Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 10,700
It's not debateable that an UTG straddle makes that position less profitable for any player. Just take a look at your SB or BB stats from online play and decide if you would be more profitable if posting was optional after seeing your cards. Now pretend you're posting 2bb instead of 0.5bb or 1bb. Boom, done.
However, if everyone is also having to post the straddle, sure yeah the extra cost of (-2bb + EV) x orbit may well be worth it, if you are dominant at the table.
The argument for straddling gets a lot more dubious if you are doing it for 'image' reasons or to 'loosen the table up'. If you get a bunch of other people straddling, sure. If not, I doubt it's a winning tactic.
