I have been playing cash poker quite a number of times with the guys from work.
| Colour | Value | Starting Stack | Value | Starting Stack | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White | Small Blind | $0.10 | * 10 | = $1.00 | $0.25 | * 8 | = $2.00 |
| Red | Big Blind | $0.20 | * 10 | = $2.00 | $0.50 | * 10 | = $5.00 |
| Blue | 2-4 * Red | $0.50 | * 4 | = $2.00 | $2.00 | * 4 | = $8.00 |
| Green | 2-4 * Blue | $1.00 | * 3 | = $3.00 | $5.00 | * 1 | = $5.00 |
| Black | 2-4 * Green | $2.00 | * 1 | = $2.00 | $10.00 | * 0 | = $0.00 |
| Buy In | $10.00 | Buy In | $20.00 | ||||
There is no ante.
Depending on what the players decide, the following blinds and buy ins have be used.
When a player in the blinds leaves the game, we use the Dead Button rule:
The big blind is posted by the player due for it, and the small blind and button are positioned accordingly. The small blind or button may be assigned to an empty seat. Players always pay a big blind followed by a small blind. There will be one and only one big blind per hand. If the small blind is assigned to a vacant seat, there is no small blind that hand. When the button is on a vacant seat, the cutoff player has last action on consecutive hands.
Example: Alice, Bob, Carol, David, and Ellen are seated in order; Carol is due the big blind.
- Case 1, Alice is eliminated: Carol posts the big blind. Bob posts the small blind. The button is on Alice's vacant seat.
- Case 2, Bob is eliminated: Carol posts the big blind. There is no small blind. Alice has the button.
- Subsequent hand: David posts the big blind. Carol posts the small blind. The button is on Bob's vacant seat.
- Case 3, Alice and Bob are both eliminated: Carol posts the big blind. There is no small blind. The button is on Alice's vacant seat.
- Subsequent hand: David posts the big blind. Carol posts the small blind. The button is on Bob's vacant seat.
- Case 4, Alice, Bob and Carol are eliminated: David posts the big blind. There is no small blind. The button skips to Bob's vacant seat.
- Subsequent hand: Ellen posts the big blind. David posts the small blind. The button is on Carol's vacant seat.
We rarely play down to two players, but when playing heads up poker, we play by the standard rules:
The normal rules for positioning the blinds do not apply when there are only two players at the table. The player on the button is always due the small blind, and the other player must pay the big blind. The player on the button is therefore the first to act before the flop, but last to act for all remaining betting rounds.
A special rule is also applied for placement of the button whenever the size of the table shrinks to two players. If three or more players are involved in a hand, and at the conclusion of the hand one or more players have busted out such that only two players remain for the next hand, the position of the button may need to be adjusted to begin heads-up play. The big blind always continues moving to the left, and then the button is positioned accordingly.
For example, in a three-handed game, Alice is the button, Bob is the small blind, and Carol is the big blind. If Alice busts out, the next hand Bob will be the big blind, and the button will skip past Bob and move to Carol. On the other hand, if Carol busts out, Alice will be the big blind, Bob will get the button and will have to pay the small blind for the second hand in a row.
The player must post a big blind when they buy into a game that is already in progress:
Some cash games require a new player to post when joining a game already in progress. Posting in this context means putting an amount equal to the big blind into the pot before the deal. The post is a live bet, meaning that the amount can be applied towards a call or raise when it is the player's turn to act.
A player who is away from his seat and misses one or more blinds is also required to post to reenter the game. In this case, the amount to be posted is the sum of the big and small blinds, if both blinds were missed. The big blind amount is live, but the small blind amount is dead, meaning that it cannot be applied towards a call or raise.
Posting is not required if the player due the post happens to be in the big blind. It is therefore common for a new player to lock up a seat and then wait several hands before joining a table, or for a returning player to sit out several hands, so that he may enter in the big blind and avoid paying the post.
The minimum bet is the Big Blind. The
