Quote:
Originally Posted by AlanBostick
Wait, we are supposed to play tighter in a game with four blinds than we are in one with three? How does that work again?
</snark>
Seriously, the Oaks' 2-3-5 with winner straddle to 10 is a terrific game. It is effectively a 5-10 game but with more dead money in the pot. A particular sometime-2p2er who has a reputation as a poker author, coach, and, now, vlogger whose name I won't mention except to say that it rhymes with Mommy Crangelo told me recently that he thinks it is an awesome game and is playing it several days a week.
Yeah, you tighten up when you are in the button when the CO straddles. But what do you suppose this does to lowjack or hijack opening ranges?
I will say that I disapprove of the recent trend for the 1-2-3 game to also play with a winner straddle. Even though I think it is basically a good thing when the players in the biggest game in the room want to play bigger, I also think that making the smallest game in the room play bigger hurts the small fry, on whom the poker economy rests.
I'd agree with you if everyone in the game were playing 100bb+ deep and anything remotely close to standard opening ranges. That's clearly not the Oak's player pool though.
In my experience at the Oaks, if you're the HJ and the the CO has the straddle on, most opening opportunities will involve 3-4 limpers in front of you. Not all of these limping ranges are capped, particularly those in the blinds + short stacks. I see players all the time adopting a limp 100% range strat from the blinds with the winner straddle on in LP. Same goes with short stackers. Against that, opening a wider than normal HJ range is a pure punt IMO.
Factor in the opening size you'd need to take to isolate the field down to two or three to the flop, and things aren't looking so good anymore unless playing bloated pots with a marginal range with a low SPR is something you're profitable at.
I agree the game is very good. I've been extremely profitable in it. I'd argue the winner straddle and accompanying metagame requires a tighter and therefore more boring approach IMO. Nit it up and print.
