Texas Hold Em Blind
[DD] “Did you guys notice Figaro the Fish trying to teach his nephew Flounder how to play Texas Hold ‘Em?” Deb the Duchess asked, still smiling from collecting her half-pot from their Main Event wager.
[RR] “I was very tempted to jump in to save the little guy from having to unlearn everything his uncle teaches him”, Roderick the Rock admitted. “But I managed to suppress the urge.”
All Texas Hold’em poker hands begin with two players posting the “ small blind ” and “ big blind ”, which are mandatory bets that rotate around the table after each hand. The “dealer button” is always immediately counterclockwise to the small blind. These are the positions at a nine-handed table. You're in seat five of a nine-handed $4-$8 limit hold 'em cash game and the dealer button reaches seat three. That means you are in the big blind position and must put $4 in front of you before the.
- Blind Levels – You only have to worry about blind levels if you’re playing a Texas Holdem tournament or sit and go. The blinds will start low, around 10/20 or 25/50, and increase every 5-20 minutes.
- In order to start betting in Hold’em, forced bets (known as blinds) are made by the two players immediately clockwise from the dealer button. The person immediately clockwise from the.
- Blind Levels – You only have to worry about blind levels if you’re playing a Texas Holdem tournament or sit and go. The blinds will start low, around 10/20 or 25/50, and increase every 5-20 minutes. Each tournament will have a different structures and time frames.
[LL] “I don’t think they’d been here five minutes when I heard Figaro rambling on about coloring up, squeeze plays, and Post Oak bluffs”, Leroy the Lion added.
[TT] “You may think it’s the blind leading the blind / but the elder fish is sadly maligned”, Tyrone the Telephone complained.
[DD] “We’re just teasing him, you know.”
[RR] “Besides, what would Texas Hold ‘Em be without the blinds?”
[LL] “Even the blind can play Hold ‘Em.”
[SS] “Yeah, do you remember back in 2007, when Hal Lubarsky became the first blind player to cash in the World Series of Poker Main Event?” Stan the Stat contributed.
[RR] “I’m surprised I haven’t seen another blind player on TV since then. I guess that wasn’t enough to make the game popular in the blind and visually impaired community.”
[LL] “Braille playing cards and poker chips that come in different shapes aren’t that expensive, but I guess it’s still a big challenge to make sure you collect the entire pot and pick up all the cards each hand.”
[DD] “At least they have a great iPhone and iPad app to learn and practice Hold ‘Em with now. THETA Poker Pro has always been fully accessible, but most of the recent updates have been to improve accessibility. Apparently, you don’t even need to find your cards on the table to play anymore! I played with VoiceOver on for a while because it was cool to hear all the action announced, but sighted users gained that feature with iOS 7.”1
[RR] “So, Siri tells you what your hole cards are and announces the community cards and all the bets?”
[DD] “Yes. And the player who’s won the hand, their cards, and hand strength.”
[LL] “Can you ask Siri for advice on how to play the hand?”
[DD] “Very funny. You can tell her, ‘Launch THETA Poker’, but if you want more than that, try emailing the developer.”
Texas Hold'em Blind Rules
[RR] “We’d certainly welcome blind players to our home tourney.”
[LL] “All new players for that matter. We’ll have Figaro teach them so they don’t get better than us too quickly.”
[TT] “When I find a blind player trying to steal my blind, I won’t be resigned / I’ll respond in kind, put him in a bind, take his chips with three-of-a-kind.”
Footnotes:
- Voice announcements were added to the game for iOS 7 users in Version 1.2.1 on September 23, 2013. Go to the “Options/Music & Sound/Announce” menu and select either “Messages Only” or “All”.
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When you play Texas Hold'em, it is likely that you will meet a lot of terms that are unfamiliar to you, especially if you're new to poker. One of the most likely Texas Hold'em terms you'll meet is the blinds. So what are blinds?Texas Hold'em Blinds - A Definition
The Texas Hold'em blinds are forced bets that are initially posted at pre-flop. The blinds are placed before the pocket cards are dealt. The reason why Texas Hold'em blinds got their name is that you do not have a choice whether you want to post your money in before you see your cards.
What is the purpose of Texas Hold'em blinds?
The game features Texas Hold'em blinds to ensure action or game play. Without these forced bets, it is most likely that everyone would wait for pocket Aces all day.
The earlier versions of the game centered on the idea of players playing for the posted blind money in the pot. Today, that idea no longer applies when way more money can be won by betting, especially in low limit games. However, the Texas Hold'em blinds still serve their purpose, even when limits are higher.
Texas Hold'em Blind Timer
How do Texas Hold'em blinds work?Texas Hold'em Poker Free Games
The amount of the Texas Hold'em blinds depend on the betting structure adopted. The Texas Hold'em blinds are usually more popular in structured limit games. In this structure, such as the $2/$4 or $3/$6 limit hold'em, the blinds are comprised of two bets made - the small and the big blind. The Texas Hold'em blinds start to the left of the dealer. So the flow would go as follows: dealer button, small blind, and then big blind.
The small Texas Hold'em Blind
The small Texas Hold'em blind is the first forced bet made at pre-flop. Usually, the small Texas Hold'em blind is equal to half of the lowest limit structure. So if for instance, you are playing for $2/$4, then the small blind would be $1. Another example is if you're playing a game with the limit of $3/$6. The small blind in this type of limit game is $1 or $2.
The big Texas Hold'em Blind
The big Texas Hold'em blind is the forced bet posted by the player sitting next to the small Texas Hold'em blind. The amount of the big Texas Hold'em blind is equivalent to the lowest limit structure of the game. For example, if you are playing the $2/4$ limit game, your big blind is $2. However, if you play $15/$30, you post $15 as your big blind.
Playing from the Texas Hold'em blinds?
When playing from the Texas Hold'em blinds, you run the risk of losing money fairly easy. This is especially true in a low limit or high limit game. For instance, when you have a marginal hand in middle position, your natural reaction would be to just call it. Then someone raises but that would be pretty easy to let go and save yourself the trouble. It's difficult however when you are in the big Texas Hold'em blind and the money is in the pot and someone raises. Your odds to call grow greater and you end up paying some guys good hand offs.
Simple warning about gambling: Know your limit and play within it...