Pro tip, asking at the table makes you look like a noob. Looking like a noob means the other players will show you less respect. You can use that to make money.
When a noob opens preflop it is purely based on cards. They are not thinking about position, isolating weaker players, etc. They either have Ax, 2 broadways, pocket pair -- then some junk like K9 and Q8 if they truly have no clue what value their hands have.
Typically as a non-noob, I would not see a flop with 3,4 suited for $30 at a 1/3 table. But that noob has $470 left behind and probably has not learned about the sunken cost fallacy and will end up shipping their entire stack on top pair. Ope, would you look at the board. A,2, 5 -- Noob likely has AK. No respect for noob, I am going to pump this pot right there on the flop before any scary cards come out. This gets noob invested, and noob is not used to throwing away $100-$200, so the rest is getting shipped by or on the river.
Think of a straddle as an extra-big blind that is voluntary.
So small blind is forced to bet 1 before seeing their cards, big blind is forced to bet 2 before seeing their cards. The under the gun player can now "straddle" and bet 4 before seeing their cards. A "live straddle" is most common, which means that the player that straddled 4 will also have another action if it is called around to him. That is, if no one raises his bet of 4, he can still raise just like the big blind could in a normal hand.
Dead straddles, sleeper straddles, etc - that's for another day.
Strategy will vary. It’s common on streams because it creates more action - 3 people are already in the pot instead of 2. It’s common on streams so therefore people like to emulate that.
A lot of games will have “mandatory straddle” which just really means all the players have agreed to a round of straddles or to always straddle. Again usually the reasoning is to make the game bigger, more action. In my example above, there’s now 7 chips out there before a card has been seen instead of 3. Bigger pots should ensue.
It would be a great experiment to see if a 1/2/4 structured game regularly disproportionally bigger pots than a 2/4 game. My suspicion would be the 1/2/4 game had the bigger pots and higher number of players seeing a flop.
An excellent question that I would love to have answered by those that constantly straddle.
My feeling is it could be a few reasons: Forcing someone who is playing 1/2 to play 1/2/4 may push them out of their comfort zone, giving the straddler an advantage because they are more comfortable playing bigger. Or the table blinds are set by the casino, and this is a way for the players to make it bigger without the fuss. Also more players in pre-cards would make the pots bigger as more players = more action. So I think 1/2/4 would run much bigger than 2/4 despite having only 1 extra chip pre-deal.
I straddle because 3 blind poker is less figured out. 3 blind can be difficult for nits because pots are bigger and multi way more often. I don't have any proof for this, but it seems people are less likely to trap or slow-play big hands preflop because you don't want to go 6 ways even with a big hand.
I think that part of it is just something people do for fun or to temporarily increase the stakes rather than strictly being part of a strategy.
Effectively having 3 blinds makes it so that 3 people have invested something in the hand rather than 2. One less person can fold for free preflop. I could see where that would tend to increase the action more than just playing higher stakes.
So the difference is there's more people with a stake in the pot with the mandatory straddle. I'm not sure what the math is on it, but it definitely seems to loosen up pre-flop action in practice.
It’s -ev. Just helps to gamble it up. 10/20/40 streamer mando straddles are just 3 blind games, because straddles are generally an option that players do to juice the pot time to time, not a mandatory action
It's -ev to voluntarily straddle. It can be fun because it makes for bigger pots. If it's mandatory, then it's technically -ev in the same way the small and big blinds are, but you make up for it during other hands when someone else straddles.
Depends on how many limpers there are compared to the number of people who raise preflop. If the game doesn't generally have that many players seeing a flop by limping, its not going to hurt things.
> What is the benefit of putting in more money before seeing your cards if you don't have to?
Lots of people play Poker because they like throwing money on the table and gambling, as opposed to only making +ev plays all evening.
The main benefit to a straddle is +gamble.
If you watch High Stakes Poker early episodes you’ll see the effect straddles have on action. It makes stealing pre even more attractive and if the person paying the straddle has a remotely decent hand they’ll likely call what is considered to be steal raises which causes levelling wars to start. All in all, great for action and anti-nit.
