John Darr
(Page 2 of 3)
- No Straddling Allowed – that’s pretty self-explanatory; most of the casinos in Las Vegas follow this rule and your house game might as well.
- Straddling Allowed only from one position on the table – usually under the gun, sometimes on the button; if under the gun only, use very wisely and selectively; if on the button, use more liberally; generally, if a Las Vegas casino allows straddling, it’s UTG only; most East Coast casinos I’ve played in allow straddling UTG only, but times are changing.
- Straddling Allowed any position (Mississippi Option) – generally, if the casino allows this, the button has the priority to straddle first and the option works counterclockwise, away from the blinds, with UTG having the last option; this is the way the Horseshoe Casino in Tunica ran most of their games when I was there last; if you find yourself in this type of game, consider straddling only on the button and the cut-off unless four-handed, UTG can be right; sometimes, sometimes! you can re-straddle the straddle, and that can be restraddled, and that can be restraddled all the way down the table; I’ve never seen it but I know it exists and sometimes happens, especially in Mississippi PLO games during the Poker Open.
- Straddling Allowed Any Position (Indiana Option) – I’ve only seen Caesars Indiana offer this option, but others in the area will probably catch on. I think French Lick offers it as well; UTG has first option to straddle, then priority ‘magically’ goes to the button and works counterclockwise away from the blinds; treat this game just like the Mississippi Option (without the re-straddle option though), but if you attempt to straddle on the button and UTG wants to pull rank, don’t argue; he has first option anyway and you’ll be in great position in most likely a built pot.
- Straddling Allowed but Capped – Most casinos that allow straddling put a cap on it, usually double the big blind. So if you’re in a game where the blinds are $2-$5, you can straddle to $10. It’s this way in Las Vegas, Tunica and most of the East Coast.
- Straddling Allowed but NO Cap – I’ve only seen this in Indiana, not to say it’s not allowed somewhere in Mississippi or California. This option permits the straddler to make the straddle any amount they want to gamble with. In a tiny 1-2 NL game, I’ve seen $20, $50, and even $100 straddles! Most often, everyone folds or someone attacks it all-in with something like AK, AQ and even AJ (I’m not saying it’s right, just that I’ve seen it). If you can straddle with no cap, you really don’t want to go any larger than 3X the big; the stacks in the game hardly ever justify the much LARGER blind raise. I occasionally go 3X in games where the table is full of passive limpers preflop who play tight on the flop (I just hammer the flop when everyone misses or bet players off their draws on the turn).
- Straddling MANDATORY – I’ve seen whole tables agree to change the game to a forced straddle, usually on the button or under the gun. In this case, it’s not really a straddle but more a third blind. Be careful, though. Just because every player is straddling and they tell you that you must DOES NOT mean it’s mandatory. Ask the dealer. Everyone just may be doing it and I’ve seen this happen. If you find yourself on a game where everyone just agrees to straddle, it’s probably best to do it as well. These guys are looking for action, don’t slow them down! The most ‘famous’ forced straddle is the Horseshoe Tunica’s ‘Rock,’ several chips rubber banned together to create a big, inseparable object of desire, usually in their infamous 20-40 limit game. It’s crazy, ‘The Rock’ is like the ring on Lord of the Rings, players go nuts for it. The ‘Rock’ enters the pot and if you win that pot, you put the ‘Rock’ up as the straddle and the action acts to your left, no matter where you are. I don’t get why people love the rock and seem to attack it preflop with raises and reraises, but when you win it, the pot is generally swollen.
Impact on the game
(When considering the impact of a straddle on a game, assume we’re not talking about ‘The Rock,’ that’s a whole other article)
When you straddle, there will be a variety of reactions. Most importantly, there ARE reactions and hopefully you can read and/or anticipate reactions to manipulate the game conditions to your favor.
Most often, when someone (you or anyone else) straddles in a game where the straddle is unfamiliar or new to that group of players, nearly EVERYONE tightens up preflop for the first couple occasions. They know what it is; they just don’t see it often. It’s during this time that players adjust their comfort level to the action. In the early ages of the straddle’s presence, you know you’ll be playing against big cards, usually facing a raise and typically heads up or three-handed.
Then something strange happens. Someone gets crafty, raises preflop and takes the pot down with a hand like 4-6 suited. What? He raised with 4-6! It’s then the first raise loses all value and reraises with top 40 hands become more common. Often, if the game isn’t too aggressive, a lot of players will call the first raise with hands they normally wouldn’t even consider playing for two bets or more. So, you get a lot of big pots multi-way. That’s good and bad for you. If you’re straddling UTG (under the gun), you’ll be out of position with usually crappy cards. You may be ‘priced in’ on some calls with weird draws, flop a vulnerable hand like bottom two pair and have to commit a lot of chips to protect this abnormally large pot, and you may flop a baby flush and get A LOT of action and have no idea where you are.
When the pot gets big, a lot of players want to play hands and draws they may have otherwise folded. Also when the pot is big, any big bet, any attempt to win the pot seems fishy. So if you’re bluffing at a straddled pot, be damn sure to pick your spot. There’s an increased chance you’ll get looked up. Also, if you’ve got a monster hand, balance your feelings to get massively paid off (like a pot or over pot bet) with the likely hood you could value bet (third pot bet) and get called in two or three spots, possibly raised!
Occasionally, when preflop raises aren’t being respected, you’ll often find players trying to win the pot ‘right now’ with massive reraises and all-ins with small and medium pocket pairs. So, it may seem like you’re just pissing away two big blinds. Don’t fret though. Consider you’ll get AA or KK once every 110 hands. When you do, you’ll typically have a ton of dead money in front of you, your preflop raise will probably look like a steal, the chances of significant action in front of you increases as players overplay smaller pocket pairs and hands you dominate (like AQ or AK), and you’ll get a lot in with a good edge. The AA and KK argument for why you should straddle isn’t an end-all and seems short sighted. But . . .
There are several, very powerful reasons to straddle when the conditions are right.
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