What is a poker straddle, and the significance of "position" in the small and big blinds and the button?

Answer 1

First of all a straddle bet is a bet from the person who is first to act can make a blind bet before the cards are dealt out. This is a very dumb play to make, but it does give the player last option on the hand. As for position in a game of no limit, it is everything, just not in the blinds or on the button. Position matters more then anything in hold em. The weaker your position the stronger your hand has to be in order to play. When your on the button this is the best place to be since you can see what everyone does after the flop, so this gives you the best info on what others at the table may hold. For example lets say your in the big blind and you have 8-8 and the flop is Q-6-9. You now have to act first in the pot, and since you have bad position you don't know if you will get re-raised if you bet, and if you check and another player bets you now are in a bad spot. Now with the same hand on the button you get to see all the action on the hand before you have to put any chips into the pot. So if there is a raise, then a re-raise you can fold without much worry at all.

Answer 2

In Texas Hold'em and Omaha, and a few other variations of poker, there is a button, a small blind and a big blind.

The button is where the deal begins from, as if the button was the actual dealer. The cards are dealt out one player clockwise to the left of the button.

In the first round of betting the player to the left of the button is the small blind, who had to place a bet prior to even getting his cards. The player to his left is the big blind, who had to place a larger bet, often double the small blind.

Action begins to the left of the big blind. This player can fold, call the big blind, or raise by betting a larger amount than the big blind.

Each player to act afterwards may fold, call the previous bet or raise, or raise (or re-raise).

After the first betting round is over the flop is dealt. All future action starts with the player to the left of the button who is still in the hand.

There is another betting round after the turn and the river.

The concept of position is that the later you act, the more information you have to consider. The earlier you act, the less information you have to consider.

So if you are in the small blind, you are going to act first in every betting round after the flop. So for example if the flop comes and you bet $100 from the small blind, then a player who gets to act after you raises to $500, and finally the player on the button re-raises to $1,500. How do you like your hand now?

Playing as you were from the small blind, you had a positional disadvantage of having to act first. Maybe you could have saved $100 of your money if you had known that two players were going to raise and re-raise. This is why if you had played from the button, you would have been last to act after the flop, so you could have folded all but a really solid hand in the face of such crazy action.

The closer to the left of the button you are, the bigger your disadvantage. But the closer to the right of the button you are, the better your position. You get to see a lot more action before it is your turn to act, and therefore you can make a more sensible decision since you have more information to consider.

So when the term position is used it is to describe how close you are to the button. Position has a profound effect on community card games, since being out of position can be an enormous disadvantage. As such it is generally recommended that if you are seated 2-3 player to the left of the big blind you fold all but the best premium hands.

If you are on the button, or 2-3 seats to the right of the button, you can enter the pot with less premium hands because there is far less chance of being raised by the remaining players. You will also have a positional advantage after the flop that you can use to your advantage.

Finally, a straddle is like a third blind. The player to the immediate left of the big blind puts in a bet that is (usually) double the big blind. Before any cards are dealt. This makes it even more expensive to enter the pot, but because more money is at stake it drives more action.

If you watch High Stakes Poker on GSN you will often see the players making a straddle bet. Under normal circumstances at a 9 handed table each player puts in an ante of $100 before the cards are dealt, and the small blind is $300 and the big blind is $600. So on this basis there is $1,800 real money on the table before anyone does anything.

Now if a straddle goes on, the player to the left of the big blind puts in a bet of $1,200. This means that now there is $3,000 sitting on the table waiting for someone to take a shot at winning it. For action players this makes the game a lot more exciting and drives a lot more aggressive bluffs and crazy play. Fun for gamblers and viewers alike.

Answer 3

A straddle is when the person immediately to the left of the big blind puts out a bet equal to double the big blind before any cards are dealt. This straddle bet essentially is a 3rd blind as the player has the option to raise or check/call once the action is back to him. This isn't necessarily a bad strategy. If you figure yourself a favorite in the game, putting the straddle on basically doubles the limit of the game (i.e. a 1/2 game with a $4 straddle essentially becomes a 2/4 game). As a favorite, raising the stakes of the game will raise your EV (expected value) as well (by the same token, straddling as an underdog in a game will increase expected losses). Also, with good reads on your opponents you will have the opportunity to snap off aggressive players' raises when they attempt to steal that extra blind money.

Answer 4

Poker Straddle

Answer 5

poker straddle significance position small big blinds button

Answer 6

the dealer is the small blind in heads up, first to act pre flop, last to act after the flop