In the later levels of poker tournaments, an ante is introduced to further drive the action besides the incentive to enter the pot formed by the small blind and big blind. Noun A mandatory bet made before any cards are dealt, either in addition to or instead of an ante. Most common in community card games. Different than an ante in that: (a) it counts toward the total amount a player has contributed to the pot in a given hand, and; (b) it is only required of certain players.

What are poker blinds ?

Based on the limit of the poker game the player to the left of the dealer’s button (small blind) and the player two to the left of the dealer (big blind) are required to place mandatory bets in the pot before cards are dealt (Small blind has to put half of the big blinds amount). These bets count toward the first round of betting. So if the pot is not raised pre-flop, small blind will only have to put half a bet to call and big blind has the option of raising or just checking.

In a poker tournament, blinds go up gradually. This is to ensure that the tournament finishes on a timely manner. (the higher the blinds get the more players tend to get eliminated).

Blinds usually go up after predetermined periods of time. (for example every 15 or 20 minutes).

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Two main factors determine blind structure of the game:

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  • Starting chip amount
  • How long you want the tournament to last.

Poker Blind Structure Tips

  • The first big blind should be 1/50 of the starting chip amount. (or the starting chip amount should be 50 times the starting big blind). So if everyone starts with 1000 in chips the first big blind should be 10/20.
  • Blind period is the time each blind lasts:
  • Typical tournament blind periods are 10, 15, 20, 30, or 60 minutes.
  • Blinds period should be the same for every blind.
  • The faster the blind period is the faster the tournament ends and the more luck involves. So it’s a good idea to have slightly longer blind periods at your house game. 15 or 20 minute blind periods are good choices. Blinds in online websites tend to go up faster. This is because online poker action is much faster than live poker.
  • Blinds typically double after each round. If the first big blind is 10/20, the next one should be 20/40.
In Poker What Is A BlindBlind

Calculate Blind Structure

Follow these simple steps to create blind structure that best fits your game:

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  • Decide your starting chip amount.
  • Divide it by 50. This should be your first big blind.
  • Make your final big blind (when the tournament should finish) equal to your starting chip amount.
  • Arrange the middle level blinds so that they gradually increase from your first big blind to the last one. It is best to keep the first couple blind periods low.
  • Add the period (times) together. If it seems too long takes couple levels off the chart, and if it seems short add couple level to the chart.

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Sample Tournament Blind Structure Chart

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Following is a chart of recommended blind structures based on different starting chip stacks :

Blind
Period
Chip Stack
100100025005000
11/210/2025/5050/100
22/420/4050/100100/200
33/630/6075/150150/300
45/1050/100100/200200/400
510/2075/150200/400300/600
615/30100/200300/600500/1000
725/50150/300500/1000750/1500
850/100200/400750/15001000/2000
975/150300/6001000/20001500/3000
10100/200400/8001500/30002000/4000
11150/300500/10002000/40003000/6000
12200/4001000/20002500/50005000/10000