player. No exceptions<\/span>. I\u2019ve seen players try to skimp on this. Bad move. You\u2019re not playing a micro-stakes grind. You\u2019re in a real session. If you don\u2019t have enough, you\u2019re already behind before the first hand.<\/p>\nStacks must be in a 2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15-16-17-18-19-20-21-22-23-24-25-26-27-28-29-30-31-32-33-34-35-36-37-38-39-40-41-42-43-44-45-46-47-48-49-50-51-52-53-54-55-56-57-58-59-60-61-62-63-64-65-66-67-68-69-70-71-72-73-74-75-76-77-78-79-80-81-82-83-84-85-86-87-88-89-90-91-92-93-94-95-96-97-98-99-100-101-102-103-104-105-106-107-108-109-110-111-112-113-114-115-116-117-118-119-120-121-122-123-124-125-126-127-128-129-130-131-132-133-134-135-136-137-138-139-140-141-142-143-144-145-146-147-148-149-150-151-152-153-154-155-156-157-158-159-160-161-162-163-164-165-166-167-168-169-170-171-172-173-174-175-176-177-178-179-180-181-182-183-184-185-186-187-188-189-190-191-192-193-194-195-196-197-198-199-200<\/p>\n
Use 500 chips for the big blind. That\u2019s non-negotiable. If you\u2019re running a 50\/100 game, the big blind is 100. You need at least five times that in your stack. Otherwise, you\u2019re just folding every time someone raises. That\u2019s not strategy. That\u2019s surrender.<\/p>\n
Stacks should be in neat, vertical piles. Not a mess. Not leaning. If someone\u2019s chips are all over the place, they\u2019re either sloppy or hiding something. I\u2019ve seen players stack 200 chips in a 4×50 block. That\u2019s fine. But if it\u2019s 10×20, you\u2019re asking for confusion. And confusion? That\u2019s where you lose money.<\/p>\n
Never let a player start with<\/span> less than 100. I\u2019ve seen it. A guy walks in, gets 50 chips. He\u2019s already out of the game. He can\u2019t even call a raise. You\u2019re not running a charity. You\u2019re running a real game.<\/p>\nAnd yes, the dealer must verify the stack. I\u2019ve had a guy try to sneak in 150 chips as a 100. No. The dealer counts it. Every time. If you\u2019re not doing that, you\u2019re not serious.<\/p>\n
Use color-coded denominations. Red for 100, green for 500, blue for 1000. No exceptions. I\u2019ve played with tables where everyone used the same color for 100 and 500. That\u2019s chaos. You\u2019re not in a schoolyard game.<\/p>\n
Final rule: if a player\u2019s stack drops below 300, they must replenish. No exceptions. I\u2019ve seen players go all in with 100. That\u2019s not poker. That\u2019s gambling with no edge.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s how I do it. No fluff. No excuses. If you\u2019re not stacking like this, you\u2019re not playing right.<\/p>\n
<\/span>Button and Blind Positions: Rotate Like You Mean It<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/p>\nStart every session with the button dead center. Not a guess. Not a “maybe.” Dead center. Then, place the small blind to the left, big blind to the left of that. Simple. I\u2019ve seen pros fumble this like they\u2019re learning the rules for the first time. Don\u2019t be that guy.<\/p>\n
After each hand, push the<\/span> button one seat clockwise. No exceptions. Not if you\u2019re tired. Not if the dealer\u2019s slow. Not if you\u2019re on a heater. Rotate. Every hand. The rotation isn\u2019t a formality\u2013it\u2019s the engine. Skip it and you\u2019re inviting chaos.<\/p>\nBlinds move too<\/span>. Small blind stays in place until the button passes. Then it shifts. Big blind moves with the button. If you\u2019re running a cash game, this keeps the action fair. If you\u2019re in a tournament, same rule applies. I\u2019ve seen players argue over blind positions for 15 minutes. (Seriously? Just move the damn button.)<\/p>\nWhen someone busts, the button doesn\u2019t stay. It goes to the next active player clockwise. No “well, he\u2019s the best player” nonsense. No favoritism. The system is designed to distribute action evenly. Respect it.<\/p>\n
Use a physical button. Not a token. Not a chip. A real button. Plastic, metal, doesn\u2019t matter. But it must be distinct. I once played at a place where they used a poker chip. (Big mistake.) You lose track. You lose rhythm. You lose the flow.<\/p>\n
Track the blinds. Write them down if you have to. If the small blind is $10, the big is $20. If it\u2019s $50\/$100, don\u2019t guess. The math depends on it. A $100 blind means you\u2019re not in a $100 game\u2013you\u2019re in a $100 game with a $100 buy-in. Don\u2019t walk in blind (pun intended).<\/p>\n
Rotation isn\u2019t just mechanics. It\u2019s psychology. The button player acts last. That\u2019s power. The blinds are forced to act first. That\u2019s pressure. When the button moves, the power shifts. That\u2019s the rhythm. That\u2019s the game.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t skip the rotation. Don\u2019t slow it down. Don\u2019t let someone “keep the button” because they\u2019re “lucky.” The game doesn\u2019t care about luck. It cares about structure. If you break the rotation, you break the game.<\/p>\n
<\/span>Shuffle, Cut, Deal: The First Hand Must Be Clean<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/p>\nStart with a fresh deck. No reused cards, no shortcuts. I\u2019ve seen dealers skip the cut when the pit boss was on break\u2013big mistake. The cut must be visible, clean, and at least 1\/3 of the deck from either end. If the cut\u2019s sloppy, the whole hand\u2019s suspect.<\/p>\n
Dealer lifts the deck with both hands, not one. Left hand stabilizes the bottom, right hand controls the top. That\u2019s how you avoid card marking. (I\u2019ve seen a guy try to peek the bottom card during the cut\u2013nope, not in my game.)<\/p>\n
Deal clockwise. One card at a time. No stacking. No skipping. Each player gets two hole cards. The dealer takes one card face down, then one face up\u2013burn card. Then the flop comes: three cards face up, center. No exceptions.<\/p>\n
After the flop, the dealer burns another card before the turn. Then another burn before the river. Burn every time. Even if you\u2019re tired. Even if the clock\u2019s ticking. Burn. Burn. Burn. It\u2019s not a ritual. It\u2019s math.<\/p>\n
When the hand ends, collect all cards. Stack them face down. Shuffle with a riffle, then cut. No dead cards left on the table. No one gets to peek. No one gets to claim “I saw the ace.”<\/p>\n
And if a player asks to see the deck? Say no. Not even if they\u2019re a regular. Not even if they\u2019re loud. The deck\u2019s not for inspection. It\u2019s for action.<\/p>\n
Trust the process. But watch the dealer. I\u2019ve seen a guy deal from the bottom half of the deck twice in a row. That\u2019s not luck. That\u2019s a tell.<\/p>\n