Small Blind

The small blind is the smaller of the two forced bets in Texas Hold'em and Omaha, posted by the player immediately to the left of the dealer button before any cards are dealt. It is typically half the big blind — in a £1/£2 game the small blind is £1, the big blind £2. Together the blinds guarantee there is money in the pot to play for, forcing action rather than letting everyone wait for premium hands. Positionally, the small blind is one of the worst seats at the table. Pre-flop the player has already committed a partial bet, which tempts them to complete a weak hand cheaply; post-flop they must act first on every betting round, surrendering information to opponents who get to see what they do before deciding. Worked example: you post the £1 small blind and the action folds round to you with one player in the big blind. Completing to £2 costs you only £1 more to see a flop, so the price looks cheap. But because you will be out of position for the entire hand, calling with a weak holding such as 9-4 offsuit is a classic leak; over thousands of hands those discounted-looking calls drain a stack. The common mistake is treating the small blind as half-price and defending too wide. Folding marginal hands and saving the extra chips is usually correct. Compare with the big blind, which acts last pre-flop, and the under-the-gun position, which acts first.