What is Blind Rollback & Blind Roll Forward?
Blind Rollback (reducing the blinds) or Roll Forward (increasing the blinds) is a poker feature that adjusts the blinds in final tables of tournaments. These changes make gameplay more balanced and competitive by keeping a healthy ratio between average chip stacks and the blinds.
We’ll explain Blind Rollback and Roll Forward in this guide.
Blind Rollback
(Blinds Get Lower)
A Blind Rollback happens if the average chip stack at the Final Table is below 40 big blinds (40BB).
The blind level is reduced so the average stack of the table increases to just above 40 big blinds. It improves strategic depth and reduces variance.
Example:
If the average stack is 200,000 and the big blind is 10,000 (i.e., 20 big blinds), the blind will be rolled back to 5,000 to increase the average stack to 40 big blinds.
Blind Roll Forward
(Blinds Get Higher)
A Blind Roll Forward happens if the average chip stack at the Final Table is above 100 big blinds.
In such cases, the blind level is increased to bring the average stack to just below 100 big blinds. This creates a more competitive gameplay environment.
Example:
If the average stack is 1,500,000 and the big blind is 10,000 (i.e., 150 big blinds), the blinds will be rolled forward to 15,000, reducing the average stack to 100 big blinds.
When is a Blind Rollback or Roll Forward Done?
These adjustments are done only at the Final Table of a tournament when:
- The total number of tournament entries is 100 or more
- The average stack at the Final Table is outside the range of 40–100 big blinds
How Does Blind Rollback & Roll Forward Help You?
It’s important to understand how these features help tournament players.
Blind Rollback and Blind Roll Forward:
- Encourages strategic play (reduces all-ins)
- Prevents excessively long/short tournament runs
- Makes your deep run feel truly rewarding
- Optimizes competitive playability
- Balances fairness for all finalists