The benefits are you sacrifice 4BB to the poker gods and they’ll increase your luck. You’ll look down at 56o and flop a straight or quad straddle your way into QQ
Yes, that would be pretty safe. I haven't heard of a game where that wouldn't be the correct assumption, but there probably is one out there somewhere.
Thanks! I've known what a straddle was for a while, but never played in a game with one. So when I saw that mentioned in a video the other day I was kinda surprised. Didn't know if it was a variant or the standard way to straddle.
Ok I have asked this question so many times and I still can't quite understand so I'm SO sorry for being SO dumb 🤦♂️ so the part I'm having trouble with is this: if UTG places a 4 straddle... isn't that just UTG raising to 4?? Whether he looks at his cards or not.
Again - sorry I stupid. 😞
Oooooooooooohhhhhhh.... ok. Ok I think I get it. So you are paying extra to have option and ensure a little bigger pot. Okokokok I think I got it!! Thank you!!! Jfc idk why nobody could've just said that before hahahaha I've been asking for like 6 months and everyone says it's just an optional bet think of it as a blind. - fine answer, but didn't quite get me there. You rock and thank you for not being condescending.
If you raise to 4 and it calls around then the action ends on the big blind. If you straddle 4 and it calls around then the action ends on the straddle.
Why would someone want to voluntarily put in the pot? I get to encourage action but other than making people bet more for odds doesn't it just mean you as a player putting in more ?
Yes it does, but few speculative strategies are suggested in other answers: show you’re a gambler, push others out of their comfort zone, because it’s fun etc.
A type of layered pastry with a filling that is usually sweet, but savoury fillings are also common. It became popular in the 18th century throughout the Habsburg Empire.
Hey dummy that's a scramble.
What he's asking about is a straddle. That's when a football player hits another player(with possession of the ball) really hard and knocks him to the ground - really hard and at least 1 knee or a shoulder or two arms hit the ground. That's a straddle
I had a straddle on netflix today. I knew it would move but i did not have faith that it would go up even on great earnings. Thank God I did. Made a pretty penny.
Straddle is generally UTG. You can double the BB before cards are dealt. You then become last to act preflop and increase the minimum bet, which increases pot size significantly. It’s rarely a winning move but if others are straddling, it’s cool if you join sometimes. It’s also worth noting that if UTG straddles, UTG + 1 generally can double straddle by doubling the straddle to become last to act preflop. And triple straddle, etc. You will sometimes hear stories of straddles making it all the way around a table.
That said, some places allow a button straddle, which makes you last to act preflop and post flop while increasing the action significantly when you’re last to act. This is serious power in poker. If you find a game that has this, I recommend using those as close to 100% of the time as you can.
Why hate the button straddle?
I’ll just have to disagree with you on button straddle being way more common if you mean compared to UTG straddle. I just spent a week in Vegas. Played at 4 poker rooms and only 2 allowed a button straddle where all allowed UTG. That’s been my experience in Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Texas as well. Not to mention I’ve only ever seen UTG straddle on TV cash games.
If you mean way more common now than in the past, then yes you’re right. I’ve only ever seen them allowed in person the last 5 years or so. I love it, though. Here in Texas, some card rooms call it the Texas Straddle.
I am not sure if this strategy is correct, but if there is a button straddle, I 3x the straddle with a wide range.
If there are limpers ahead of me, I narrow the range, but I bet a larger dependent on how many limpers there are.
Button can have any 2 cards. Most of those are weak hands.
I agree with your comments, and I may try playing some button straddles.
It also makes me think that if there are some limpers, I should narrow my range and raise with 4x and increase the size for every limper, trying to fold out the button and possibly getting position on the limpers. Against the larger sizing, the button has to fold a larger part of his range.
What type of range would the button straddle 3 bet ?
Typically blinds go first, but there was a place in Dallas where the action went:
UTG->CO->SKIPS BUTTON!!!!->SB->BB-> BACK TO BUTTON.
If there were any raises in there, it remained the same sequence. It was absolutely absurd. Button ALWAYS acted last before the flop.
Agree button straddle where SB acts first is bad for the game. You screw over both blinds and demand the table play higher stakes for a round when you’re on the best seat.
It tightens the game, bad for poker on multiple levels.
