Tommy Angelo

This morning there was food in my mouth. I was chewing it up and I knew so. Then I started thinking about something else. Blogging. What might I write about today at my new play place? I put some more food in my mouth, which distracted me away from thinking about writing, what with all the crunching (it was a highly milk-resistant strain of cereal) and the various flavors and textures (I had added some dried cranberries, some cinnamon, and some pine nuts). Then I remembered what a friend and experienced blogger had told me about what makes a good blog good. She said to write with authenticity about the goings on in my life. Okay then, today I’ll do that. This morning there was food in my mouth. Then there wasn’t, then there was, then there wasn’t, then there was, then there wasn’t, and then, all of a sudden, I had something to write about.

So far this year I’ve been playing almost entirely no-limit hold’em almost entirely at Lucky Chances Casino, near San Francisco. This area of the country lays claim to lots of things that have never existed anywhere else, such as The Golden Gate Bridge, Jerry Garcia, and the triple blind structure in their no-limit poker games. I intend to write blog posts about no-limit hands I’ve played or watched, so in this post I am going to describe the blind structure for future reference.

The Bay Area’s Three-Blind Structure

The three-blind structure has a small blind and a big blind, posted by the two players left of the button, just like every other hold’em game. And it has an additional small blind that is posted by the player on the button. The minimum opening bet is the sum of the blinds. (This means there are no free plays from the big blind.)

Here are the four main no-limit blind structures you’ll find today in the Bay Area:

$1-1-2, minimum opening bet is $4

$2-3-5, minimum opening bet is $10

$5-5-10, minimum opening bet is $20

$10-10-20, minimum opening bet is $40

The Kill

Any player can put out a “kill” before the cards are dealt. The amount of the kill is double the big blind. When a pot is killed, the minimum opening bet doubles. For example, in a $1-1-2 game, the kill amount is $4, and if a pot is killed, the minimum opening bet is $8.

The player who posted the kill is last to act before the flop, meaning the action skips over him and comes back to him. It used to be that kills were allowed from all seats at all casinos. Now there are some casinos that do not allow the button to post a kill.

Some casinos allow two kills. For example, in a $2-3-5 blinds game, one player could post a $10 kill, and another player could post a $20 kill. When that happens, the minimum opening bet is $40, and before the flop, the $10 kill is next to last to act, and the $20 kill is last to act, no matter what their actual seats are.

Let’s say the game in nine-handed, and there is one kill out, posted by the player in the cutoff seat. The player under-the-gun opens for the minimum, and the next player raises. The next three players fold. The action now skips over the cutoff, and the button is next to act. Let’s say the button folds, the small blind fold, and the big blind calls. Now it’s the cutoff’s turn, and after that, the action goes back to the original order of things for the second round of preflop action, which means the action does not go to the player left of the cutoff, which would be the big blind, but rather, it goes to the opener. Yes it’s a little bit complicated. But then, so was Jerry.

How and Why?

How did it get this way, and why has it stayed this way?

I don’t know how the three-blind structure came to be. But I do know when. A really long time ago. Long before California legalized hold’em in 1987. I do know why it has survived the last 20 years. I’ll write that up down the road.

People say you shouldn’t quit if the game is good. That seems like good advice. And people say you should play in good games. That makes sense too. But if you put those two pieces of advice together — that is, if I only play in good games, and I don’t quit good games — then I would never quit.