What are the small and big blinds?

The blinds are two bets you are forced to post before any cards are dealt, and the first step of every Texas Hold’em hand. Two seats, two bets. The player directly left of the dealer button posts the small blind, which some home games call the little blind; the player left of them posts the big blind, which is usually double the small.

In a $1/$2 game, those numbers are the blinds: the small blind posts $1, the big blind posts $2, and everything else at the table is measured against that $2 unit. When players talk about a “100bb stack”, they mean 100 big blinds, or $200 here.

Both blinds move one seat left after every hand, following the button. Everyone pays them equally often. Over a full orbit at a six-handed table you post each blind exactly once. Nobody escapes them.

Why do blinds exist at all?

The purpose of the small and big blind is to make folding cost something. If nothing were posted before the deal, the correct strategy would be to fold every hand that is not premium and wait. Nobody would ever have to put money in with a disadvantage, and there would be nothing to fight over.

The blinds break that. Twice an orbit you have money in the pot before you see your cards, and every other player at the table has a reason to attack it. That forced seepage is what makes tight-but-not-smart play unprofitable, and it is why the game works as a game.

The blinds also set the stakes. “What are the blinds?” is the first question to ask about any cash game, because every raise, stack and win rate is denominated in big blinds.

Who acts first, the small blind or the big blind?

Before the flop, the small blind acts first of the two, but last of everyone except the big blind. The action starts left of the big blind and goes around the table. The blinds close it out because they have already paid to be in.

After the flop the order changes for the rest of the hand: the small blind acts first at the table, the big blind second, and the button last. That order never changes. It is the single most important fact about the blind seats. Whatever happens on the flop, turn and river, you act before everyone else, knowing the least: the exact opposite of the button. Our poker positions guide covers why acting last is worth so much.

Does the big blind get to raise?

Yes. If nobody raises before it, the big blind gets the option: its blind already matches the bet, so it can check and see the flop for nothing more, or raise. The option exists because the big blind’s bet was forced rather than chosen. Any raise in front of it ends the option, and the big blind then calls, re-raises or folds like any other seat.

The big blind's option
  1. UTGUnder the gun
  2. HJHijack
  3. COCutoff
  4. BTNButton
  5. SBSmall blind Posts $1
  6. BBBig blind Posts $2

Before any cards are dealt in a $1/$2 game, the small blind posts $1 and the big blind posts $2. Nobody else has put anything in.

  1. Before any cards are dealt in a $1/$2 game, the small blind posts $1 and the big blind posts $2. Nobody else has put anything in.
  2. Action starts under the gun, the first seat left of the big blind. Under the gun calls the $2 instead of raising.
  3. The hijack, the cutoff and the button all fold.
  4. The small blind already has $1 in, so it costs only $1 more to play. It completes to $2.
  5. Nobody has raised, so the big blind has the option. Its $2 already matches the bet: it can check and see the flop for nothing more, or raise.
  6. The big blind checks, and the $6 pot goes to the flop. From here the small blind acts first, then the big blind, then under the gun.

The small blind has no option. It has posted only half a bet, so to play it must complete to the full big blind, raise, or fold.

Is the big blind a better seat than the small blind?

Yes, and it is not close. The big blind is the less bad of the two, for two reasons.

First, the discount. When someone raises, the big blind has already paid one blind, so continuing costs less than it costs anyone else. Facing a raise to $6 in a $1/$2 game, the big blind pays $4 more where the button would pay the full $6, and for a better price on the same pot.

Second, position. The small blind acts first on every street after the flop; the big blind acts second, with one player’s action already visible.

The small blind gets neither. It pays half a unit for the worst seat at the table and must complete the other half just to see a flop. That combination of money in dead and position at its worst makes it the biggest long-term loser of the six seats.

How should you play from the blinds?

Expect to lose from both seats, and aim to lose less than everyone else does.

That reframing matters because blind play punishes optimism. The two mistakes that cost players most, in both seats, run in the same direction, doing too much:

  • Defending the big blind wider than the chart. The discount makes calling feel cheap, but a weak hand played out of position for the rest of the hand is a losing proposition the discount rarely covers.
  • Playing the small blind too loose. Completing “because it’s only half a blind” buys the worst position at the table with a hand that was not worth a raise.

