My room offers 2BB button straddle with UTG priority and action starts on SB. Seems comfy for button. How often and at what depth are you doing this?

edit: rake is 10% to 7$ max at all stakes.

Where I play there is only an UTG straddle. Only purpose I see is if a bunch of people do it, it effectively raises to stakes, and maybe to loosen the game or your image.

I hate the BTN straddle as a concept. The rooms I've played in where it's allowed, anyone can straddle from any position, but with priority from earliest to latest position.

If I had no choice about where to play, I suppose I'd straddle like everyone else. But I'm lucky that there are three card rooms within driving distance.

I agree with docvail that the button straddle is bad for the game and I try to avoid it. I will sometimes UTG straddle if a bunch of fish are doing it and stacks are deep, mostly to signal to the fish that I am not as nitty as I might appear, haha.

That being said, I played in a game in Texas where the button straddle had "ultimate last action" and it seemed like such a massive advantage for the button player that I felt I couldn't NOT take it. I suppose if that's the case in your game, you oughta go for it as often as possible.

The room near me that allows the button straddle (MGM Springfield) allows for straddles from any position and I once saw a player voluntarily straddle from every position, BTN - LJ, for an entire session.

I suppose if you are doing that, you are good for the game.

Sometimes good players straddle the button when everyone at the table does it, in order to push some action. But usually the button straddle just indicates an impatient player looking to see flops or to raise preflop with a wide range. I’m usually relieved when I see someone straddle the button because it’s a huge tell. ABC players just don’t straddle. Unless you’re trying to get everyone to straddle, it’s a losing play. I like the button straddle because it gives bad players an option to make an error and reveal a leak.

Any straddle makes the game tighter, while it is on.

Once every time they let me

BTN straddle bad for the game, and I don't like it and pretty much never do it because of those reasons ... but guess it's +EV to do it, certainly at 1-2 where people don't adjust to it or do so in terrible ways. Maybe it's still bad in GTO world but I haven't seen of anything definitive on that.

True, but you are doubling the blind or maybe even making it bigger than that. Your win rate might not double, but it will increase. Even if you win less straddles than you win big blinds, it's not going to be half as much.

I button straddle where it is normal for the game to encourage others to do it and to reciprocate other people straddling. Otherwise I always prefer utg straddling because it is better for the game. But button straddle will still increase the stakes which is going to be good for winning players.

Of course the button straddle or any straddle by itself is never + EV for the person straddling.

This seems ... definitive. Like you've run some sims that prove it's worse under GTO, or you know of someone who has done so?

I assume here you are talking about if you get the table to turn the 1-2 game into a 1-2-5 game then although you are not as deep the worse players will be losing bigger pots and the better players will be winning bigger pots ... and it might even be more than double (or 2.5x bb, in this case) because the worse players won't adjust correctly and so will play worse than if they'd sat at a 2-5 game.

But consider that for a long time we've know from online stats. that everyone makes the most money on the BTN, then the next most in the CO, etc. etc. ... and BB/SB are losing but hopefully losing less than 100bb/100 and 50bb/100.
So now some magic fairy comes along and says "I'll let you play 1-2 in the BB/SB/UTG/etc. ... but you get to play 1-2-5 on the BTN". That has to be huge. Yes, being forced to put in $5 when you get dealt J4o on the BTN or whatever is bad ... and people probably over defend BTN straddles, but it's far from obvious to me that you win more by not doing a BTN straddle (and it's got to be significantly less bad for the player to do it on the BTN vs. UTG+1).

By raising the stakes and acting last, the BTN straddle is going to cause the blinds to play tighter (and closer to GTO), and simply getting to act last PF doesn't seem like a good trade-off for having to post 2BB, unless the table is filled with people who've already shown they have no problem limp-folding.

In addition, lower SPRs lead players to make fewer post-flop mistakes vs. high SPR hands, so bloating the pot actually minimizes both skill and positional advantages.

I button straddle every time.

I actually have the sims! It is something you can do in holdem resources calculator beta.

For you to be winning on the btn straddle, your win rate would have to be so insanely high that I only imagine it would be even higher without the btn straddle. There are just too many garbage hands that you are forcing yourself to put in money blind facing a whole table who hasn't acted.

On a fundamental level, it goes back to the fact that the blinds (and/or the antes) are the only reason it is profitable to play any hands except AA. Your +EV comes directly from the -EV of the blinds. If someone is making money by putting money in blind, it is only because the other players are opening hands that are - EV for them, IE making mistakes. The only reason you continue is because you have a discount that makes continuing with a lot of hands 0 EV or better, but significantly less than + EV enough to make more than the blind you put in. It isn't as bad on the btn but it still bad.

I button straddle if there are "wild" players encouraging the table to do so. I try to keep those guys happy. I will straddle only from the button, though. (We have Mississippi straddle.) I will also button straddle if the rest of the table is.

Button straddle is certainly -EV in theory, in practice a lot of players even otherwise competent regs adjust so poorly to a 3bet or 4bet from the button straddle that I'm always doing it.

Similar. My home room $2/$5 allows straddling anywhere.

If the table is limpy and weak it lets me play big pots in position with a wide range where I can navigate post flop better than the table. If I feel the SB or BB are competent, I will do it to deny them last act pre and put them in a tough spot pre. Otherwise will do it if the rest of the table is doing it.

My husband does this very well. He crushes weak players. I should start doing it more in my limpy/passive games.

For the record, I've never straddled. But then again, I'm often sitting on a 66bb stack in a typically non-deep game to begin with (which makes straddling from any position, even the Button, moronic, imo).

GcluelessNLnoobG

I'm pretty sure w all knew that