Blind (poker)
The blind ( [blaɪnd] ; colloquially the blind) is a forced minimum bet in the card game poker .
A blind is a mandatory bet that only certain players are required to make. This form is common in the Hold'em variants Texas Hold'em and Omaha . Only the player to the left of the dealer indicated by the button has to place a bet, the so-called small blind , and his left neighbor has to place the big blind , usually double the small blind. The size of the blinds remains the same in normal games, but increases in tournaments to take account of the fact that the total number of chips is distributed among fewer and fewer players. It also limits the maximum time a tournament can take.
The other players do not need to place bets before the first cards are dealt. You will be inclined to ditch weak and mediocre starting hands as you need to add at least the big blind to be in the game on the flop .
Missed blind
If a player fails to post the blinds because he is not at the table, the dealer can place a missed blind button in front of his chips. If the player comes back to the table, he can either pay all the missed blinds, not play any hands until he has to bring the big blind again, or leave the table with his chips.
Ante and blinds
Some tournaments have both ante and blinds later in the tournament .