Defended mein strÜdle
1/3 NLHE 9 handed
Table is very loose passive and sticky and we're stuck and trying to get something going so we've begun straddling UTG.. genius idea right? We're allowed BTN and UTG but I've only ever done it UTG. I have no real expertise on defending straddles or what reasonable calling frequencies are/what hands to squeeze with (I assume linear but not sure what the bottom of my range is). Both Vs are very loose passive and their betting ranges are strong.
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H straddles UTG (400$ eff stack) and sees J♥ 3♥, V1 (500$ stack) opens MP to 20, V2 (Covers) calls LJ, folds to us and we call closing the action.
Flop 60 - Q♥ 9♦ 4♥
H checks, V1 bets 20, V2 raises to 50....and here we are....
8 Replies
I wouldn't straddle unless most of the table is doing it. If you want to make something happen, you can 3! light or whatever. A button straddle seems much more advantageous than an UTG straddle. I would not defend here, but I don't straddle. Flop may be a fold, as a flush might be no good.
pre isn't close to defend and neither is the flop imo
Not going to UTG straddle unless its going to bring 80% of the table along doing it, or there's some uber donator to keep happy. Seems like an easy fold pre to the raise given a) J3 is poop OK suited poop but still poop b) table is passive implying our poop is dog poop c) we are OOP with our dog poop.
Flop is a LOL snap fold, we're 3 ways facing a raise and a re-raise, Jack-high + draw to non-nuts...I don't believe that this merits even 5 seconds of thought from an experienced player.
re pre. at equilibrium with ~these stacks sizes vs a minraise in no rake and no cold caller u pure call this, and vs a minraise with the cold caller u are already mixing / indifferent. now u figure ur in medium rake environment and ur facing a 3.5x and hand just isn't close. also theres no real way skill edge or whatever comes into play if you don't know what to do in this spot post
Result:
Spoiler
I fold, they go to a T♠ turn and it goes check-bet-fold, no showdown
Kind of shows the problems with playing junk hands postflop. People who straddle like to defend their straddles. Better to play aggressively with decent hands in position.
So you think both villain donk sizing and raise sizing are strong?
I'd be very hesitant to fold, and maybe even xr is best, mostly because I think we will be able to exploit our opponents somehow. Both our opponents are using very poor/non-standard sizings given the texture, and implied odds seem decent.
And yes, pre is a fold.
If you are going to straddle in this game and have the option of button or utg, why would you possibly choose utg? It’s -ev in both cases but far more so utg.