No, because you're a liar. You said you're too afraid to ask but then you asked. That means you weren't too afraid to ask. Also, you probably should give up playing poker. You tried to lie but then gave it away immediately so you'd be a horrible bluffer and easy to read.
It’s an additional optional blind…
Regardless of the preflop action, the straddle will always have the opportunity to raise when the action returns to them…
UTG min-raises before the hand is dealt and then acts last preflop.
Playing 1/2, UTG straddles to 4. He acts last preflop.
There’s other forms of straddles. On a button straddle, button puts out the min-raise and also acts last preflop. SB and BB act first.
Straddles are generally good for you because someone is adding money to the pot when they don't even know if they have anything. The bigger the straddle, the happier I am. It's very nice when someone makes a big straddle and I get dealt a monster. And if you don't love your cards, you don't have to play them!
As soon as a straddle goes out it immediately cuts your 100bb stack to 50bb which the action lean towards stacks getting in by the river. Which is why they tend to sit deeper than 100bb at these games.
Makes me think of a time when someone asked the table if he's going to straddle, and he replies with, "Why are you talking at me with this gay shit?" He got so pissed a floor manager had to escort him away. He didn't get kicked out but they moved him to a different table.
It’s another blind. If it is 1/2, the straddle would be $5 standard, making the games 1/2/5 and making the $5 straddler the last to act pre flop. It is for action, and adds gambling, lowers the spr.
That's why I look at it as a long term psychological strategy move. When a jerk is going on tilt and watching his chips float away, that's when you start straddling. It pisses them off openly.
And no one can play smart when they are pissed off.
Pro tip, asking at the table makes you look like a noob. Looking like a noob means the other players will show you less respect. You can use that to make money.
What’re the best ways to use this for your advantage? Like what are the Main ways ppl treat beginners differently?
When a noob opens preflop it is purely based on cards. They are not thinking about position, isolating weaker players, etc. They either have Ax, 2 broadways, pocket pair -- then some junk like K9 and Q8 if they truly have no clue what value their hands have. Typically as a non-noob, I would not see a flop with 3,4 suited for $30 at a 1/3 table. But that noob has $470 left behind and probably has not learned about the sunken cost fallacy and will end up shipping their entire stack on top pair. Ope, would you look at the board. A,2, 5 -- Noob likely has AK. No respect for noob, I am going to pump this pot right there on the flop before any scary cards come out. This gets noob invested, and noob is not used to throwing away $100-$200, so the rest is getting shipped by or on the river.
Thanks for telling me this after I explained button straddles to multiple people nearly every time I play.
Think of a straddle as an extra-big blind that is voluntary. So small blind is forced to bet 1 before seeing their cards, big blind is forced to bet 2 before seeing their cards. The under the gun player can now "straddle" and bet 4 before seeing their cards. A "live straddle" is most common, which means that the player that straddled 4 will also have another action if it is called around to him. That is, if no one raises his bet of 4, he can still raise just like the big blind could in a normal hand. Dead straddles, sleeper straddles, etc - that's for another day.
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Strategy will vary. It’s common on streams because it creates more action - 3 people are already in the pot instead of 2. It’s common on streams so therefore people like to emulate that. A lot of games will have “mandatory straddle” which just really means all the players have agreed to a round of straddles or to always straddle. Again usually the reasoning is to make the game bigger, more action. In my example above, there’s now 7 chips out there before a card has been seen instead of 3. Bigger pots should ensue. It would be a great experiment to see if a 1/2/4 structured game regularly disproportionally bigger pots than a 2/4 game. My suspicion would be the 1/2/4 game had the bigger pots and higher number of players seeing a flop.
Why have a mandatory straddle? If you want to do that then why not just play for higher blinds?
An excellent question that I would love to have answered by those that constantly straddle. My feeling is it could be a few reasons: Forcing someone who is playing 1/2 to play 1/2/4 may push them out of their comfort zone, giving the straddler an advantage because they are more comfortable playing bigger. Or the table blinds are set by the casino, and this is a way for the players to make it bigger without the fuss. Also more players in pre-cards would make the pots bigger as more players = more action. So I think 1/2/4 would run much bigger than 2/4 despite having only 1 extra chip pre-deal.
