While online poker rooms take care of this process automatically, those playing poker at home will need to determine the ante and blinds before starting a table game or tournament. The process if fairly simple and will just require a bit of decision making and math. For more information, read on to learn how to determine ante and blinds in a poker game.

Before doing anything, you'll want to know how many people are playing, which poker variation you are playing and how many colors of poker chips you'll be playing with. These are important to know as they can change the amounts of the ante and blinds. for instance, if you have fewer players at a table the ante and blinds may be higher to start, while more players can have a smaller ante and blinds at the beginning of the game or tournament.http://www.buypokerchips.com/Articles.asp?ID=113

Similarly, you'll need to determine your chip values and make sure everyone playing knows those values. Most standard sets of poker chips come with three colors and each will be assigned a different value. As a general rule of thumb, many use the smallest chip value for both the ante and small blind and the next-higher chip value as the large blind.http://www.pokerlistings.com/strategy/the-basics-of-blinds-and-betting-for-beginners

As the game or tournament progresses, it's quite common to raise the amounts of the ante and blinds, using a set number of hands or specific time at which the amounts will increase. This step-by-step guide explains the process of setting the ante and blinds, as well as setting chip values, for playing either a home game or home poker tournament.

Whether you are playing a table game or a tournament, you'll need to set the values for each of your chips before doing anything else.

1. Determine how many colors of poker chips you'll be using. Standard sets will include three colors.
2. Decide on your stakes by coming to a consensus with the other participants in the game or tournament. Stakes can range from one or two cents in upwards of hundreds of dollars.
3. Assign the smallest bet amount to the chip color you have the most of. For instance, if you are playing with $2/$4 stakes without an ante and your set of poker chips has more white chips than any other color, assign the white chips a value of $2.
4. Using the chip color with the next highest quantity, set that color the next-highest bet amount, such as $4 in a $2/$4 game.
5. With the third color of poker chips, assign the value higher than the middle set of chips, such as $10 in a $2/$4 game.
6. If you have additional colors of chips, set their value at much higher than the third color, such as $50 or $100 in a $2/$4 game. This will allow for the game to progress as players are eliminated that the chip stacks of the remaining players grow.
7. In cases of longer poker games and tournaments, you may need to adjust the chip values later in the game. For instance, if you begin the game playing $2/$4 and the ante and blinds increase throughout the game or tournament, you may wish to increase the values of the chips at a certain time to allow players to easily make the higher bets.http://www.buypokerchips.com/Articles.asp?ID=113

Just as the variations of poker can range, the specific betting and use of an ante and blinds will vary accordingly. Before you can determine the ante and blinds, you'll need to know if and how they are used in the specific poker variation.

1. Texas hold'em and Omaha use the same style of betting, including the use of a small and large blind to start a hand, followed by four total rounds of betting. The minimum bet is generally the same as the large blind. In cases of longer games of Texas hold'em or Omaha, as the blinds increase, an ante can be added as well if desired.
2. Stud poker games and razz games use an ante and a bring-in. The ante is added to the pot by each player prior to the opening deal. The bring-in is a bet one player is required to make to open each round of betting. Subsequent players must call or raise that bring-in to stay in the game, or else they will fold their cards.
   1. For seven-card stud and razz, there are five rounds of betting in each hand. The bring-in generally starts at one low amount, then doubles or increases for the final three rounds of betting in each hand.
   2. For five-card stud, there are round rounds of betting, using one low amount for the first two rounds and a second higher or double amount for the final two rounds.http://www.pokerlistings.com/strategy/the-basics-of-blinds-and-betting-for-beginners

After you know what your specific poker variation needs as far as an ante and blinds, you can determine the amounts. As a general rule, the ante, if needed, will be much less than the amount of the large blind. Regardless if you are playing with or without an ante in a table game or tournament, the option to increase the ante and blinds as the game progresses is an option, using a set number of hands or time elapsed in the game to determine blind levels.

Playing With an Ante

1. Using the stakes and chip values you set earlier, use the amount of the smallest chip for the ante. For instance, if you assigned the chip with the smallest amount to $2, the ante would be $2.
2. Using the next-highest chip value, use that for the small blind. In a similar situation, if the next-highest chip is $4, the small blind would be $4.
3. Similarly, the large blind should be exactly double the small blind, or two of the second-lowest chips. In a game with a small blind of $4, the large blind and minimum bid amount would be $8.

Playing Without an Ante

1. Using the smallest chip value, set that amount to the small blind. If the smallest chip is worth $2, the small blind would be $2.
2. Working with the next-highest chip value, use that amount, which should be exactly twice the small blind, for the large blind amount. If the small blind is $2, the large blind should be exactly $4.http://www.pokerlistings.com/strategy/the-basics-of-blinds-and-betting-for-beginners

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