Betting and blinds

The button and the blinds

The dealer button marks who deals, in theory: in practice it shows who acts last after the flop. The two players to its left post the blinds before any cards are dealt:

• The small blind is usually half the big blind.
• The big blind is the stake of the table. Blinds of 1/2 mean a small blind of 1 and a big blind of 2.

After each hand the button moves one seat left, so everyone pays the blinds in turn. At Poker Rooms the button moves to the next player dealt in, the simple home-game way: when someone leaves, it just moves on, and nobody posts a blind twice.

Antes

An ante is a small amount everyone puts in before the deal. Tournaments often add a big blind ante later on: the player in the big blind puts it in for the whole table. In bomb pots and pot folds, everyone antes and there are no blinds.

How much can I bet?

• The smallest bet is the big blind.
• The smallest raise is the size of the last bet or raise in that round. If the big blind is 2 and someone raises to 6, a raise of 4, the next raise must be to at least 10.
• The biggest bet depends on the game. In no limit, it's everything you have. In pot limit, it's the size of the pot after you call.

You can't add chips in the middle of a hand: you play only with what was in front of you when it was dealt.

All in and side pots

If you don't have enough to call a bet, you can go all in with what you have. You can only win from each other player as much as you put in, so the extra goes into a side pot that only the players who covered it can win.

Poker Rooms works out every side pot and shows each one being paid, side pots first and the main pot last.

Missed blinds and coming back

If you sit out and miss your blinds, you can come back by waiting for the big blind to reach you, or post one to play straight away, as in a casino. A player who drops off the internet is skipped at the next deal and pays no blinds.

The clock

Each player has a set time to act, shown by a ring round their avatar. When it runs out, a time bank of extra seconds kicks in, topped up a little each hand. Run out of both and your hand checks if it can, or folds, and you sit out until you tap back in.