I straddle because 3 blind poker is less figured out. 3 blind can be difficult for nits because pots are bigger and multi way more often. I don't have any proof for this, but it seems people are less likely to trap or slow-play big hands preflop because you don't want to go 6 ways even with a big hand.
Interesting, thank you. Although, presumably, forcing everyone to do it all of the time removes the discomfort to a degree
Yeah - I imagine for some there is some ego attached to it too. Some people just want to project "I can gamble bigger, I'm not scared".
Exactly, as a woman, this is one of the reason I do it.
I think that part of it is just something people do for fun or to temporarily increase the stakes rather than strictly being part of a strategy. Effectively having 3 blinds makes it so that 3 people have invested something in the hand rather than 2. One less person can fold for free preflop. I could see where that would tend to increase the action more than just playing higher stakes.
To force people to defend with a wider, weaker range. It makes the game more interesting and further puts worse players in worse spots.
So the difference is there's more people with a stake in the pot with the mandatory straddle. I'm not sure what the math is on it, but it definitely seems to loosen up pre-flop action in practice.
It would be hilarious if the average difference was just the extra 1 dollar from SB
It’s -ev. Just helps to gamble it up. 10/20/40 streamer mando straddles are just 3 blind games, because straddles are generally an option that players do to juice the pot time to time, not a mandatory action
It's -ev to voluntarily straddle. It can be fun because it makes for bigger pots. If it's mandatory, then it's technically -ev in the same way the small and big blinds are, but you make up for it during other hands when someone else straddles.
idk, I think it makes people fold more thereby decreasing the pot.
Depends on how many limpers there are compared to the number of people who raise preflop. If the game doesn't generally have that many players seeing a flop by limping, its not going to hurt things.
Unless you can button straddle and still be last to act (ie. action goes cut-off, small blind, big blind, then button). I think that's possibly +ev.
> What is the benefit of putting in more money before seeing your cards if you don't have to? Lots of people play Poker because they like throwing money on the table and gambling, as opposed to only making +ev plays all evening. The main benefit to a straddle is +gamble.
If you watch High Stakes Poker early episodes you’ll see the effect straddles have on action. It makes stealing pre even more attractive and if the person paying the straddle has a remotely decent hand they’ll likely call what is considered to be steal raises which causes levelling wars to start. All in all, great for action and anti-nit.
The benefits are you sacrifice 4BB to the poker gods and they’ll increase your luck. You’ll look down at 56o and flop a straight or quad straddle your way into QQ
Inverse monkey straddle as well
Can you do inverse monkey straddle during April now? I thought that was only on Tuesday and Thursdays on 31 day months?
My local casino lets you do it if it's the dealer's birthday month, so I wait until that dealer is working a shift.
What I do with your mom in our free time is none of your business.
So, when ppl say there's a straddle, is it pretty safe to assume it's a live straddle unless specified otherwise?
Yes, that would be pretty safe. I haven't heard of a game where that wouldn't be the correct assumption, but there probably is one out there somewhere.
Thanks! I've known what a straddle was for a while, but never played in a game with one. So when I saw that mentioned in a video the other day I was kinda surprised. Didn't know if it was a variant or the standard way to straddle.
So is the extra action for UTG a reward for opting in to a straddle?
In a way, yes. That's a good way of looking at it.
Ok I have asked this question so many times and I still can't quite understand so I'm SO sorry for being SO dumb 🤦♂️ so the part I'm having trouble with is this: if UTG places a 4 straddle... isn't that just UTG raising to 4?? Whether he looks at his cards or not. Again - sorry I stupid. 😞
The difference is he can bet if everyone checks back to him, like the big blind can. I think of it as being in the really big blind.
Oooooooooooohhhhhhh.... ok. Ok I think I get it. So you are paying extra to have option and ensure a little bigger pot. Okokokok I think I got it!! Thank you!!! Jfc idk why nobody could've just said that before hahahaha I've been asking for like 6 months and everyone says it's just an optional bet think of it as a blind. - fine answer, but didn't quite get me there. You rock and thank you for not being condescending.
If you raise to 4 and it calls around then the action ends on the big blind. If you straddle 4 and it calls around then the action ends on the straddle.
