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Big Blind (Poker)
In poker a big blind and a small blind are used and these are automatic bets that have to be made in each hand that is played. Regardless of the number of players at a table, there needs to be an incentive for players to enter a pot otherwise a player would just st tight and fold their cards until they hit a monster hand. To get round this two automatic bets have to be made with the dealer button indicating which player have to post these bets.
The big blind is usually double the value of the small blind. The player to the immediate left of the dealer (indicated by the dealer button) will post the small blind and the next player to the left of the small blind will post the big blind. This ensures that there is money in each pot that is played and thus an incentive for players to get involved with less premium hands.
The Blinds in Tournament Play
In tournament play as the tournament progresses, the blinds steadily rise in value. The interval between the blinds raising and the value that they raise by does vary from tournament to tournament. The following table gives an indication of a standard blinds format for tournament play.
Round |
Time |
Blinds |
Limit |
1 |
10 Min's |
$10/$15 |
$20/$30 |
2 |
20 Min's |
$10/$20 |
$20/$40 |
3 |
30 Min's |
$15/$30 |
$30/$60 |
4 |
40 Min's |
$25/$50 |
$50/$100 |
5 |
50 Min's |
$50/$100 |
$100/$200 |
6 |
1 Hr |
$75/$150 |
$150/$300 |
7 |
I hr 10 Min's |
$100/$200 |
$200/$400 |
8 |
I hr 20 Min's |
$150/$300 |
$300/$600 |
9 |
I hr 30 Min's |
$200/$400 |
$400/$800 |
10 |
I hr 40 Min's |
$300/$600 |
$600/$1200 |
11 |
I hr 50 Min's |
$400/$800 |
$800/$1600 |
12 |
2 Hrs |
$500/$1,000 |
$1,000/$2,000 |
13 |
2 Hrs 10 Min's |
$750/$1,500 |
$1,500/$3,000 |
14 |
2 Hrs 20 Min's |
$1,000/$2,000 |
$2,000/$4,000 |
15 |
2 Hrs 30 Min's |
$1,500/$3,000 |
$3,000/$6,000 |
16 |
2 Hrs 40 Min's |
$2,000/$4,000 |
$4,000/$8,000 |
17 |
2 Hrs 50 Min's |
$3,000/$6,000 |
$6,000/$12,000 |
18 |
3 Hrs |
$4,000/$8,000 |
$8,000/$16,000 |
19 |
3 Hrs 10 Min's |
$5,000/$10,000 |
$10,000/$20,000 |
20 |
3 Hrs 20 Min's |
$7,500/$15,000 |
$15,000/$30,000 |
21 |
3 Hrs 30 Min's |
$10,000/$20,000 |
$20,000/$40,000 |
22 |
3 Hrs 40 Min's |
$15,000/$30,000 |
$30,000/$60,000 |
23 |
3 Hrs 50 Min's |
$20,000/$40,000 |
$40,000/$80,000 |
24 |
4 Hrs |
$30,000/$60,000 |
$60,000/$120,000 |
25 |
4 Hrs 10 Min's |
$40,000/$80,000 |
$80,000/$160,000 |
26 |
4 Hrs 20 Min's |
$50,000/$100,000 |
$100,000/$200,000 |
Looking at the table, for instance $20,000/$40,000 blinds indicates that the small blind has to put in $20,000 and the big blind has to put in $40,000. Remember that these are automatic bets and must be made regardless of whether you decide to stay in the hand. In this instance $60,000 would be in the pot to start it off. This encourages players to try to play lesser hands or bluff to 'pick up the blinds'. After all if a player can get everyone else to fold, they would take down the pot and the $60,000.
The Blinds in Ring Games (cash games)
The blinds in cash games is slightly different and there will be a set level of blinds assigned to the table. The level of blinds generally would not rise unless of course all players agreed that they wanted a blinds increase. When playing online poker, the blinds that are being played on a table are indicated on the lobby usually accompanied by hands played per hour, number of players seated, view flop percentages etc.
Related Guides
The Big Blind VS the Small Blind
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