In button games, a non-playing dealer normally does the actual dealing. A round disk called the button is used to indicate which player has the dealer position.

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The player with the button is last to receive cards on the initial deal and has the right of last action after the first betting round. The button moves clockwise after a deal ends to rotate the advantage of last action.

One or more blind bets are usually used to stimulate action and initiate play. Blinds are posted before the players look at their cards. Blinds are part of a player's bet, unless the structure of a game or the situation requires part or all of a particular blind to be 'dead.'

Dead chips are not part of a player's bet. With two blinds, the small blind is posted by the player immediately clockwise from the button, and the big blind is posted by the player two positions clockwise from the button. With more than two blinds, the little blind is normally left of the button (not on it).

Action is initiated on the first betting round by the first player to the left of the blinds. On all subsequent betting rounds, the action begins with the first active player to the left of the button.

Rules for Using Blinds in Poker

1. Each round every player must get an opportunity for the button, and meet the total amount of the blind obligations. Either of the following methods of button and blind placement may be designated to do this:
(a) Moving button - The button always moves forward to the next player and the blinds adjust accordingly. There may be more than one big blind.
(b) Dead button - The big blind is posted by the player due for it, and the small blind and button are positioned accordingly, even if this means the small blind or the button is placed in front of an empty seat, giving the same player the privilege of last action on consecutive hands.
[See 'Section 16 - Explanations,' discussion #1, for more information on this rule.]
2. A player who posts a blind has the option of raising the pot at the first turn to act. (This does not apply when a 'dead blind' for the collection is used in a game and has been posted).
3. In heads-up play with two blinds, the small blind is on the button.
4. A new player entering the game has the following options:
(a) Wait for the big blind.
(b) Post an amount equal to the big blind and immediately be dealt a hand. (In lowball, a new player must either post an amount double the big blind or wait for the big blind.)
5. A new player who elects to let the button go by once without posting is not treated as a player in the game who has missed a blind, and needs to post only the big blind when entering the game.
6. A person playing over is considered a new player, and must post the amount of the big blind or wait for the big blind.
7. A new player cannot be dealt in between the big blind and the button. Blinds may not be made up between the big blind and the button. You must wait until the button passes. [See 'Section 16 - Explanations,' discussion #3, for more information on this rule.]
8. When you post the big blind, it serves as your opening bet. When it is your next turn to act, you have the option to raise.
9. A player who misses any or all blinds can resume play by either posting all the blinds missed or waiting for the big blind. If you choose to post the total amount of the blinds, an amount up to the size of the minimum opening bet is live. The remainder is taken by the dealer to the center of the pot and is not part of your bet. When it is your next turn to act, you have the option to raise.
10. If a player who owes a blind (as a result of a missed blind) is dealt in without posting, the hand is dead if the player looks at it before putting up the required chips, and has not yet acted. If the player acts on the hand and plays it, putting chips into the pot before the error is discovered, the hand is live, and the player is required to post on the next deal.
11. A player who goes all-in and loses is obligated to make up the blinds if they are missed before a rebuy is made. (The person is not treated as a new player when reentering.)
12. These rules about blinds apply to a newly started game:
(a) Any player who drew for the button is considered active in the game and is required to make up any missed blinds.
(b) A new player will not be required to post a blind until the button has made one complete revolution around the table, provided a blind has not yet passed that seat.
(c) A player may change seats without penalty, provided a blind has not yet passed the new seat.
13. In all multiple-blind games, a player who changes seats will be dealt in on the first available hand in the same relative position. Example: If you move two active positions away from the big blind, you must wait two hands before being dealt in again. If you move closer to the big blind, you can be dealt in without any penalty. If you do not wish to wait and have not yet missed a blind, then you can post an amount equal to the big blind and receive a hand. (Exception: At lowball you must kill the pot, wait for the same relative position, or wait for the big blind; see 'Section 11 - Lowball,' rule #7.)
14. A player who 'deals off' (by playing the button and then immediately getting up to change seats) can allow the blinds to pass the new seat one time and reenter the game behind the button without having to post a blind.
15. A live 'straddle bet' is not allowed at limit poker except in specified games.

Ed. note: For those who might have missed it before, we're reprising Robert Woolley's series of articles for poker players who are new to live poker. The series is great for newcomers, and likely useful as well to those with experience playing in casinos and poker rooms.