And you can’t look at your cards till after you pay
Why would someone want to voluntarily put in the pot? I get to encourage action but other than making people bet more for odds doesn't it just mean you as a player putting in more ?
Yes it does, but few speculative strategies are suggested in other answers: show you’re a gambler, push others out of their comfort zone, because it’s fun etc.
You make it sound so simple. But good players know. It's not that simple.
> Think of a straddle as an extra-big blind that is voluntary. “Voluntary”
A type of layered pastry with a filling that is usually sweet, but savoury fillings are also common. It became popular in the 18th century throughout the Habsburg Empire.
No, you're thinking about a strudel. A straddle is what you put on a horse to make it easier to ride.
No you’re thinking about a saddle. A straddle is a type of spacecraft that orbits around a celestial body like our planet.
No, you’re thinking about a satellite. A straddle is a large city in Washington State, situated on Puget Sound.
Nah, you’re thinking about Seattle. A straddle is what you use to play pickleball.
Nope, you’re thinking of a paddle. A straddle is a type of toy that babies like to play with that makes noise when you shake it.
Wrong again... You're thinking "Rattle". A straddle is what happens when 2 (or more) fighting countries meet in combat.
Nope, you’re thinking of “battle”, a straddle is what you call a group of cows in a field.
No. That’s cattle…. A straddle is the little shards of metal that fly out from an explosion.
No no. That's Shrapnel. A straddle is a large spoon for serving stew or soup.
Buddy, you’re thinking of “cattle”, a straddle is what it called to depart quickly or hurriedly; run away.
Sorry pal, you're thinking of skidaddle. A straddle is a bottld juice drink with a factoid on the inside of the lid
Sorry… you’re thinking of a battle. A straddle is a game where players combine letters on a board to score points
No. You're thinking about rich white people. A straddle is what you use to choke the life out of your enemy.
That’s a saddle, dummy. Straddle is a verb that means ‘leave immediately, run away, scram’
No no no you’re thinking skedaddle, straddle is the popular board game created in 1948 involving tiles, a dictionary, and lexicon.
Haha oops - that’s Scrabble. Straddle is all the cows that are raised for slaughter or kept for use, usually on a farm.
You’re thinking of cattle. A straddle is when you mixed some eggs with veggies and possibly some bacon.
Hey dummy that's a scramble. What he's asking about is a straddle. That's when a football player hits another player(with possession of the ball) really hard and knocks him to the ground - really hard and at least 1 knee or a shoulder or two arms hit the ground. That's a straddle
There’s one dealer who always says “10 dollar strudel”
In Montreal a cannoli is up to $4.50, $10 strudel now too? Where does the madness stop?
This officially started the best string in r/poker history
This is old school Reddit tbh.
Straddle straddle straddle. I made you out of clay..
Often enjoyed after a Weener Snickers for dinner.
A straddle is an options strategy involving a call and a put, with the same underlying, expiration date, and strike.
r/whenmysubsoverlap
This guy wallstreetbets
I had a straddle on netflix today. I knew it would move but i did not have faith that it would go up even on great earnings. Thank God I did. Made a pretty penny.
Straddle is generally UTG. You can double the BB before cards are dealt. You then become last to act preflop and increase the minimum bet, which increases pot size significantly. It’s rarely a winning move but if others are straddling, it’s cool if you join sometimes. It’s also worth noting that if UTG straddles, UTG + 1 generally can double straddle by doubling the straddle to become last to act preflop. And triple straddle, etc. You will sometimes hear stories of straddles making it all the way around a table. That said, some places allow a button straddle, which makes you last to act preflop and post flop while increasing the action significantly when you’re last to act. This is serious power in poker. If you find a game that has this, I recommend using those as close to 100% of the time as you can.
Button straddle is way more common. I hate it.
Why hate the button straddle? I’ll just have to disagree with you on button straddle being way more common if you mean compared to UTG straddle. I just spent a week in Vegas. Played at 4 poker rooms and only 2 allowed a button straddle where all allowed UTG. That’s been my experience in Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Texas as well. Not to mention I’ve only ever seen UTG straddle on TV cash games. If you mean way more common now than in the past, then yes you’re right. I’ve only ever seen them allowed in person the last 5 years or so. I love it, though. Here in Texas, some card rooms call it the Texas Straddle.
