Live straddle problem

[James Boston]

$4-$8 game. UTG posts $8 live straddle. I'm next to act and look down at KQo. It's not a great hand for my position, but I figured I could probably beat the player to my right. I raised to $12 to isolate him. Much to my surprise I got three cold calls, plus the blinds and the straddle. I missed the flop and folded. Was my raise wrong? I would have beat the straddle, but not the other callers (they all showed down). Had my raise served its purpose, would it have been a good idea?

[ElSapo]

Your raise was fine. Straddles make people call with all kinds of garbage...

[Al_Capone_Junior]

I have no problem with your play here. You had a much better than average hand and you went for the isolation reraise. THREE cold callers? Great game. You did fine.

al

[daryn]

right.. i call straddles clown stimulants

you know that clown Cleric that has been posting lately? i play in a game with him here at UMass.. he straddles big money all the time,.. this is a NL game by the way. blinds .50-1, and he will regularly straddle $5, $10, and even sometimes he will straddle all in! i took down a decent one tonight.. he straddles all in for $21, there's one caller, and i push all in for $90 total with A /images/graemlins/spade.gif9 /images/graemlins/spade.gif... the limper gave it up, and i went heads up with Cleric. i believe he held an offsuit QJ.. we each hit a pair on the flop, A and Q...and blanks on the turn and river gave me the pot.

in short.. straddlers are great! you treat their hand like a random hand, and act accoringly. your 3-bet with KQ seems good... but if you know everyone is a clown, i.e. will call 3 bets cold with anything just because there is a straddle out there, you must fold.