College Poker Dealer Button

The previous articles in this 'Casino Poker for Beginners' series were all about poker chips. Now let's move on to talk about another category of equipment that you will find distinguishes casino poker from both home games and online play — a bunch of buttons.

By 'buttons' I mean that variety of marked disks that the dealer places on the table to denote events, locations, or game conditions to which the attention of the dealer, the players, and/or other casino personnel needs to be called. How many different buttons are there? I asked my Twitter followers for help in compiling a list, and together we came up with a total of 14 different buttons that you might encounter.

Today we will begin by talking about just one of them — the dealer button. Except where specified otherwise, everything that follows pertains to cash games only.

The Dealer Button

The 'dealer' button is the largest and most frequently manipulated button of the bunch, in both tournaments and cash games. In fact, it features so prominently in the game that it is usually just called 'the button' — as if there aren't a dozen other kinds of buttons.

Poker Dealer Button Rules

As the name implies, the dealer button designates which player in the game is the nominal dealer. In some home games, it designates the actual dealer as well, but in casino poker it's kind of an honorary title. You won't be expected to shuffle and deal the cards, which is a relief — but on the downside, you don't get to keep the tips, either!

A dealer button is used for all forms of poker in which the opportunity to act last in each round of betting — a distinct advantage when it comes to poker strategy — rotates around the table. For all practical purposes, this means we are referring to all variants of poker except the stud games. (In those, the order of play is determined by the players' 'up' cards.)

The dealer moves the button clockwise one position between the end of one hand and the beginning of the next. This process is usually completely straightforward. However, there are complicated rules to cover how it should be moved, or not moved, in all sorts of strange situations, such as when players enter or leave the game, when players change seats between hands, and so on.

In such cases, the button may need to stay put for two hands in a row, or move past two or three players at once. If you pay attention, you'll eventually figure out the patterns that govern those oddball situations, but as someone new to live poker it's not something you need to worry too much about. Just trust the dealer.

But as soon as I say to trust the dealer, I also want to add that it's worth independently keeping track of where the button is. Mistakes in movement of the dealer button are perhaps the single most common form of dealer error, and one of the most common reasons that a game crashes to a halt while it gets sorted out.

Custom Poker Dealer Buttons

Frequently, nobody can remember who had the button and who paid the blinds in the hand that just ended a few seconds before. This might seem incredible at first, but after playing for a couple of hours, the hands of poker blend into each other like mile markers on the freeway — even though you just passed one, you really didn't notice what it was.

Players often contribute to the dealer's errors in moving the button themselves. Many players, trying to be helpful, will slide the button one spot to their left at the end of the hand. However, if the dealer's attention is elsewhere when this happens, a few seconds later he or she will move the button again, and suddenly there's a problem that has to get sorted out.

For the most part, it's best to leave the button alone and just let the dealer push it as needed. Of course, if it's a large table and/or you have a dealer who has difficulty reaching the button, especially when it's at the end of the table, by all means go ahead and move it on to the next player.

Before you do move it, though, wait until the dealer is indicating that it's time to do so, or when you do move it make a clear verbal announcement ('Button moved') and make sure you get an acknowledgment, so that you avoid having it moved twice.

Players depend on being able to see the button in order to know the order of action. After a while, it becomes completely habitual to scan the table for the button, then scan clockwise from there until you find the first player with live cards, in order to know who is going to act first on each round of betting. This important function of the button is disrupted if it is not left in an easily visible position on the table.

Why would it not be? Unfortunately, some players think they're entitled to treat the dealer button as their own personal toy to play with while it's in front of them. They'll try to get it to stand on edge, roll it around, make it spin like a top, scoot it from one hand to another like a hockey puck, put chips they're betting on top of it, or pull it in close to them and use it as a card protector.

Such antics prevent other players from using the button as a visual marker of where the action is to begin. These little games are inconsiderate of the other players. They slow down the action, and cause people to play out of turn. So please raise your right hand and repeat after me: 'The button is not a toy, and I will not treat it as such.'

Poker Dealer Button

In the next article, we'll move on to start discussing some of the other buttons that get used in casino poker games.

Robert Woolley lives in Asheville, NC. He spent several years in Las Vegas and chronicled his life in poker on the 'Poker Grump' blog.

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