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The Blinds
In other poker games you can play in our online casino, everyone has to put an ante, or a small amount of money, into the pot, so that there’s some incentive to play a hand. In Texas hold ‘em, everyone takes a turn being “the blinds.” The person to the immediate left of the button has to post (or bet) what’s called the small blind. The person next to the small blind has to post the big blind. These are essentially forced bets that add money to the pot to get things going. How much the blinds have to bet depends on the betting limits or structure of the particular table. For example, the most popular game in card rooms right now is $3-$6 Texas hold ‘em. That is, betting and raising are done in increments of $3 for the first two rounds, and $6 for the last two rounds. The big blind is usually the smaller of the two numbers, which in $3-$6 would be $3. The small blind is typically half or less of the big blind - in most $3-$6 games, it’s a buck. But don’t worry, the casino dealer will tell you exactly how much you need to bet to get the action started.
Except for the two blinds, no one at the table has to post anything.
