[CurryLover]

Some of the nitty replies here are only thinking of poker on a simplistic level.

All this "I don't play poker to have fun, so don't care if the game has a fun atmosphere or not. I only play to make money" is just totally the wrong way of thinking about being a winning poker player. A 'fun atmosphere' where the players are wanting to gamble allows you to make much more money than a tight, unfriendly, cut-throat game where every player is wearing sunglasses and tanking on every decision. Sometimes doing little things - like straddling - to promote 'fun' in a game will lead to your EV increasing.

I get frustrated when I see some of these young kids come and play live. They have mainly played online and they read 2+2. They think they are maximising their EV at all times, and look down their noses at other players. And they do all sorts of things which actually make the game they are playing in much less profitable. They wear sunglasses. They dwell on EVERY decision. They talk to their friends about poker at the table, using terms like 'EV' or 'fold equity'. They insist on every little technicality, like calling a string bet when a half-drunk fish does not put his chips in quite correctly. And they do all these things thinking they are maximising their profit. But by making the game less fun and more cut-throat they are actually reducing their profit.

Meanwhile, an old time pro is winning twice as much as them and has been doing so for years. He seems to get on with everyone, especially the weak players. He tries to avoid pulling people up on minor technicalities because he realises this spoils the flow of the game and antagonises the weak players. He does everything he can to prevent the game having a cut-throat atmosphere because he knows that this will reduce his profits. And he sometimes straddles.

The young internet kids may see him occasionally make the odd play that is 'technically incorrect', but he'll continue to win more in the live games than they will. One of the reasons is that he understands that a winning poker player is in the entertainment business, and that the PR stuff is really important. Live poker is not like the internet. Games have to be nurtured and fed in order to keep them as good, profitable games.

Straddling may not normally be 'profitable' in and of itself (although Mississipi straddling from the button has to be different). But it sometimes can be profitable in a variety of indirect ways: It stimulates action in future hands; It helps promote a friendly, gambling game; It encourages others to straddle; It prevents you getting an overly tight image etc.

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and you WANT to be labeled as a maniac? a LAG image is fine but a maniac image is not profitable.

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What are you basing this assertion on?