I don't like when Live has a tournament downstairs around the smoking area. Everytime the door opens smoke rushes in and it smells and so do the players walking by the tables.

Absolutely terrible decision.

+1

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why would it make the blinds play tighter?

if it was an utg straddle and the blinds call, then why would the blinds call with the same hand from a button straddle? (1/3 NL table)

If the button straddle means SB acts first pre-flop they are more likely to fold marginal hands because of everyone still left to act.

UTG straddle the blinds see everyone's action (except straddle) before deciding to play a crappy hand.

Button straddle forces blinds to play more correctly.

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Guy below beat me to it. But yes it allows the blinds to play more correctly. Essentially the blinds become super UTG and don't get to close the action thus folding weaker hands very often that would normally call. Button straddles are very bad for the game which is why many places do not allow them. They can be advantageous to a skilled player in a very loose game though, so you really only give the edge to them.

Button straddles are bad for the game... IMO

Curious...does this eliminate the UTG 2x straddle or does it just give first option to the Button straddle and UTG second option?

Just chiming in to agree that the BTN straddle sucks.

Pretty sure the sign detailed that UTG is still available, but button has priority.

I live only 9 miles from MGM but have been playing 90% of my Poker at Maryland LIVE although it is 45 miles away because I liked the room better. Now, thanks to the button straddle, except for tournaments, I'll be playing everything else at MGM.

I was never a fan of button straddles or straddles from anywhere but UTG really.

Reason for straddle IMO is make game more livelier and juice pots. I think UTG does this.

Button straddle IMO kills some of the action.
Makes some people less likely to enter pots with spec hands when almost guaranteed chance that if Button Straddled that they will be up against someone with position.

Button straddle is very bad for games. Really horrible idea.

Am I the only one who thinks button straddles add MORE action to the game and not LESS?

1/3 has so many loose passive players. I have never seen those types of players be disciplined enough to fold a speculative hand they would have played without a straddle just because there is a straddle.

Skilled players might but that’s a different story.

Once pots start they become much bigger which favors skilled players.
And button straddles prevents all this nit limp fest from going on.

What am I missing?

as explained players play a lot tighter in the blinds
it's bad for the game

Maybe at 2/5 and above or something but tight preflop play is not what the average 1/3 player is known for.
At horseshoe which has the button straddle, the blinds play as loose as they ever do straddle or not.
Sometimes even looser since there is the old “well I already have money in pre committed, may as well not lose it and pay a little more to see a flop”

I don’t play there but if true , which I doubt, it would be one of very few. You don’t seem to understand relative ness. No one said it makes low stakes players play tight, but they do play tighter.

Next time you play on a table with a few button straddlers, count the walks and the flops that go heads up with and without the straddle on. If you honestly count, you see they play just a little less loose.

Even if only the better players play better, that makes the gave just that much harder.

I would argue the opposite of this last point. If the better players play better, and the worse ones stay the same, aren't you getting More +EV out of the lower skilled player because they are effectively playing at higher stakes? Also, how many truly skilled players per table do you think is the average at a 1/3 game? If only 2 others at the table are "better" players, then 2/3 of the table is playing less skilled at higher stakes.... Just my 2 cents...

I used to think button straddle was good until I played in Tampa and some other places that allow it. It was really bad for games and after a bit I completely stopped doing it because it would just result in me stealing the blinds.

Maybe at 1/3 where there will always be a ton of limping it matters less.

1)it makes the worse players play a little better

2) if " If the better players play better, and the worse ones stay the same" was true then you're getting less ev out of it not more.

The game playing bigger only really adds value if the recreational players are buying in deeper. Since the games are capped, cutting the deepness/effective big blinds in half absolutely reduces the edge that the skilled players have over recreational players. (Harder to exploit a guy nursing 10 big blinds waiting for a premium to just jam all in preflop)

It's also a stone cold fact that the blinds will play tighter. A lot of people will complete from the SB with a 99% range in a limped pot. With the button straddle you could start to see the SB playing a range under 50%, especially if there is some perceived aggressive players behind isoing and squeezing a lot. The blinds making big mistakes out of position is a huge variable in what makes up a skilled player's edge. Putting on the button straddle almost evaporates that element entirely.

The last reason the button straddle is bad is it slows down the game and dramatically increases the amount of preflop mistakes of players acting out of turn. The sb will not know/forget the action is on them around half the time slowing the game. The UTG player will either fold or rasie out of turn almost half the time when the button straddle is being put on and off sporadically.

The button straddle ruins the nature of the game, plain and simple. Please reconsider and don't allow it.

Just an honest question for everyone who is against the button straddle:
Do you consider Live to be the nittiest 1/3 players of the three casinos in the area?
Or do you think there’s another casino which is nittier?
If so please offer your opinion which one?

What do any of these questions have to do with being against button straddles?

Also +1 to everything Havax said.

My 1st experience with this at Live:
In 5 hours
Slows game as every time there was a button straddle action was slowed and out of turn.
Blinds almost always folded

Pros(?)
It lets bad players dump stacks faster as they now straddle 2x/Orbit
If the player UTG on your button likes to straddle,you can troll him by taking the option away by button straddling. We all love a good trolling

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My experience with the button straddle is it doesn't make a noticeable difference in the game. As with most ideas to change things up, I'd prefer that it be given time to see how it goes and if it ends up not being great get rid of it.

I don't recall the button straddle having been allowed at MDL before, so we don't have an apples-to-apples basis for comparison. Once we do, we as a player base can let management know whether it's a good idea and expect them to act according to our wishes, having given them a chance to prove to us that it's good for the game.