind levels in any poker game, including Texas Hold’em. Whether you’re planning a home game with friends or hosting a small event for a few of the neighbourhood locals, the 888poker clock. Blinds are used in Texas Hold ‘Em instead of buying into the ante. Two players in a game of Texas Hold ‘Em put money in the pot without seeing their cards, which is why they are called blinds. There is a big blind and a small blind (half of a big blind). Other players can choose to match the big blind or fold.

Tournament poker has become the proving ground for aspiring players looking to make a name for themselves. While more money can be made playing cash games, the prestige and ego boost comes from dominating the tournament scene. If you’re new to tournament poker, welcome to one of the fastest-paced, most action-filled events on the planet.

The first step to dominating poker tournaments is understanding what you’re getting yourself into. Not all tournaments are created equally. Certain tournaments favor more skilled players, while others favor those that need a little Lady Luck to help them get to the finish line. If you’re looking to prove that you have the most skill in the game, you’re going to want to play in the tournaments that predominantly favor the skilled players.

The factor that determines which side of the aisle a poker tournament favors is known as the blind structure. The blind structure determines how much play there will be in a tournament. A structure that favors stronger players is one where the average chip stacks (measured in big blinds) stay the deepest for the longest. A structure that favors weaker players is one where the chip stacks (measured in big blinds) stay the shallowest.

Basically, the more room you have to play and make moves and the longer you have to wait for better cards, the more skill is going to be involved. In tournaments where you don’t have a lot of wiggle room, there is a lot more weight placed on what cards you get. In deeper and longer structures, the variance of the cards will be less.

This is a tough concept to put into words, but once it clicks, it will make perfect sense. Here’s an analogy: let’s say that we’re trying to figure out who the best Tetris player is. If you’ve ever played Tetris, you know that the game spits out random blocks, and sometimes you can get unlucky with what blocks come out. If we only let everyone play three games, it’s very possible that the best player in the world could get unlucky all three times and put up bad scores.

However, if we allow the players to play 100 games, the better players are going to rise to the top, because they’re not going to get unlucky run-outs 100 times in a row. This is the same with poker. A deeper and longer structure gives more time for the better players to utilize their skills and not just rely on getting good cards.

This means that if you really are one of the best and want to prove it, you need to be playing in tournaments that allow your skill to shine through. Sure, you can still get unlucky in the best structure in the world, but it will give you more wiggle room to absorb this bad luck and persevere through.

Now that you understand what we are looking for and why we are looking for it, let’s talk about exactly how you identify one of these great structures.

A Complete Picture

We’re going to start out by giving you a statement about several different tournaments. We want you to decide which of these tournaments has the best structure for skilled players:

Tournament 1 – The starting stack is 50,000 chips.
Tournament 2 – The blinds start at 10/20.
Tournament 3 – The levels are two hours long.
Tournament 4 – The tournament is called “The Mega Deepstack Invitational.”

Which of these four tournaments has the best structure for skilled players? It’s a trick question. All of them actually have terrible structures. Tournament 1 has the blinds start at 5k/10. Tournament 2 only starts you with 200 chips. Tournament 3 starts you at 50/100 with 1k chips. Tournament 4 has the same structure as Tournament 3.

The point we’re trying to make here is that the only way to know if a blind structure is any good is to have ALL of the information about the tournament. You need to have information about the starting stack size, blind schedule, and the level duration. Putting all of these pieces together will give you an accurate picture of how the structure stacks up.

You also need to be careful of some of the tricks poker rooms will play to try to make you think a tournament has a great structure, like giving the tournament a cool-sounding name.

We’re going to walk you through each of these components individually and let you know what you should be on the lookout for. Remember, though, you need all of the components together, or else you have no idea whether the structure is good or not.

Starting Stacks Sizes

More is USUALLY good when it comes to stack sizes. However, as we stated, it doesn’t mean much if they increase the blind levels along with the stack sizes. Ideally, we’re looking for a tournament that starts you with at least 100 times the big blinds, but hopefully more. For example, if the blinds start at 25/50, you should hope to see AT LEAST a 5k chip starting stack. More than that is definitely going to be better.

Be careful that you don’t let this fool you. We see players all the time raving that you start with 100k chips or 200k chips in a tournament! They’re excited because they are imagining that size chip stack with the blinds they’re used to. You must tie the stack size in with the blind schedule and then see what the ratio is.

Blind Schedule

The blind schedule refers to the different levels that a poker tournament is offering. You’ll have to study this fairly closely to see any issues, but this is one of the most important factors. For instance, let’s take our example from the last section. Let’s say we have a tournament with 25/50 blinds and a 5k chip starting stack. It’s not the greatest, but we’re initially happy with that.

We look at the blind schedule and realize that it goes 25/50, 50/100, 100/200, 200/400, 400/800, 800/1600, etc. The blinds double every single time they go up. This is insane and is going to shrink that 5k chip stack in a heartbeat. Though things start out great, the doubling blinds are going to get ridiculous as the tournament goes on. This tournament will turn into a super-turbo in a matter of a few levels.

