Mississippi Straddle

[FeliciaLee]

I was playing a small 2/5 blind PLO game at Rio last week. The button was allowed to make a "Mississippi Straddle," which means that he gets last action before the flop (blinds act first).

How do you feel this changes the game? Position? Advantages/disadvantages?

How do you adjust when the entire table is making the straddle? Half of the table? One quarter?

I will post my thoughts after I get some feedback.

TIA,

Felicia [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[RedJoker]

The cash game I play in my local casino allows an optional straddle aswell, but the straddler only has an option to check/bet if 5 or less players are playing.

How does this change the game? Well you're no longer playing 2/5, you're now playing 2/5/10. Automatically your stack is shorter because you're playing twice the limit.

Omaha is a flop game not a preflop game, by limping preflop you really are gambling that it's not raised after you. Position is crucial here and depending on the straddler it may not be wise to complete from small or big blind. Is he LAG or just a plain gambler?, how big is his stack?, will he pot it with any sort of hand if you limp in?

What are the advantages? Well if you get strong aces every hand and can commit most of your stack or someone else's heads-up preflop than it's an advantage. If you're naturally tight than having a straddle means you'll get better value for your big hands.

Disadvantages? Your stack is effectively halved, if you like to play a lot of flops than you need to add to your stack. If half or a quarter of the table are posting a straddle than it's usually the LAG and well stacked players who are doing it.

I think the main adjustment you must make is realizing you are now playing a short stack, and adjust your game accordingly. i.e. play much tighter.

If you are sufficently stacked and feel you can outplay most of the players at the table then the straddle really helps you, short stacks are under pressure and will make mistakes, post it yourself.

[bugstud]

the game is very fun and at least 5/10 big. Other than that, table dynamics are so huge that much more commentary is table-specific.

[jipster]

i love the mississippi.

sure it turns the game into a 5/10 game but assuming everyone is of equal stacks theres no 'advantage' to any given player

more to the point, your getting 10$ in on what surely must be a pre-preflop +ev situation.

Personally i would straddle every time.

good luck

[Troll_Inc]

[ QUOTE ]
the game is very fun and at least 5/10 big. Other than that, table dynamics are so huge that much more commentary is table-specific.

[/ QUOTE ]

More general comments from limited straddling experience:

1. When you straddle from the button, it increases your positional power since you are last to act preflop too.

2. By straddling you are contributing to the “fun” “gambling” aspect of the game so your table image may be altered changes. As someone on this board told me (in a different context), you have to give action to get action. I think that applies here.

3. It often increases the number of players that see the flop and the pot is already raised. I am very comfortable in this type of game since I like to play a lot of hands and I like raised pots where I’m not that one that showed aggression.

4. Often the river is taken out of play. As everyone already pointed out, you become shortstacked since the game gets bigger. Even once I had $1,000+ in front of me, I never had to play the river on my big hands. I feel I can play the flop and turn well, but I really don’t have much experience playing the river in big pots when both myself and an opponent both have a pot-sized stacking sitting in front of us for river play.

[nubs]

Was the buyin capped or uncapped?

[Troll_Inc]

[ QUOTE ]
Was the buyin capped or uncapped?

[/ QUOTE ]

Uncapped - it was the 2/5 at the Rio.

I also played 1/2 at the Orleans and that was capped, but at like $500 - which was good.

[Troll_Inc]

For the Euros on this group, is there straddling in Europe live cash PLO games?

If so, what is it called?

[RoundTower]

In most of Europe you can live straddle utg. In Ireland where I play you cannot but people dead straddle anyway.. I have not seen a Missisippi straddle in Europe.

I think the Mississippi straddle is good for the game though I only played about twice in the Rio. There they allow it only on the button, in Tunica I think you can do it anywhere. I straddled most of the time on the button, I think depending on the game/stacks this is usually good. I expect it is bad in hold'em.

[jipster]

i started playing live in mnachester, england where they used a verision of the mississippi whereby ANYONE could double the blind

we used to play 1-1 off the button.

Generally the button would straddle for 2.

Any other player would have the option to 'go four blind'...then 8 and so on

it was not uncommon to have £16 or even 32 'blind'... and in the bigger games 128 wasnt unknown! (2-2 blinds)

Now this was incredibly good if you had players on tilt... and it loosened up the tables.

Now some argued that the 'richest' player could buy position preflop... however i felt that if the stacks were deep enough, positional advantage postflop made it an excellent system.

oh the good old days! (all potlimit games btw)