The definition of straddling entirely depends on where you use the word. If you’re in a rodeo, the definition of straddling a horse is somewhat blah, but with all that bucking you’re going to be in for one hell of a ride. If you’re in an intimate situation with a loved one (wink, wink), the definition of straddling each other is far from blah, but you’re still going to be in for one hell of a ride! (pun intended)

In a poker room, ‘I straddle’ is often received with mixed emotions, but the definition is understood – ‘I straddle’ means I’m going to put up a voluntary blind bet and the action starts on my left. And like the other two straddles above, when you straddle in a game sometimes your stack will fall hard and sometimes your stack will, uh, rise. Whether or not the straddle is a profitable play depends on how well you understand it and utilize it.

The straddle is a minimum of double the big blind and when there’s no cap it sometimes can be a much, much larger blind. It’s also a blind raise that allows you to act last in that round where players wanting to enter have to at least call your blind raise, giving you the open to raise your blind raise, reraise a raiser, check, or fold. Confused? I hope not. PTP readers are savvy, educated players and should know the basics of the straddle. But knowing how to straddle doesn’t mean a savvy, educated player can do it right or will even straddle when it’s right to do so.

I’ve heard a lot of good players bash the straddle, using harsh qualifiers like ‘never’ and ‘only an idiot’ and ‘kills the game.’ That’s nonsense from haters. When used right, the straddle can be a very powerful weapon. Here’s the deepest look in to the straddle that I can provide in a column like this.

Types of straddles / Not a kill

Not all straddles are equal, not all straddles are legal and not all straddles are right. The straddle usually occurs in games with at least one forced blind, like Hold’em and Omaha. An important note: straddling is NOT the same as a kill. Kill games are used in limit poker (and sometimes pot limit), but straddles can occur frequently in no limit, limit, and pot limit games.

In a kill game, when the kill conditions occur, the winning player posts what looks like a straddle, double the big in full kill games, a bit less in half kill games, and the betting limits subsequently increase for that one hand. There is no trigger for a straddle, just a reckless player’s impulse and the conviction to speak on it. So, in a 10-20 kill game when the kill is in effect, you’d play 20-40 until the kill is off. During a kill pot, preflop, the player does have action to raise himself and sometimes he gets to act last. However, a kill is not a straddle; it’s just a larger big blind structure for the entire hand. A straddle’s monetary impact is only felt preflop. In a 2-5 no limit game, a player can conceivably straddle for $100 and then bet any amount $5 or larger on the flop, turn and river.

But first things first. The blinds can not straddle; at least not anywhere I think I’ve played. Never seen it but that doesn’t make it absolute. But for the most part, it’s best to believe the blinds can’t straddle.

The SECOND thing you need to know (and believe) is that despite players saying ‘straddling is a losing play’ or ‘straddling is just plain dumb,’ there ARE times when you are hurting your profitability by NOT straddling.

The THIRD thing you need to know about straddling is that the house rules. Some casinos allow straddles and some don’t. Don’t argue with the floor about changing their rule either, you’ll lose and probably look like an ass.

Some casinos put restrictions/conditions on me, the straddler:

• is my straddle voluntary or forced?
• how much can I straddle?
• from what position can I straddle
• who has the first opportunity to straddle?

Here’s the rundown of the most common house rules and some general considerations:

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.