Poker Launch

The descriptions below assume that you are familiar with the general game play of poker, and with poker hands. They also make no assumptions about what betting structure is used. In casino play, it is common to use a fixed limit and two blinds, one for half of the first-round betting limit and one for a full bet. (This double-blind structure is relatively recent; until 20 or 30 years ago, a single-blind structure was most common.) The limit for the third and fourth betting rounds is generally double that of the first two rounds. Occasionally, the fourth bet is larger still (a big river bet), and the big blind is sometimes less than the normal first-round bet, in which case it is treated the same way a sub-minimum bring-in is treated in stud poker. Antes may be used instead of or in addition to blinds; this is especially true in tournament play. The game also plays very well at the no-limit level, and many tournaments (including the above mentioned World Series championship event) are played that way.