Counting the blinds

A player entering a Holdem Poker tournament or playing in a cash game will begin with a certain number of chips, either real money or "playing chips" Playing chips are the ones issued at the start of a tournament. As the tournament progresses and players fail to make the bubble, their chips remain in the game. Players who are making progress through the tournament are constantly accumulating playing chips and with each chip that they add to their stack their position improves. That's why if you ever watch a televised Holdem Poker tournament you will see players arrive at the final table with millions of dollars in chips. Just remember that this is not real money, just playing chips. Experienced online tournament players will tell you that these chips hold no value, and they assess their position at the table by how many antes and especially blinds these playing chips will allow them to buy.

As a Holdem Poker tournament progresses, and especially when it gets to the final table stage, the value of antes and blinds go up, and as players are knocked out, the frequency of the blind bets also rise. That's why you will see a player constantly counting their chips, because they are calculating how blinds they have left may. If they are holing a lot of blinds, they will play more cautiously especially if their opponents are in a weaker position. Survival of the fittest is definitely the rule in such a situation, and eventually the weaker players will be forced into making a play to improve their position.

Players in real money games will look at their chip stack differently, as they are playing for real money. Depending on the rules of the table, players can only start with a set amount of money, in which case they will be also be counting their blinds. If there are no limits to how much money can be introduced into a game, counting the blinds is a lot less significant.