Here’s how to play Texas Holdem…

A hand of Texas Holdem starts with the two players of the left of the dealer putting in BLINDS—or, forced bets. Some games will require that all players at the table put in ANTES too… but we won’t get into that here.

Anyway, there’s a SMALL BLIND and a BIG BLIND. The big blind is usually twice as much as the small blind, but not always. The blinds are determined before the hand starts.

The REASON for blinds is to encourage action. As you’ll see, without blinds, players could just fold, fold, fold until they got pocket Aces (the best hand possible).

Here’s what the table will look like:

The dealer position usually has a small, round “button” in front of him, to signify positioning. That’s why you’ll often hear the words “on the button”… that’s the dealer position.

When you play online poker, your blinds will usually be put in the pot automatically. You can turn this option off, but there’s no real reason to do so (unless you plan on leaving the table).

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