Now it’s time to start talking about the weirder parts of Texas Hold’em poker.
At some point, you’re going to get very comfortable playing poker at a table. You’re going to win some hands, lose some hands, and generally feel like you’ve got a good idea of how the game is played. You’re not afraid the poker rules any longer, and you know how to read both your own poker hand and those of the others at the table.
Suddenly, though, the guy in front of you is going to throw down money without even looking at his cards. Congratulations, you’re now dealing with a poker straddle and you’re going to have to figure out how to deal with this new wrinkle in your game.
One of the truly weirdest bits of poker strategy with which you are going to have to deal is the poker strategy. Simply speaking, this is a bet that you’re given the chance to make totally blind, though there are plenty of subtle ways to read this kind of action that are almost guaranteed to confuse you. Even worse, you can reasonably expect to see different poker straddle rules for every location at which you play.
So, What’s a Poker Straddle, really?
A Poker Straddle is essentially a method of cutting out of line so that you can get the advantage of going last. Beyond that, you’re going to be hard pressed to figure out exactly how a poker straddle works or if it’s even allowed in your current game. It’s the kind of thing that definitely has a real strategic purpose, but it’s also going to confuse most newer (and many experienced) players.
Let’s take a look at some live examples of straddles and how they’ll impact your gameplay in various poker games.
Basic Poker Straddle
This type of poker straddle is going to be used by a player who is under the gun. He or she is going to place a bet that’s the size of a normal raise – it’s going to be over the big blind, but it’s not going to become an actual blind in and of itself.
Live straddling is going to create a minimum bet at the table, but it’s also going to give the person who made the straddle bet a chance to act again when it’s his or her turn. When you’re playing No Limit Texas Hold’em poker, you’re going to have to deal with some new wrinkles in terms of how you’ll be able to raise and what actions you can take.
The math here is pretty easy, at least. If the Big Blind is 20, your poker straddle bet is going to be 40. Anyone else who raises is going to have to bet at least 40 (double the Big Blind) but not double the Straddle.
When you’re playing poker games, the actual action is going to start – to the left of the straddle. When the play actually gets back to the straddling player again, that player will get a chance to raise a second time.
Depending on where you’re playing, the person to the left of a straddling player can actually straddle again (a re-straddle, if you will) by raising the straddle. Luckily, the vast majority of casinos are not going to let more than one person do this. How the actual re-straddle works is, as always, also going to depend heavily on the rules of the house.
Classic Poker Straddle
It’s a good idea to knock this one out step by step. This is what it’s going to look like if you see straddles in most poker games.
You’ll start with a flop game. This generally means hold’em or Omaha. You honestly won’t see this is any other variation. The option to straddle goes to the person who is in the worst position (under the gun), generally, to the left of the big blind.
If the bet is going to be made, it’s going to be made out loud. In most cases, it has to be done before the cards are even dealt. In others, it has to be done before the player has looked at his or her cards. Again, this is very much a house rules thing.
When it comes to betting, you’re basically just looking at a new, if not necessarily relevant, blind. As such, you’re going to double the size of the big blind and set the tone for the remainder of the hand. Players have to call or fold based on that new blind, but it doesn’t impact the minimum raise level.
Why bother straddling? If you’re the player who straddles, you get a chance to take an action again later pre-flop. This actually gives you a little bit of an edge, at least in theory. It’s not a perfect choice, but it’s one that can help you with your positioning.
Once you get past all of that, things are easier. As soon as you hit the flop, everything goes back to normal. If you can deal with the basics, you’re going to have a fairly easy time dealing with straddles.
You will, at least, until you start to get to variations.
Poker Straddle Variations
Let’s be honest – poker players love their rule variations. It’s great for keeping poker exciting and tailoring games to how the locals like to play. It’s also fantastic for those who want to try out new strategies and see how they can tweak the game of poker to deal with their own personal preferences.
One of the most common variations is a no-limit straddle. It’s a fairly easy concept to grasp, at least – if you’re in a no limit game, you might as well make all of the best no-limit. This means that there’s not going to be a limit on your straddle, so you can get up to the absurd levels of an all-in blind bet.
As you can imagine, this is a pretty controversial way to play poker. Conservative players hate it, as do players who really want a skill-based game. Honestly, though, it’s pretty good for most players. After all, the other guy is going all-in and you get to look at your cards first. That gives you a huge amount of leeway to do what you want and a much bigger edge than you’re ever going to get otherwise.
The no-limit straddle is also amazing for speeding games along. It’s going to knock players out very quickly, and then it’s going to let you get down to business. If you’re looking to watch people bust without ever seeing their own cards, you’ll love this rule.
If you want to get into the truly confusing stuff, you’re going to look at the variations on who is actually allowed to place the straddle bets. Luckily, you’re really not going to find many poker rooms that are going to let everyone straddle – but you will find some rooms that allow for button straddling.
When there’s a button straddle, the player who is on the button gets the option to straddle before the person who is under the gun. This pushes the person who is on the button back in terms of the order of play, and it makes poker incredibly confusing for those who just want a simple game.
If you think about it, this is one of the most chaotic rule choices that you’re likely to see. Luckily, there are a handful of ways that have evolved to make the button straddle at least a little bit easier to handle, if not more reasonable for players. These include:
- Moving the starting action to the player who is under the gun, going in the usual order, and then skipping the button before coming back. It’s still confusing and chaotic, but it makes sense.
- Rearranging the field of play so that the small blind goes first and the button goes last. This is actually fairly easy to track and just throws players off of their assumed positions.
- Throwing caution to the wind. Some casinos apparently want to throw games into chaos by making multiple changes at once. Honestly, don’t even take the time to figure these games out because no one else is going to be able to either. These kinds of shake-ups are reserved for games that are incredibly aggressive and have the kind of stakes most don’t want to think about.
What we’re not going to discuss here today is when you’re going to want to straddle. Honestly, if you know what straddling is you’re going to be able to figure that out for yourself. What you’re really looking to do is not to straddle on your own, but to know how not to get thrown off when someone else decides to straddle.
If we’ve been paying attention, we’ve discovered two basic variants. We’re going to sum both of those up quickly here, and give an example of one more – the Sleeper. Here’s the quick version of each, with examples:
- The Classic: Big blind is at four dollars, the player straddling posts up eight. Other players are going to call based on the straddle by throwing in eight dollars. If they decide to raise, they’re going to have to raise up eight dollars, not sixteen. The player who straddled is going to effectively go last and decide whether to bet or to call.
- The Button or Mississippi Straddle: Big blind is at two dollars, and the player straddling is on the button. This means that the player who is on the small blind is going to go first, and that the players who choose to call are going to be calling at four dollars. Players who raise are going to raise by at least two dollars, because that’s the big blind. The straddling player gets the option of raising again.
- The Sleeper: The big blind is at four dollars again, so the player under the gun is going to post up eight dollars again. Everything’s actually going to proceed more or less as normal here, because the player who posted the sleeper isn’t going to get another chance to play – he or she just gets skipped over. Betting is going to continue with eight dollars to call and increments of four as the bets. Play continues more or less as normal as you go past this point.
Final Thoughts
Honestly, straddling is really not that great of a strategy. You’re going to be throwing out money without knowing your cards, and this is something that goes against most of the basic principles of poker. It’s easy to see, then, why most avoid it.
What straddling does do well, though, is to make the pot grow bigger. You certainly don’t generally want to be the player who chooses to straddle, but try to appreciate it when other players do. If you choose not to follow their lead, you’re going to stand a chance to make bigger money off of their foolish decisions. See you at the WSOP!
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