Intermediate Avoiding Common Leaks and Mistakes in the Small Blind Owen Gaines Owen Gaines is a professional poker player and author who has played an estimated ten million hands and written four poker strategy books. May 27, 2026 Small blind losses often come from weak calls, poor hand selection and playing bloated pots out of position The small blind is one of the hardest seats to play because it combines a forced investment with permanent positional disadvantage after the flop. Learning how to face the disadvantages quickly could go a long way to helping you win. Many intermediate players treat the half-blind discount as permission to enter too many pots. That creates a leak. The money already posted should not make a weak hand profitable by itself. The real question is whether the hand can withstand pressure, make strong post-flop decisions and realize equity without position. The first adjustment is tightening flat calls. Calling too wide from the small blind leaves you trapped between the opener and the big blind, often with a capped range. Hands that look playable on the button become much weaker here. Offsuit broadways, weak suited kings and dominated aces can create expensive second-best situations. Against late-position opens, a more aggressive three-bet-or-fold approach often performs better than passive calling. Sizing also matters. A small blind three-bet should usually be larger than an in-position three-bet because the opener has position for the rest of the hand. Giving good immediate odds invites calls and forces difficult turns and rivers. Larger sizing creates fold equity and builds pots with hands that benefit from initiative. Post-flop, the biggest mistake is automatic continuation betting. Being the pre-flop aggressor does not mean every board belongs to you. Low connected boards, paired middling boards and wet textures often favor the caller. Check more often when your range has missed or when the board gives the opponent more natural combinations.