Strategy in no limit cash games when someone straddles under the gun.
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For the sake of the article blinds are 1unit-2units with a 4unit optional straddle UTG. When someone else at the table takes the option to straddle UTG how should this affect your play? Well, while his straddle from this position is typically a mistake, it is only a mistake because the price is too high. He does gain a positional advantage preflop albeit a small one. No matter what position you were in, you are now in a worse position preflop.
If the pot is raised, consider the raise to have less value unless you otherwise know your opponent. People like to steal straddle raises. (Be careful though, a limp is actually scarier if the straddler likes to raise his straddle a lot. The limper frequently has a stronger than normal limping hand- set to his own standards. Some limpers are trying to limp raise the players behind because they are more likely to raise now. (Especially with the limper’s added 4units).
Where does this leave our strategy? Tight is right. The extra money isn’t extra incentive to steal, its just a gamble incentive. If your opponents are gambling more, and are raising more pre-flop, then you tend to want to play less hands. If your opponents are making massive mistakes post flop, then don’t tighten up too much, the doubled blinds won’t hurt you too much.
I tend to not like the limp raise against a straddler unless you are relatively certain the straddler is going to use his option to raise AND you are in relatively late position. You want his pop to trap money in the middle that a raise from you wouldn’t otherwise trap. If you limp early and wait for his raise, your re-raise is likely to trap very little dead money. If you limp late you can easily be making a mistake of allowing players to see a flop cheaply with your premium hands. So I tend to limit my trapping plays to hands that play well both multi ways and heads-up in re-raised pots. This automatically limits us to trapping only from very late position. Fortunately this combines with the earlier statement about not trapping from early position instead of leaving us with a predicament.
While trapping is not frequently correct against a straddler, what hands should you chose to trap with? It depends on how frequently the trap will work. If your opponent will always raise his straddle (this kind of fish is more common than you might expect) then you can trap with all your big pairs and Ako as well as AQo, otherwise limit it to Aks, Aqs, JJ, TT, and 99. These hands play well in multiple way pots even if your straddler takes this round to check his sub par hand. If he always pops his straddle, limping with a slightly weaker hand like Aj/AT/KQ/88/77 and seeing what happens on the way back to you can be the best play. If no one else is trapping then your AJ/AT/KQ/88/77 might be worth overplaying because your straddler is on such a wide range of hands, these will play well against him. You have to use your judgment in these spots and just play good poker. But I wouldn’t try making a play at these pots without at least a one of these hands unless you are very confident you can take the pot preflop.
When you decide to open against a straddle preflop with a raise. Make your raises slightly smaller than they would be had the blinds been 1-2-4, but larger than if the straddle were not there. For instance, if the situation called for a 4x BB raise, but now there is a straddle, make your raise 6 to 7x BB. You don’t want to define your hand too clearly (after all you are entering pots with less hands already) but you don’t want to let the straddle in for what is effectively a minimum raise of 4x BB.
Post flop against a straddler who popped preflop (and frequently pops preflop):
Frequently this out of position player will feel a need to continuation bet on the flop. Thanks guy. You’re paying my rent. Occasionally this will be a real hand, but less frequently (in my experiences) than just a gassy grab at the pot. If the pot is heads up I usually just call a continuation bet strong, weak but hit, on a draw, whatever. His hand will be far easier to read on the turn. Remember you are in position, you have a decent hand to start with, and he is likely to do this with a lot of hands. My advice is on the turn to play good poker. The pot is already unnaturally large, if you’re not very strong then trapping is dangerous, but not as dangerous as pumping a large pot early in the hand. If he is weak and will slow down on the turn, you will find out his strength there. If he is weak and will not slow down on the turn, then running him off his turn bluff is incorrect. If he has you beat raising with the worst of it is only correct if he will fold. This however is useful should you decide to steal against him! Just don’t establish a history with the players well enough that they catch on to this pattern! Or if you do, change it up when they catch on… You can always establish the history, then raise a monster on the flop and trap with the more aggressive play.
So in summary play tighter against a straddle than you would normally. Trap against a straddle raiser in only the late positions. Use your post flop position and the predictability of your opponent to your advantage by taking a turn more frequently than you would normally.
