Get Your Dealer Buttons, Small & Big Blind Buttons on sale now! Top quality poker buttons; poker chips and poker supplies at guaranteed low prices. 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. The big blind is usually equal to the smallest size bet, and the small blind is half the big blind. The first two rounds of betting use the small bet, and the last two use the large bet. Gano says be mindful that your implied odds are reduced in the small blind. The big blind closes action and costs you less. Tighter in the small blind vs. The big blind when fighting an open is his general advice. 3-Betting from the Blinds. Gano echoes Ed Miller’s advice, “3-Betting from the Blinds Shouldn’t Be.
Starting Blinds
The goal of defining the blind structure of a poker tournament is to regulate the length of the tournament. You don't want the tournament to end too quickly - or to last too long. Small tournaments (10 players) should last about an hour. Medium sized tournaments (10-25 players) should last 2-3 hours and large tournaments (50 or so players) should last 3+ hours until the very end.
A good rule of thumb is that the big blind should be about 1-2% of the starting stack size at the beginning of a tournament. This means that a tournament with a starting stack of T2,000 should have starting blinds at 10/20 at least and 25/50 at most.
Blind increases
Blind increases are usually 50-100% of the last blind and the blind intervals are usually 20-30 minutes. Near the end of a tournament the big blind should be no larger than 2-4% of the average stack. To most players that seems low but think about this...If the big blind is 5% of the average stack then calling a bet to the river (without ANY raises) means you will lose 30% of your entire stack, which is a lot just for a single, non-raised hand. If you watch the WSOP or the $500 buy-in Pokerstars tourneys, then you will see that the big blinds is usually no more than 2-4% of the average stack when it gets down to the final few players.
My opinion on blind structures is that the majority of blinds schedules are way too high and the tourneys end up being crapshoots at the end. Having the tournament turn into a crapshoot at the end means that luck ends up playing a biggest part than skill at the exact time when the most money is as stake. This has never made sense to me. Most tournament blind structures are set up so that they reward players who play intelligent, patient poker at the beginning of the tournament when there are no prize incentives to do so. Then, at the end of the tournament, when there are huge differences in prizes, players have to give up control of the outcome because they are forced to go all-in on every hand. In tournaments where the blind structure is too aggressive, the tone of tournament tends to play like a chess game in the beginning where players act cerebral - and a craps game at the end, where they are just rolling the dice and hoping they win.
(or the dealer for that matter) gets impatient and all the railbirds don't like watching all the folding - they want to see action - even if it means rushing you into making a move you don't want to. It also has to do with the fact that poker rooms ultimately make money by the hour and want the tourneys to finish faster.Advice about blinds
- At home games where you are having a series of mini-tournaments, the fast blind increases can be an asset because then everyone else will be sitting around waiting for the next game to start.
- Most home games tend to be casual, and therefore there are fewer hands dealt per hour because of people talking and socializing. So the blinds may need to rise slower to adjust for this.
- Aggressive players, who are generally better players, prefer the higher blind structures because they reward aggressive play (because the pots - relative to the average stack size - are much bigger). Although this is good for the aggressive players, it is not necessarily fair. Sometimes, during home tournaments, the aggressive players will ask to raise the blinds, but blinds levels should be at a reasonable level to allow the average player room to play.
- Keep in mind that even when the blinds are going up at the same percentage rate, the compounding nature of those raises means that the blinds are going up exponentially.
- It will take a few times to become comfortable with a blind structure.
- There is one major rule you should use when hosting a tournament for the first time - if you aren't sure what the blinds should be then set them low! There is nothing worse than setting up a tournament that people look forward to enjoying but the blinds go up too fast and it becomes an all-in festival in a very short amount of time.
- Keep in mind that if you want to slow down the rate of increase, you can lengthen out the time intervals instead of adjusting the blinds.
Sample Blind Schedule
Here is a blind schedule for a tournament with starting chip stacks of T2,000 and starting blinds of 10/20.
