I must confess that I’ve been enjoying the series, though I didn’t see the first season. One thing I can never get from watching is the role of the “blinds.” I know they get bigger for some reason. (They seem to get so big that the game becomes a coin toss in the end.) Can someone please explain in some detail how the rules governing them work? Plus, do the players ante (sp?) up, or do the blinds function that role as well?
Thanks much.
The blinds play the role of your home game ante. It means that 2 players must make a financial commitment to the pot. The commitment is not balanced, eg, equal among all players, so that instills a bit of randomness to each hand. If I’ve got $4,000 in the pot and you’ve invested nothing, then it’s more likely that I’ll call a raise or stay for a flop. The blinds rotate around the table, just like the deal (or “button”). The button dictates position or who gets to wait the longest before deciding their bet.
The reason that the blinds get larger is so that the game doesn’t go on indefinitely.
The blinds are posted by the first two players after the player on the button. Generally the big blind (the second player) is double the size of the small blind (the first player) although I seem to recall hearing the director announce something like $3,000/$5,000 once.
The rules for blinds vary by house and limit, and also dictate minimum bets. Casinos will offer a variety of limits and blinds. The online site I frequent offers everything from .25-.50 to $5-$10 in no-limit, up to $2-$4 pot limit and up to $50-$100 in limit for hold 'em. Minimum bet is equal to the big blind pre-flop and on the flop and rises to double the big blind on the turn and river. The tournaments I play offline don’t have blinds; they have antes that every player has to put up.
Strictly speaking blinds and antes are different things. Some tournaments introduce antes into the later rounds in addition to the blinds.