"Do You Play Check and Raise?"

[ThomasPHoolery]

I'm an East Coast player, who first learned stud in my teens, but in recent years moved hold em. As I became old enough to go to legally go to casinos, I've strarted off playing hold em because the stud games that were within my bank roll (low spread limits) were just unbearable-- slow, a lot of complaining, high variance. As my bankroll has grown, I've been able to sit in stud games at limits that are bearable, but still, I've found that stud players, as a whole are a little... different. They take a much more "classical" view toward playing poker than the new breed of hold em players, and many have been playing their "friendly" games in casinos for years and years.

To the point, though. Every mid limit stud game I've sat at, I get asked the same question within 2 minutes of sitting at the table, usually by one of the older gentlemen at the table. "Do you play check and raise?" I'm often conflicted about the best way to answer the question. The c/r is an important part of the game and hand protection, but saying "yes" bluntly has, in my experience, changed the mood of players towards me. They tend to focus a bit more on their play and identify me as a thinking player, not someone just there to have fun. For metagame considerations, these types of games are best when other players simply view me as part of their friendly game. The question is what's the best way to answer this question. I've tried saying things like "Oh yeah, you gotta sometimes. You know, to spice things up a bit."-- trying to make it sound like part of a fun, friendly game, but I'm not sure how well this works. Anyone else have experience dealing w/ this question and good ways to answer?