What you should be looking for is a blind schedule that follows a much more “typical” progression. Below, we have what you’ll see in most tournaments. We have a few levels colored in red, and we will address why. It’s also important to point out that we have not included antes in this example, though they are commonly seen in tournaments. We have yet to see a tournament abuse the ante schedule, so it’s not necessary that we cover it here for you. We also only went to the 1500/3000 level, but the structures usually continue on much further. Most of the issues you can find will be visible in this first set of levels.

25/50
50/100
75/150
100/200
150/300

200/400
250/500
300/600
400/800
500/1000

600/1200
800/1600
1000/2000
1200/2400
1500/3000

If you see this structure, you can give the tournament a check mark in this category, at least. If the stack sizes and level durations are good, then this would be a great structure. We marked several levels in red because we wanted to point out the levels that get dropped by tournaments the most frequently. Usually, if a tournament has these levels, the structure is going to be good. If a tournament does not have any of these levels, it’s going to be a much faster and less favorable structure.

Should you not play a tournament that doesn’t have the red levels? That’s going to be up to you. We’ve seen some great structures before that are missing one or two of these levels. If they are missing all of them, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t play. It just means that you should be aware that the tournament is going to be a faster structure where luck is going to play a larger role.

Great players can still win in faster structures. They’re still going to have an edge. That edge is just going to be diminished some, and not as big as it would be in a more favorable structure.

Level Duration

Finally, we reach a criterion that is uniform across the board! Well, sort of. Longer level duration is always going to mean a better structure. The longer that is spent on each level, the more play and “wiggle room” you’re going to have to let your skill shine through.

Now, we did say that this was almost uniform across the board. What were we talking about? It’s possible for a structure to be too good. If the levels are so obnoxiously long that the tournament takes forever, it might not be the most effective use of your time. You want to be able to let your skill shine through, but you don’t want to be playing the same tournament for three weeks, unless it’s a huge tournament.

Make sure that you weigh the prize pool versus how long the tournament is predicted to last. If it’s too much of a time investment for a small prize pool, the structure might be over-the-top too good. There really is no magic formula here for what is best. All we can say is that you need to weigh the two factors and make sure that you’re happy with it.

The Tricks of the Card Rooms

Card rooms and casinos have gotten pretty masterful about making tournaments that seem to be great structures that are actually turbos. Why would they do this? Well, they know that players want great structures, but it costs them a lot more money to run a good structure. You don’t pay additional rake for the tournament if it runs longer. You pay the exact same entry fee whether the tournament takes five minutes or five days.

We wouldn’t say that this is scummy or anything like that. We understand what the poker rooms are trying to do. What is a little shady is when they try and hide the fact that the tournament has a quicker structure.

Here are some of the more popular tricks to look out for:

Watch out for Cute Names

Just because a card room calls something “deep stacked” does not mean that it actually is. Card rooms and tournament directors love to give tournaments catchy names that lead players to think that the structure is better than it really is. We’re all for catchy names, but we just want you to make sure that you don’t “take their word for it.”

Watch for Dropped Levels

We talked about this earlier, but wanted to reiterate it again. Be careful of events that start out great and turn sour quickly. Make sure you look at the entire structure before you make your assessment of whether or not you want to play the event. A few dropped levels are fine, but if a lot or crucial ones are missing, then that could be a red flag.

Watch for Piggybacked Structures

We couldn’t think of what to call this one, so “piggybacked structures” is the new phrase we are coining. Imagine this: you play in an event this year, and the structure is incredible. Next year, the same event comes around, and you don’t take the time to look at the structure. You assume that it’s the same event, because it’s put on by the same people, with the same name…it has to have the same structure. Right?

Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Sometimes tournament directors will change the structure of a tournament from year to year without drawing attention to it. They will piggyback on the fact that everyone knows that the structure the year before was great and will just assume it will be this year. Make sure that you check a structure each time you play the event. If anything has changed, you need to reassess whether it’s an event you want to play in.

The Key Takeaways

The idea here is that if you’re a good player, you want to be playing in poker tournaments that favor skill over luck. Tournaments that do this are ones with a structure that allows for more play. If a tournament has a deep structure, your skill will have much more time to shine through. You’ll be able to survive some unluckiness and push through to the victory.

Remember that in order to determine whether or not a tournament is good for you, you need to have the complete picture. You need to avoid the casino tricks and assess the starting stack, blind schedule, and the level durations together. The only way you can get an accurate picture is by combining all of these factors together.

Lastly, we want to point out that just because a tournament does not have a great structure does not mean that you shouldn’t play it. It just means that the lucky ducks are going to have a slightly better shot at beating you. You will still have a skill edge, but you’re also going to have to catch some cards to go along with that skill edge.

A standard Texas hold 'em game with the blinds

The blinds are forced bets posted by players to the left of the dealer button in flop-stylepoker games. The number of blinds is usually two, but it can range from none to three.

