Raising blind? (slightly long)

[GiantBuddha]

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How does being forced to call a higher amount benefit you? Unlike a blind raise, where you can limp along for the regular amount with greater pot odds and then have the chance to limp-reraise? Does that affect everyone between the blinds and the sleeper?

Am I mistaken on how sleeper straddles work?

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Yes. If you're UTG and someone posts a sleeper behind you, once you elect to enter the pot, whether for a raise or just a call of the big blind, the sleeper is off. Null and void. Once the action gets to him, that player may elect to call, fold or raise. If he raises, he doesn't get the option to reraise if everyone just calls. If everyone folds to the sleeper, then it just acts the same as a straddle, where it's a third live blind. He can't look at his cards and decide whether this is a good idea or not.

Sleepers are generally not allowed on the button. It may be +EV to straddle or sleep on the button, I'm not sure. But I think allowing a sleeper on the button would be pretty bad for the game.

As far as putting you off your game, yes, you're right. If you're playing on semi-scared money, raising the stakes could give the other player a psychological advantage. This is why Andy Biel wanted to play so big with the Vegas pros. On the other hand, you still only have to pay the small and big blinds, so you can afford to play very tight and punish the sleepers and straddles for putting more dead money in the pot. The pots you play with be larger, and you're essentially playing with shorter stacks.