Poker Ante and Blind Bets

There are two main types of forced bets used almost in all online casino poker variations.

Poker Ante

Poker ante bet is the type of forced bet in which all the players at the poker table are to put the equal amount of chips into the pot before the cards are dealt. As a rule the ante is the single unit, usually it is the smallest value in the game or sometimes it can be even the half of the quarter of the minimum betting amount. In case any of the players folds he or she loses the ante bet, thus this type of bet is a kind of the incentive for other players to stay longer in the hand.

Poker ante bets are commonly used in draw poker and stud poker variations and almost never in the games with the blind bets. Still in some tournament to increase the pot the players are forced to make poker ante bets but it depends only on the casino you choose to gamble at and on the specific rules of each poker game or tournament.

Poker Blinds

Blind bet is the type of forced bet placed by one or several players at the very beginning of the game before the cards are dealt. Usually in most poker variations there are two blinds. The first player after the dealer makes the small blind which is the half of the normal bet (betting minimum) and the next player makes the big blind which is equal to the normal bet. This betting structure sometimes with poker ante bets is commonly used in community poker games, for example Texas Holdem. Of course, only two blind bets  may be used in the game, or it happens that three blinds are used, in this case the first one is made by the dealer and it is called "on the button".

There are also missed poker ante and blind bets which is assigned to the player due to his or her temporary absence. This bet is denoted by the special button. When the player returns to the table he or she must pay the assigned bet into the pot in order to take part in the next hand. Do not forget you can see how good you are at poker or other games like blackjack or online roulette at the list of chosen casino sites. Online casinos also apply ante and blinds and can even use missed bets.