The straddle

[JonLines]

I was at a live game the other day, and a lot of people seemed to be placing a straddel. It was a £1-2 game, un-limited by in. Could someone please explain to me the benefits of this move? They just seemed to be losing £5 ever time.

[JonLines]

I forgot to add, this was a PL game.

[Seether]

Its basically just a way to encourage more action on the table and "gamble a bit"

[grimel]

You pretty much nailed it.

thus said the sage JonLines
"They just seemed to be losing £5 ever time."

[fimbulwinter]

there is a misconception in general and on twoplus that the straddle is categorically a fish play.

there are good reasons that good players straddle from time to time. obviously they don't do it at a table where everyone understands how it really affects the game, but the EV mistakes, both in the hand and in subsequent hands, made by new and bad players playing under a straddle can very often subsidize the cost of paying an extra double blind OOP, particularly in very deep or very shallow games.

fim

[JonLines]

Can you elaborate on this at all?

One of the players I saw doing this, I hold in high esteem, he is very much loose aggressive. I was just wondering how this could help him, and secondly what potential pit falls I should try to avoid if someone straddles my BB.

Obviously it changes the dynamics of the pot, and being PL this is very important, if there are people on the table buying in for small amounts, I expect this increase in blind size could have a very detrimental effect on their ability to play the game.

Is there any use to 'buying position' in the first round? Obviously its preferable to act last, but seeing as you will have to act first on all subsequent streets I cant really see the benefit.

Any thoughts and suggestions would be greatly appreciated, I play this live game fairly frequently, and as this is an area I never come across online, I think it may be a weak point in my game, as I find myself getting mixed up in hands against the straddle.

[Onaflag]

[ QUOTE ]
Can you elaborate on this at all?

[/ QUOTE ]

Let me give this a shot. Here's what I see happen all the time at the B&M I play at. When the table starts to get incredibly tight, the better players start straddling. The fish see the larger pots and start gambling. Once the table gets back to its normal loose fishy self, the straddlers unnoticibly tighten up and get back far more than they lost straddling.

I certainly don't have the balls to start the action up like this, but love it when others do. In addition to the straddle, a couple players will straddle/cap blind and not look at their cards until the final bet on the river. The pots are monstrous and the next hour is fabulous if you happen to catch a good hand.

Anyway, if you know what you're doing I do not think these plays are wreckless. They have intended results and seem to work for those with the balls to do it.

Onaflag..........

[ErrantNight]

i find straddling works best when you suck out on the river.

[ErrantNight]

All you need to know about straddling.