The small blind deserves its own paragraph, because it is the seat players think about least and lose most from, and because it plays two completely different games depending on whether anyone has raised.

Facing a raise, it is close to raise or fold. Folded to it, it is the one seat at the table where completing is a real strategy, and the solver does it with 29.7% of hands, more often than it raises. The mistake is not completing. It is completing without a range, with the hands that happened to feel too good to fold. Both cases have their own section below.

How wide should you defend the big blind?

Wider than any other seat defends, widening as the raiser sits later and levelling off from the cutoff onward. In the solver ranges PlusEV drills, for 6-max cash games at 100 big blinds, the big blind defends 27.1% of hands against an under the gun open and 61.5% against a small blind raise. The share of all hands it continues with, calling or 3-betting:

Raise fromCall3-betDefend in total
Under the gun20.9%6.2%27.1%
Hijack23.2%7.5%30.6%
Cutoff26.4%9.3%35.8%
Button20.8%14.4%35.2%
Small blind46.5%15.0%61.5%

Two things change as the raiser moves later. The defence widens, because a later opener holds a weaker range, and the 3-bets more than double, from 6.2% against under the gun to 14.4% against the button. Against a button open, about one hand in seven comes back as a re-raise. The big blind never folds a pocket pair to a single raise.

Against the small blind the big blind defends more than six hands in ten, the widest defence anywhere in preflop poker. It has position for the whole hand and a discounted price, and it is facing the widest raising range at the table.

How does the small blind play against a raise?

Almost entirely by 3-betting or folding. Facing an open from any seat, the small blind calls with 3.3% of hands at most, and against a button open with 0.2%:

Raise fromCall3-betDefend in total
Under the gun3.3%6.6%9.9%
Hijack3.3%7.8%11.1%
Cutoff3.3%10.0%13.2%
Button0.2%14.0%14.2%

The reason is the player behind. A small blind call leaves the big blind free to squeeze with position over both of you, and even when it does not, you play the rest of the hand first to act. A 3-bet takes the initiative and often ends the hand. The small blind defends less than half as widely as the big blind, and plays what it does defend far more aggressively.

How does blind versus blind work?

It is the one spot where the small blind acts first with nobody left to fear but the big blind, and both seats play their widest ranges of the game.

Folded to the small blind, the solver raises 26.1% of hands, completes 29.7% and folds 44.2%. That completing range is the subject of our limping in poker guide, including why it holds aces and kings. Here is the whole strategy on one grid:

Small blind, folded to the SB, 6-max 100bb. Green is the complete, orange the raise.
AAAKsAQsAJsATsA9sA8sA7sA6sA5sA4sA3sA2s
AKoKKKQsKJsKTsK9sK8sK7sK6sK5sK4sK3sK2s
AQoKQoQQQJsQTsQ9sQ8sQ7sQ6sQ5sQ4sQ3sQ2s
AJoKJoQJoJJJTsJ9sJ8sJ7sJ6sJ5sJ4sJ3sJ2s
AToKToQToJToTTT9sT8sT7sT6sT5sT4sT3sT2s
A9oK9oQ9oJ9oT9o9998s97s96s95s94s93s92s
A8oK8oQ8oJ8oT8o98o8887s86s85s84s83s82s
A7oK7oQ7oJ7oT7o97o87o7776s75s74s73s72s
A6oK6oQ6oJ6oT6o96o86o76o6665s64s63s62s
A5oK5oQ5oJ5oT5o95o85o75o65o5554s53s52s
A4oK4oQ4oJ4oT4o94o84o74o64o54o4443s42s
A3oK3oQ3oJ3oT3o93o83o73o63o53o43o3332s
A2oK2oQ2oJ2oT2o92o82o72o62o52o42o32o22
FoldCallRaise 3

When the small blind raises, the big blind defends 61.5% of hands, calling 46.5% and 3-betting 15.0%. Both players are wide, both know it, and the big blind has position for every street. That is why blind versus blind is the most aggressive fight in the game and why the small blind, even playing it correctly, still loses money over time.