Party Poker Single-Table (SNG) Blind Schedule
| Level | Hour | Time | Small Blind | Big Blind |
| 1 | 1st | 0:00-0:20 | 10 | 20 |
| 2 | 0:20-0:40 | 15 | 30 | |
| 3 | 0:40-0:60 | 20 | 40 | |
| 4 | 2nd | 1:00-1:20 | 25 | 50 |
| 5 | 1:20-1:40 | 50 | 100 | |
| 6 | 1:40-1:60 | 75 | 150 | |
| 7 | 3rd | 2:00-2:20 | 100 | 200 |
| 8 | 2:20-2:40 | 150 | 300 | |
| 9 | 2:40-2:60 | 200 | 400 | |
| 10 | 4th | 3:00-3:20 | 300 | 600 |
| 11 | 3:20-3:40 | 400 | 800 | |
| 12 | 3:40-3:60 | 500 | 1000 | |
| 13 | 5th | 4:00-4:20 | 600 | 1200 |
| 14 | 4:20-4:40 | 800 | 1600 | |
| 15 | 4:40-4:60 | 1000 | 2000 |
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HPG ADMIN on March 1, 2013
Blind bets are used in Texas hold’em to get chips into the pot before the cards are dealt out. They are compulsory. Usually there are two blinds — the small blind and the big blind.
For example, in a $4-$8 game, the small blind (SB) is two $1 chips placed on the board by the player seated just to the left of the Button. And the big blind (BB) costs four $1 chips by the player just to the left of the SB. That serves to get the game started.
After the BB and SB post their respective blinds, the dealer starts by dealing two cards to each player, face-down — their hole cards. The first round of betting starts with the player to the left of the BB. After the Button acts, the SB must add two more chips to see the flop.
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If there is a raise along the way, he must call the raise plus two more chips. Alternatively, he can raise the bet if he so chooses. In that case, each of the players still in the pot have the option to call the raise or re-raise. That includes the BB. The dealer will then deal three cards face-up — the flop.
Consider the situation when, before the flop, everyone has folded to the Button. At that point, he may raise it up. “Raise!” he announces aloud. In a $4-$8 limit game, he bets $8. The BB and SB then have three options: call the raise, re-raise, or muck their cards.
More often than not, they will both have been dealt weak or marginal starting hands; and so, will fold their hands, leaving the pot to the raiser. The Button’s raise then wins the pot — albeit a very small one. The dealer will rake one chip.
But do that often enough, and it adds up. Many players are wont to “steal the blinds” in this way. Even if one of the blinds has a reasonable starting hand, most often he will fold his cards, reasoning that the raiser probably has a much better hand than he, and his pot odds are poor.
In a somewhat similar situation, a skilled player in the Cut-Off position — just to the right of the Button — may make a raise before the Button. If the Button and both blinds muck their cards, the Cut-Off takes the pot. This ploy is best used when the Button is a tight player, and not loose — aggressive. It pays to know your opponents, especially those to your immediate left.
Should the Button fold, but one of the two blinds elects to call the raise, the Cut-Off will have gained position, essentially becoming the virtual Button — last to act. Thus, the Cut-Off now can see how the blind plays his hand on the flop and on subsequent rounds of betting before he must act, without fear of being reraised.
That gives him a real edge — a significant advantage for the rest of the hand.
A skilled player in the Cut-Off position will glance to his left as he contemplates making a raise pre-flop to see if the Button or one if the Blinds is anxiously gathering chips to raise the bet.
Little Blind Big Blind
That’s a great tell. Like “an ounce of prevention,” he then can muck his hole cards without having to invest a double bet or more. Note: The chips you save are more valuable than those you win. But, just in case one of them has a strong hand, it is best to have at least a marginal starting hand when making this raise.
Likewise, the skilled player may have previously observed that the Button is very aggressive, and prone to raise in such cases. Wisely, he will plan to change his seat when the opportunity arises, so that the aggressive player is to his right, and must act before he must decide if he wants to make that raise.