Straddling - a smart play?

[Swax]

I apologize if this should go in another forum - I haven't seen a lot of live play chat here...but I'm hoping that some of the reliables in here might help me out.

I recently discovered a live $3/$6 game around here that is such a fish pond that it's almost difficult to believe it even exists. 80% of the people see the flop, no one ever raises...ridiculous.

However, I have noticed that once in a while, while UTG, one of these minnows will pull a straddle - which, I gathered, entails UTG putting double the big blind (or 1 big bet) in before looking at his cards, but then gives him the right to act last in subsequent betting rounds.

So it basically functions as an UTG preflop raise that shifts the button for that hand over one position - except you may be raising with absolute junk.

Now, this play is certainly a bad one for these people who have no concept of how to use position. They were citing things like "I had a hunch and wanted to get more money in the pot" for doing it, which should tip you to their poker IQ's (god I love this place!).

However, have any of you good players tried this in a low limit casino game or anything like that? Is it +EV to put in a 1BB bet blind in order to take the positional advantage? Thoughts?

[Ianco15]

Straddling is not +EV. The only time you have position advantage is preflop. When you straddle you are forcing yourself to raise with a random hand. Good players will be able to punish you with better than average hands.

[J.DP]

After the flop you are still out of position though.

Putting in 1BB out of position with a random hand is hugely -EV. The benefits of being in position for one round cannot overcome such an overwhelming disadvantage

[scotty34]

Please tell me you don't consider the Big Blind a positional advantage. This is just like being the Big Blind, but the blind size is doubled. The blinds are the only two positions, where according to poker theory, it is not possible to being a lifetime winner. Straddling would just add a third position to this theory, and make it even more of a loser than SB or BB.

[Swax]

Let me point out first that I am a pure, unadulterated moron. heh.

Honestly, I did not play any of the straddled hands (the straddler was to my right, so I was UTG+1 all three times, and never had a calling hand). I was under the impression that the straddler got to act last on ALL streets, not just preflop - if that were the case, then my question would not have seemed so dumb...lol...

Now that I understand the way that it works, now I don't know why the anyone would EVER do this (other than the fishies' idea that it allows you to "play your hunch") unless the game was like three or four-handed.

Sorry for the waste of bandwidth - thanks for putting me in my place though!

[DMBFan23]

JSD's guide to straddling at the low limits. a must read for any straddler.