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The Blind bet in Ultimate Texas Hold'em
The Blind is a required bet in Ultimate Texas Hold'em, the same size as your Ante. When you beat the dealer with a straight or better, it pays by a table, up to 500 to 1. When you win with less, it pushes. When you lose or fold, it loses.
How the Blind settles
| Result | Blind |
|---|---|
| You win with a straight or better | Pays by the table |
| You win with less than a straight | Push |
| Tie | Push |
| Dealer wins | Lose |
| You fold | Lose |
Whether the dealer opens doesn't matter to the Blind. It is settled against the dealer's hand either way.
The Blind pay table
| Your hand | Pays | Chance of making it |
|---|---|---|
| Royal flush | 500 to 1 | 1 in 30,940 |
| Straight flush | 50 to 1 | 1 in 3,591 |
| Four of a kind | 10 to 1 | 1 in 595 |
| Full house | 3 to 1 | 1 in 39 |
| Flush | 3 to 2 | 1 in 33 |
| Straight | 1 to 1 | 1 in 22 |
| Anything else | Push |
The chances are for making the hand in seven cards. The Blind only pays if that hand also beats the dealer.
Why the Blind usually pushes
Most winning hands are a pair or two pair, and those push the Blind. With the simple strategy, the Blind pays on about 8.7% of hands. On most other hands you win, it comes back to you unchanged.
How often the Blind pays
You make a straight or better on about 10.4% of all seven-card hands. Some of those still lose to a better dealer hand, and some come on hands you fold. Put together, with the simple strategy, the Blind pays on about one hand in eleven and loses on about half of all hands, every loss and every fold.
The Blind is where the house edge lives
The Blind loses every time you lose or fold, but pays only on big wins. Over time it loses about 31% of what you put on it. The Play bet goes the other way: you choose when to make it, so it is down mostly when your hand is strong, and it wins more than it loses. The game's house edge is what is left when the two are added together. That is why the Play decision matters so much. The odds, bet by bet.
Examples
Each example has 10 on the Ante and 10 on the Blind.
- You hold J♣10♦, bet 40, and the board gives you a straight: 9♠8♥2♣7♦K♠. The dealer has a pair of kings. The Blind pays 10, 1 to 1.
- You make a heart flush with 7♥4♥ and beat a pair of queens. The Blind pays 15, 3 to 2.
- You win with a pair of 8s. The Blind pushes.
- The dealer doesn't open, but has a higher high card than you. The Ante pushes, and the Blind and Play lose.
- You fold at the river. The Ante and Blind both lose.
Why the Blind exists
Without the Blind, players could wait for strong hands and bet big only then. The Blind makes every hand cost something, and the pay table gives some of it back on the best hands. It also makes folding expensive: a fold always costs two bets, the Ante and the Blind.
The Blind and folding
At the river, a fold loses 2 units: Ante plus Blind. A 1x bet risks 3 units but can win back the Ante and the Play bet, and ties return everything. That is why the river rule bets 1x whenever fewer than 21 unseen cards beat you, even with a weak hand. The river rule.
Blind and Trips
The Blind and Trips both pay on straights and better, but differently. Trips pays on your hand alone, even if you fold. The Blind needs you to beat the dealer. On a winning flush with 10 on each, the Blind pays 15 and Trips pays 60. The Trips bet.
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Questions
Do you have to bet the Blind in Ultimate Texas Hold'em?
Yes. The Blind is required and must equal your Ante.
What does the Blind pay in Ultimate Texas Hold'em?
When you win with a straight or better: royal flush 500 to 1, straight flush 50 to 1, four of a kind 10 to 1, full house 3 to 1, flush 3 to 2, straight 1 to 1. Smaller wins push.
Why did my Blind push when I won?
You won with less than a straight. The Blind only pays on a straight or better, and pushes on any smaller win.
Does the Blind pay if the dealer doesn't qualify?
The Blind is settled against the dealer's hand whether the dealer opens or not. If you win with a straight or better, it pays.
Do you lose the Blind when you fold?
Yes. Folding loses both the Ante and the Blind.
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