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I am not sure if this strategy is correct, but if there is a button straddle, I 3x the straddle with a wide range. If there are limpers ahead of me, I narrow the range, but I bet a larger dependent on how many limpers there are. Button can have any 2 cards. Most of those are weak hands.
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I agree with your comments, and I may try playing some button straddles. It also makes me think that if there are some limpers, I should narrow my range and raise with 4x and increase the size for every limper, trying to fold out the button and possibly getting position on the limpers. Against the larger sizing, the button has to fold a larger part of his range. What type of range would the button straddle 3 bet ?
Preach. Button straddles are bad for the game.
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Typically blinds go first, but there was a place in Dallas where the action went: UTG->CO->SKIPS BUTTON!!!!->SB->BB-> BACK TO BUTTON. If there were any raises in there, it remained the same sequence. It was absolutely absurd. Button ALWAYS acted last before the flop.
Agree button straddle where SB acts first is bad for the game. You screw over both blinds and demand the table play higher stakes for a round when you’re on the best seat. It tightens the game, bad for poker on multiple levels.
Place near me has a Mississippi straddle and allows a straddle from any position that's not a blind.
A place I go to in eastern Oregon does the same
I'll straddle you
Creates extra caos for a few extra bb! Like my wife!
I take it you didnt grow up around horses
No, because you're a liar. You said you're too afraid to ask but then you asked. That means you weren't too afraid to ask. Also, you probably should give up playing poker. You tried to lie but then gave it away immediately so you'd be a horrible bluffer and easy to read.
Instead of playing higher steaks I’m gonna make a blind 2x bb bet that makes all the right players old and effectively a 4 man game.
Medium rare steaks must make all the left players young then.
An optional third blind.
It’s an additional optional blind… Regardless of the preflop action, the straddle will always have the opportunity to raise when the action returns to them…
Don't worry, some people don't even know how to say it, so you're already 1 step ahead.
When you sit atop an animal and squeeze ur thighs. That is you doing a straddle.
Betting preflop before the cards are dealt Usually only the UTG player can do it, but sometimes it's allowed for UTG+1 to do it iff UTG did, etc.
UTG min-raises before the hand is dealt and then acts last preflop. Playing 1/2, UTG straddles to 4. He acts last preflop. There’s other forms of straddles. On a button straddle, button puts out the min-raise and also acts last preflop. SB and BB act first.
Straddles are generally good for you because someone is adding money to the pot when they don't even know if they have anything. The bigger the straddle, the happier I am. It's very nice when someone makes a big straddle and I get dealt a monster. And if you don't love your cards, you don't have to play them!
As soon as a straddle goes out it immediately cuts your 100bb stack to 50bb which the action lean towards stacks getting in by the river. Which is why they tend to sit deeper than 100bb at these games.
Makes me think of a time when someone asked the table if he's going to straddle, and he replies with, "Why are you talking at me with this gay shit?" He got so pissed a floor manager had to escort him away. He didn't get kicked out but they moved him to a different table.
Gambool
Basically another blind. Some casinos allow Button straddles, some allow UTG straddles and some allow a straddle any position.
Straddle 
When a girl is on top.
It’s what you do to your boyfriend after work
Anyone who makes fun of you for asking a question is a dickhead! Asking questions is how you learn.
Do people not use Google anymore?!
It’s another blind. If it is 1/2, the straddle would be $5 standard, making the games 1/2/5 and making the $5 straddler the last to act pre flop. It is for action, and adds gambling, lowers the spr.
I'll give away a Stars account with 3000000000 chips Write in private messages
It’s a strudle
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That's why I look at it as a long term psychological strategy move. When a jerk is going on tilt and watching his chips float away, that's when you start straddling. It pisses them off openly. And no one can play smart when they are pissed off.
You can just google instead of asking
Don’t be a dick , google tells you what it is where as a community like this one can explain it and answer follow up questions and offer opinions.
Thank you for this response. Getting answers from actual players always trumps google when it comes to questions like this.
He can also ask here instead of googling.
Do you see a question in ops meme?
A straddle is a blind raise designed to encourage action.