A straddle situation.
2/3 NL the straddle is on UTG.
The only guy straddling in this game is on my direct left. This seems like an awful situation since I will never get a free look at a flop and will never be able to iso the straddle IP. If it's folded to me this guy will be calling a lot and probably only 3 betting with strongish hands. He likes to gamble. If the game is otherwise good and it appears that it may take a while to get a table or seat change is this a spot where you just hang in there or do you quit the game and come back later?
Assuming I stay how should I proceed if it is folded to me in the BB? For example, I have Ad9c. If I raise he will probably be calling with the occasional 3 bet. If I were to limp I think he will raise possibly 100% but I'm not certain about that. It's a weird spot because my hand crushes a random hand but it will be tough to actualize my equity. In a small sample size my guess is he will put on max pressure post flop. Is just completing my whole range pre with the intention of reraising my stronger hands a viable strategy? Would this be a spot to incorporate a polarized range? I think he might fold some hands after being 3 bet pre.
If only two or maybe three people in the game are straddling it seems like an awful play to me. Certainly if you are the only one straddling it must be horrible. I get it if everybody is doing the straddle or if the straddle is obviously helping to juice up the game. Overall I don't get it yet I see a lot of what appears to be decent players doing it. If it was a button straddle I would totally get it but being OOP in a game were only a few people are doing seems ridiculous.
10 Replies
2/3 NL the straddle is on UTG.
The only guy straddling in this game is on my direct left. This seems like an awful situation since I will never get a free look at a flop and will never be able to iso the straddle IP.
If you're in a good (raked) low-limit game, you shouldn't care about either of these factors. I could care less if I have to fold Q7s because of the straddle, and wanting to iso a straddler IP only works if the straddler sucks.
In an otherwise good game, this would be a non-issue for me.
If only two or maybe three people in the game are straddling it seems like an awful play to me. Certainly if you are the only one straddling it must be horrible. I get it if everybody is doing the straddle or if the straddle is obviously helping to juice up the game. Overall I don't get it yet I see a lot of what appears to be decent players doing it. If it was a button straddle I would totally get it but being OOP in a game were only a few people are doing seems ridiculous.
Considering you are having such a difficult time adapting, it seems as if his straddle UTG is working 😉
I'd prefer he be to my right, but if you are deep enough and comfortable enough post-flop, just keep raising him with the hands you normally raise and always pay attention to the hands he shows up with. Throw in a few limp/raises, too. Make him pay for straddling your BB, but don't get out of control 😉
Considering you are having such a difficult time adapting, it seems as if his straddle UTG is working 😉
I'd prefer he be to my right, but if you are deep enough and comfortable enough post-flop, just keep raising him with the hands you normally raise and always pay attention to the hands he shows up with. Throw in a few limp/raises, too. Make him pay for straddling your BB, but don't get out of control 😉
I wonder if mixing in some limp/calls with some bigger hands might make sense. If I limp/raise these hands I will probably be letting this guy off the hook with his trashier raises which he may just fold now. If I just call and give him rope he may take it and lose a lot more to me. Maybe he'll think twice about raising knowing I have strong hands in my limp range.
What should be my normal raising range considering he is probably not folding pre flop?
2/3 NL the straddle is on UTG.
The only guy straddling in this game is on my direct left.
Well done you are in a good game.
This isn't bingo, maybe you took a wrong turn and entered the poker room by mistake?
Assuming I stay how should I proceed if it is folded to me in the BB? For example, I have Ad9c. If I raise he will probably be calling with the occasional 3 bet. If I were to limp I think he will raise possibly 100% but I'm not certain about that.
Well done you are in a good spot in a good game.
For advice (it's been in other threads):
If he does raise a lot when you limp just limp/3bet your entire range (and go bigger).
If he "only" calls too much, just open raise stupidly big.
It becomes difficult if you've both got over $1k and he will blast off all of it and you keep missing flops. Such is life.
add premiums and value into your limping range
1. How often is the action folding all the way around to you in the BB?
In most low-stakes games I've played in, this doesn't happen very often, such that the straddle would be a frequently recurring problem.
2. I've never asked about the rules on this, but I assume if the SB folds, chopping with the straddle isn't an option.
If that's the case, then I might play the BB the same way I'd play the SB in a tournament when action folds around - limp 100%. Put the onus on him, to figure out how he wants to respond and play his range.
If the guy is LAG, the counter is to play tight-passive - trap a lot, over-fold with weaker holdings, be willing to call with more thin value and showdown value holdings.
1. How often is the action folding all the way around to you in the BB?
In most low-stakes games I've played in, this doesn't happen very often, such that the straddle would be a frequently recurring problem.
2. I've never asked about the rules on this, but I assume if the SB folds, chopping with the straddle isn't an option.
If that's the case, then I might play the BB the same way I'd play the SB in a tournament when action folds around - limp 100%. Put the onus on him, to figure out how he wants
#1 is really the question for me. If this game is sooooo tight that action being folded all the way around to you in the BB is frequent enough to be concerned...what are we doing in this rock garden? Nobody's limping? Or even opening? What's the average age at the table, 80?
I like Doc's proposed pf strat. Being OOP all the time sucks, assuming this indeed is a situation H will have to contend with more than once.
would guess the additional sb is not enough of a reason to pure limp range. the issue with limping for me is you guarantee rake and you let him realize all of his equity for free. id look at some bvb sims to get an idea of how that is supposed to be played and use that as a starting point. i think you're going to end up making more mistakes in nodes you're entirely unfamiliar with (limp sb) while oop
would guess the additional sb is not enough of a reason to pure limp range. the issue with limping for me is you guarantee rake and you let him realize all of his equity for free. id look at some bvb sims to get an idea of how that is supposed to be played and use that as a starting point. i think you're going to end up making more mistakes in nodes you're entirely unfamiliar with (limp sb) while oop
Yeah, good point about the rake. I hadn't considered it. In that case, I guess we need to have a mixed strat with appropriate raises.
But, if we end up here, without preparation, and the action is folding to us often enough for the straddle to be a problem, I think I look for a game change and let these miserable nitty pricks play without me.
yeah idk. games are going to be whatever sometimes and you're just going to have to play (will happen more often as you move up). how often could this situation even come up? figure 4 orbits an hour and even if people are tight i doubt its folded to sb > 33% of the time. just seems like a really weird spot to be overly fixated on to be honest. id think a more frustrating aspect of the dynamic is v probably cold calls a ton and ev of lower parts of our opening ranges from every position go down quite a bit
the answer unfortunately to the questions in the op is mostly get better at poker, but no one wants to hear that.
