1-for-4?

[DougL]

My only complaint on the flop is the guy behind you who should have you beat. If he's good, he knows no-one is folding and expects there might be a raise from the straddler PF. He hasn't acted, and I fear his hand if he keeps calling. How would you play if you were in his chair?

On the turn, you're still out of position vs. the good player behind. I guess you're at raise or fold, so... I guess I agree, but what happens if the good player calls?

You could have been ahead the whole way. I agree with everything you said about your reasoning except I don't think it matters as much how you play against the straddler (and his tell makes you more correct). Once you add a rational player to the mix and the flop comes with two paint cards, I'm looking for excuses to dump. Once you start pairing and you’re still getting tells of weakness from the field, I think you have to play it like you did.

If you had managed to get heads-up with the straddler, I’d say you played it in text-book fashion. For all my whining about a couple of spots in the hand, I love playing in a game with a straddle because you get to play hands just the way you did. You’ve got a guy dark betting who allows you to play junk like it was rockets.

GL,

Doug