Which hands are worth defending, completing or 3-betting is a range question, and the answer is specific: hundreds of hands per situation, not a rule of thumb, and the defence charts live in the chart library: facing a raise and squeezing when someone has already called. A range chart shows the whole picture at once; our guide to reading the range grid explains how, and the PlusEV preflop trainer drills the blind-defense spots until the right response is automatic. Big blind defense is its own training category in the app precisely because it comes up twice an orbit, every orbit.

What happens if you miss your blind?

You either wait for the big blind to reach you again, or you post to be dealt in straight away. Both options are normal, and the room will offer you the choice when you sit down late, come back from a break, or move seats past the button.

Waiting costs nothing. Posting costs the blinds you skipped, and the accounting has a wrinkle worth knowing: the missed big blind you post is live, so it counts as your bet that hand, while the missed small blind is dead. Dead money goes to the middle before the cards come out and does nothing for you. You are paying it to buy back the hands you would otherwise sit out.

Most rooms track this with a small marker in front of your seat, and the exact rules vary, so ask the dealer rather than assume. The one general principle: if the table is tough and you are not in a hurry, waiting for the big blind is free and posting is not.

How do blinds work in tournaments?

The same two seats post them, but the blinds increase on a schedule. Every tournament publishes a blind structure: a list of levels, often 15 to 60 minutes each, with the blinds and antes for each one. At every new level the blinds rise, so the same stack of chips is worth fewer big blinds as the event goes on, and a deep stack at the start becomes a short one by the late levels. Most modern tournaments also add a big blind ante: the big blind posts an extra amount for the whole table, which makes every pot bigger and rewards stealing the blinds.

This is standard tournament structure rather than something our data covers. Every figure on this page is from 6-max cash games at 100 big blinds, where the blinds never change and stacks stay deep.

What is a straddle, and how is it different?

A straddle is a voluntary third blind, posted before the deal by the player left of the big blind, usually for double the big blind. It is optional, it is generally a paid way to make the game bigger and looser, and no rule of good play requires it. The blinds proper are the two forced ones; everything else is table culture. How the betting order changes, and whether straddling ever pays, is in our guide to the straddle in poker.

What matters most about the blinds?

The small and big blinds are two forced bets, posted by the two seats left of the button and moving one seat every hand. The big blind is the unit every stake, stack and win rate is counted in, and it alone gets the option to check when nobody raises. Both seats lose money over time for almost everyone, so the skill is losing the least: defend the big blind to a chart, and play the small blind as raise or fold, except when it is folded to you.

Quick answers

What is a blind in poker?

A bet you must post before the cards are dealt. There are two per hand: the small blind and the big blind.

What is the big blind?

The larger forced bet, posted two seats left of the button. It sets the betting unit for the whole game, so stacks and bets are counted in big blinds.

Who posts the blinds?

The two players left of the dealer button, rotating one seat every hand, so everyone posts each blind once per orbit.

Does the small blind have to match the big blind?

Yes, to play the hand. The small blind is only half a bet, so it must complete to the big blind, raise, or fold. Only the big blind can check before the flop, and only when nobody has raised.

Does everyone have to call the big blind?

To play the hand, yes. The big blind is the minimum bet before the flop, so every player must at least call it or raise. Folding is the only way to put nothing in.

What is the difference between a blind and an ante?

Blinds are posted by two players, the seats left of the button, and count toward their bet. An ante is a smaller amount that does not count toward any bet: every player posts one, or with a big blind ante the big blind posts it for the whole table. Cash games mostly use blinds alone; tournaments add antes in later levels.

How often do the blinds go up?

In a cash game, never: the blinds stay the same for as long as the game runs. In a tournament they rise at every new level, usually every 15 to 60 minutes, on the schedule the event publishes.

Do the blinds count toward calling a raise?

Yes. Money you posted blind is already in the pot, so you only pay the difference to continue.

How wide should you defend the big blind?

In a 6-max cash game at 100bb, about 27% of hands against an under the gun open, rising to about 36% against the cutoff and button and 61.5% against a small blind raise.

Does the big blind have to be double the small blind?

Usually, but not always. Many live games run $1/$3 or $2/$3, and some spread $5/$5 with both equal. Whatever the room posts is the structure, and the big blind is still the unit everything is counted in.