Poker Essays

3.3 The blinds

Typically cardroom games are played without an ante. The reason for this should be obvious to those of you who are familiar with the common mantra of home games, "Who didn't put their ante up?"

But, since poker is basically a struggle among the players for the right to the money in the pot, without some seed money for the pot there's nothing to struggle over and no game. We need some procedure to get the pot started. In Hold 'Em, blind bets are what's used to get some initial money in the pot.

In Hold 'Em the action at each betting round begins with the first active player to the left of the dealer button. Blinds are forced bets put out by either the first or the first two players. Usually it's the first two players. The blinds replace the function of an ante in getting some initial money into the pot. Some games only use a single blind, most use two blinds, the second one larger than the first. In a structured game the second blind (called the big blind) is the size of the preflop bet. In a 10/20 game the big blind is$10, in a 3/6/12 game the big blind is $3.

The small blind is put out by the first player to the left of the button and is 1/2 the big blind. In a game such as 3/6, where the big blind is an odd number, the small blind is sometimes rounded up, sometimes down. $1 or $2. It's usually rounded up. Spread limit games usually have smaller blinds than a corresponding structured limit game does.

Blinds are live. That means that the player posting the blind will be last to act during the first betting round. Even if no player raises, they all only call the large blind bet, the player who posted the large blind has an option to raise.


3.3.1 Straddles

A straddle is a third blind, voluntarily put out by a third player. It's sometimes referred to as a kill. Cardrooms do not have standard procedures about straddles. Some don't allow them at all. Some allow them, but only by the player to the immediate left of the big blind, the under-the-gun (UTG) position. Some require them under certain conditions. Althought the term kill is sometimes used for any straddle, it is usually reserved to refer to a required straddle.

Sometimes straddles are live, sometimes not. When they are live, you are essentially buying last position in the betting, you have the option to raise after everyone else has acted. Some cardrooms consider a straddle put out by the UTG player as live, but other straddles must act in turn, without the option of acting after everyone else.

Some rooms have games with a required kill if certain conditions are met, such as the winning the last pot. These are called kill games, or winner blind games. Depending on the cardroom if a pot reaches a certain threshold size, or if the same player wins two pots in a row, the winner is required to straddle an amount twice the size of the big blind and the betting limits for that hand are doubled. This can sometimes change the ratio of bet size to initial blinds enough so that significant changes in playing strategy are called for. I address some of these playing strategy changes later in the book.

Sometimes a straddle is the size of the big blind, sometimes twice the big blind. Sometimes it doubles the limits of the game, sometimes it doubles the bet size before the flop only. Sometimes it has no effect on the bet size.

Are you confused? You should be. The range of straddle rules is confusing. If you are a beginner, my only advice is to avoid straddles or kill games until you gain some experience. If you find yourself in such a game just ask lots of questions.