THE BLIND BETS

Before any cards are dealt, the first two players to the left of the dealer are required to post blind bets (known as The Small Blind & The Big Blind). These bets are compulsory and their values are set by the Tournament Referee. The posting of the blind bets means that there's some money in every pot, and it helps to get the action going.

On the first betting round, each player must call, or match the size of, The Big Blind if they want to stay in the hand.

In a home game of poker, players take turns to act as the dealer. The role of the dealer moves around one spot each hand, in a clockwise fashion. However, on Late Night Poker, in online games and in many casinos, there's a professional dealer. In this instance, the nominal dealer is represented by a small white disc called The Dealer Button. This also moves around the table in a clockwise fashion, one spot each hand.