If you can fold without putting in money, why doesn't a player just fold all the time until he gets a great hand? This is prevented by forcing each player to pay a "tax" on the hands he plays. This tax comes in the form of blind bets also known as blinds. Each hand, one player at the table puts in a big blind (BB), and the player in front of him puts in a small blind (SB). In most internet games the small blind is half the size of the big blind. The big blind is the size of a small bet in a limit game. The blind bet is paid regardless of whether the player likes his cards or not. The other players must call (or raise) the blind bet or else they must fold. The player in the small blind must make up the difference between the BB and SB in order to stay in the hand. So if the big blind was $2 and the small blind was $1, the player in the small blind would have to pay $1 to stay in the hand.

In tournament poker the blinds increase every so often. In cash games the blinds never change, unless u move to another table/limit. The blinds rotate each hand. The person to the left of the dealer pays the small blind, and the person to the left of the small blind pays the big blind. In the preflop betting round, the player to the left of the big blind is the first to bet, and the big blind is the last to bet. In all rounds after that, the small blind is the first to bet, and the dealer is last to bet. Position is very important in poker, and here's why: Information is power in poker, and each bet gives away information. If a person bets before you, he gives you information you need to make your bet. On the other hand, he has to make his bet without the information contained in your bet.