Training guide
Blinds and the Four Betting Rounds
Follow a Texas Hold'em hand from forced blinds through preflop, flop, turn, river, and showdown.
Pot examples use practice chips with no cash value.
Why blinds exist
The small blind and big blind are forced practice-chip contributions that create a pot before cards are dealt. They move with the button so every player rotates through early and late positions. Blinds are table mechanics, not entry fees or money.
The four streets
Preflop: each player receives two private cards. Betting begins before community cards appear. Flop: three community cards are dealt together, followed by a betting round. Turn: one fourth community card is dealt, followed by betting. River: one fifth community card is dealt, followed by the final betting round.
If two or more players remain after river action, the hand reaches showdown. If every opponent folds earlier, the remaining player wins the practice pot without needing to reveal a hand.
Pot accounting example
At 10/20 blinds, the small blind posts 10 and the big blind posts 20, so the starting pot is 30. If the button raises to 60, the small blind folds, and the big blind calls 40 more, the flop pot is 130: 10 + 60 + 60.
The phrase “raise to 60” means the player's total contribution on that street becomes 60. It does not mean adding 60 to the big blind. Keeping “to” and “by” separate prevents many sizing mistakes.
When a betting round ends
A street ends when every active player has either folded, moved all-in, or matched the current highest contribution and no further raise remains unanswered. Checking is available only when the player owes zero. Calling matches the amount owed. Raising increases the current bet according to the table's minimum-raise rule.
Street-by-street drill
- Record the pot before each street begins.
- For every action, write the amount added, not only the button label.
- Recalculate the pot before the next community card.
- Identify why the street ended.
- Compare your total with the hand record.
Common mistakes
- Adding a “raise to” amount twice.
- Forgetting that posted blinds are already part of a player's preflop contribution.
- Checking when facing a bet.
- Dealing the next street before all responses are complete.
- Assuming showdown always happens.
Once the flow is clear, practice choosing amounts in Bet Sizing Practice.
Product Reference
Guide pages keep rules, numeric examples, drills, and mistakes readable without covering the practice interface.