The SB (Small Blind) is the seat to the left of the button, and it is forced to post half a big blind before the cards are dealt.

It sits in a contradictory spot: preflop it acts second to last, which looks like a good position; after the flop it always acts first, the worst position at the table. The two blinds are the seats where everyone loses money over the long run, because the money is posted by force; the aim in the blinds is not to win, but to lose less than you otherwise would.

1. What Makes This Seat Different

SB
Preflop Acts 5th, with only the big blind left behind
Postflop Always acts first, out of position against anyone
Money already on the table 0.5bb
Default opening range 46.9%

2. When Everyone Folds to You: Raise or Fold

Everyone folds to you and there is only the big blind left to get past. The default small blind opening range in RushCraft’s preflop trainer is 46.9%, the same as the button, because there is only one player to get through.

That number is an approximation, though: the trainer uses the same set of hands for the SB and the button. In practice most players open somewhat tighter from the small blind than from the button, because once the big blind calls, you have to act first on all three remaining streets (section 5 of the preflop range charts explains this approximation).

The most important rule in this spot is: raise, or fold.

Putting in another half blind to limp looks like the cheapest option, but in fact it only adds to your disadvantage: the big blind can see the flop for free, or raise and put you under pressure, while you head into the flop out of position in a small pot with a hand that has never represented any strength. The small blind’s ATS target is roughly 40% to 48% (what ATS is).

3. When Someone Has Opened: Mostly 3-Bet or Fold

Facing someone else’s open, the small blind is the worst seat to call from:

  • You are out of position against the opener after the flop
  • After you call, the big blind behind you can still raise, squeezing you in the middle
  • If the big blind also calls, you are first to act in a multiway pot

So when the small blind faces an open, most of the time it either 3-bets or folds. Of the four seats, the SB has the narrowest cold-calling range (what a cold call is).

4. The Most Common Mistakes

1. “I’ve already put in half a big blind anyway.” That half blind stopped being yours before the cards were dealt. Completing with J4o or Q3o spends extra money protecting money you are not getting back.

2. Limping and then getting raised by the big blind. The small blind limps, the big blind raises, and now you are facing a raise out of position with a hand that was never worth raising in the first place. This is the most common way a limp ends.

3. Forgetting after the flop that you are out of position. The same hand should be played differently from the small blind than from the button. The bigger the pot when you are out of position, the more it costs you, so let go earlier when you miss.

The small blind in one sentence: one player to beat before the flop, everyone to beat after it — so raise or fold, and do not limp.