The small blind is placed by the player to the left of the dealer button and the big blind is then posted by the next player to the left. The one exception is when there are only two players (a 'heads-up' game), when the player on the button is the small blind, and the other player is the big blind. (Both the player and the bet may be referred to as big or small blind.)

After the cards are dealt, the player to the left of the big blind is the first to act during the first betting round. If any players call the big blind, the big blind is then given an extra opportunity to raise. This is known as a live blind. If the live blind checks, the betting round then ends.

Generally, the 'big blind' is equal to the minimum bet. The 'small blind' is normally half the big blind. In cases where posting exactly half the big blind is impractical due to the big blind being some odd-valued denomination, the small blind is rounded (usually down) to the nearest practical value. For example, if the big blind in a live table game is $3, then the small blind will usually be $1 or $2 since most casinos do not distribute large quantities of $0.50 poker chips.

The blinds exist because Omaha and Texas hold 'em are frequently played without antes, allowing a player to fold his hand without placing a bet. The blind bets introduce a regular cost to take part in the game, thus inducing a player to enter pots in an attempt to compensate for that expense.

It is possible to play without blinds. The minimum bet is then the lowest denomination chip in play, and tossing only one chip is considered as a call. Anything higher than that is considered a raise. Poker without blinds is usually played with everyone posting an ante to receive cards.

Blinds in cash games[edit]

Texas Holdem Blind Schedule

In cash games, otherwise known as ring games, blinds primarily serve to ensure all players are subject to some minimum, ongoing cost for participating in the game. This encourages players to play hands they otherwise might not, thereby increasing the average size of the pots and, by extension, increasing the amount of rake earned by the cardroom hosting the game.

In cash games, the amount of the blinds are normally fixed for each particular table and will not change for the duration of the game. However, many cardrooms will allow blind levels to change in cases where all players unanimously agree to a change. Larger cardrooms will often include tables with different blind levels to give players the option of playing at whatever stakes they are most comfortable with. In online poker, blinds range from as little as one U.S. cent to USD1,000 or more.

The minimum and maximum buy-in at a table is usually set in relation to the big blind. At live games, the minimum buy-in is usually between 20 and 50 big blinds, while the maximum buy-in is usually between 100 and 250 big blinds. Some online cardrooms offer 'short stack' tables where the maximum buy-in is 50 big blinds or less and/or 'deep stack' tables where the minimum buy-in is 100 big blinds or more.

Missed blinds[edit]

In cash games that do not deal cards to players who are absent from the table at the start of the hand (or, in online games, are designated as 'sitting out'), special rules are necessary to deal with players who miss their blinds.

In such a situation, if a player misses his or her big blind, he or she will not be dealt in again until the button has passed. At that point, if the player wishes to rejoin the game, he or she must 'super-post' - he or she must post both the big and small blinds in order to be dealt cards. Of these, only the big blind is considered 'live' while the small blind is 'dead' - it is placed in the center of the pot apart from the big blind and will not count towards calling any additional bets or raises by other players. If the player has only missed the small blind, then the same procedure applies except that the player only has to post the 'dead' small blind to rejoin the game. Most cardrooms allow players to relieve themselves of these obligations if they wait until they are again due to post the big blind before rejoining the game.

Some cardrooms hosting live cash games do not allow players to miss and/or avoid paying blinds in this manner. In these games, all players with chips on the table are dealt in whether or not they are present at the table. Any blinds due will be posted from the player's stack - depending on the cardroom's rules this will be done either by the dealer, another cardroom employee or a nearby player under staff supervision. Whenever a player has not returned to the table by the time it is his turn to act, his or her hand is automatically folded. Under such rules, if a player wishes to be absent from the table then the only way he or she can avoid paying blinds is to cash out and leave the game altogether.

Blinds in tournament play[edit]

In poker tournament play, blinds serve a dual purpose. In addition to the purpose explained above, blinds are also used to control how long the tournament will last. Before the tournament begins, the players will agree to a blinds structure, usually set by the tournament organizer. This structure defines how long each round is and how much the blinds increase per round. Typically, they are increased at a smooth rate of between 25% and 50% per round over the previous round. As the blinds increase, players need to increase their chip counts (or 'stacks') to stay in the game. The blinds will eventually consume all of a player's stack if he or she does not play to win more.

Unlike many cash games, it is not possible for a player to 'miss' blinds in a tournament. If a player is absent from the table, he will continue to have his or her cards dealt and mucked and will have blinds and, if applicable, antes taken from his stack as they are due, either until he or she returns or until his or her stack is completely consumed by blinds and antes. A player who loses his or her chips in this manner is said to have been 'blinded off.'

Goals[edit]

There are two main goals for the blinds structure:

Texas Holdem Poker

Ensure that by the time the desired duration of the tournament is reached, it will be very hard for players with small stacks to stay in the game. This forces players with smaller stacks to play them aggressively, thus increasing their chip count or losing everything quickly.
Ensure that players, in general, do not have a large stack relative to the blind level.

If desired, antes can be added to further increase the pressure to win more chips.