Strange home game rule - how to play

BogusRogus · #1 06-28-2006, 01:56 AM

Strange rule in a 3/6 limit game. Game is run very professionaly. We have dealers who rotate through etc.

Here's the rule in question. you can straddle from any position - including the button. You can make it 6 to go from the button before the deal. The player to the left of the straddle better is the first to act. In this case... the small blind. When it comes back to the straddler - you have the option to go to 12. Also, once a pot is straddled, you can bet 6 on the flop (and 6 on the turn and river)

Here's the real rub. If you straddle as say the big blind. Anyone else can resrtaddle to $9 before the flop and the first to act is the player immediately to the left of the straddler. So if you straddle as dealer... Player to your right restraddles - you (as the button) are the first to act. Wtf??? yes you can restraddle to $12 as the dealer.. Then the small blind is first to act to call $11 (wtf?)

I know this is all crazy but with this rule, shouldn't you straddle as the dealer (and perhaps as the cutoff) every single time?

Anyone have any thoughts?

help!

Xhad · #2 06-28-2006, 02:12 AM

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I know this is all crazy but with this rule, shouldn't you straddle as the dealer (and perhaps as the cutoff) every single time?

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No because you have a random hand with crap implied odds in a situation where you will have to show down to win like always.

Straddling sucks period, even with position; being last to act does not make up for having to commit 4 bets cold without seeing your cards.

Even with all that random money in there, again, you'll have to show down to win, and you're committing 3 small bets so you really can't play drawing hands profitably. So you really shouldn't play that much different from a normal situation facing 3 cold (except fear of domination isn't as much of a factor, so you might add like AJs, KQs, and KJs I guess).

BogusRogus · #3 06-28-2006, 08:47 AM

Thanks for the response. Let's say 99% of the time if you straddle from the button (to make it $6), no one else "restraddles". Is it really that negative EV to play every button hand for $6? the fact that it is a live straddle and can make it $12 has to have some value. Isn't this like playing a $3-$6 game except when you are the button you get to play $6-$12? Wouldn't that be good?

Haupt_234 · #4 06-28-2006, 11:26 AM

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Is it really that negative EV to play every button hand for $6?

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A straddle is a gamble. The bottom line is you are putting double the money you have to put in with a blind hand.

Haupt_234

tsrcess · #5 06-28-2006, 12:05 PM

part of the fun of home games is the weird rules. but, it's also part of the danger. clearly understanding the weird rules and their implications is very important. since staddling here seems to also change position, there might exist some considerations of when to straddle depending on the lineup of the players...

SixForty · #6 06-28-2006, 12:28 PM

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Isn't this like playing a $3-$6 game except when you are the button you get to play $6-$12? Wouldn't that be good?

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I would love to be in a game where it was $3-$6 all the time, but $6-$12 when I had the button.

But only if I still had the option of folding my garbage on the button.

Having the stakes higher when you have position would be a good thing, but being forced to play any old garbage hand for those higher stakes can't make up for the positional advantage.

(Now, if the game was typically 9 people to the flop all the time, and some really bad players, then MAYBE I'd think about it [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] )

Warren Harding · #7 06-28-2006, 01:07 PM

This has been discussed a few weeks ago in the B&M forum. It's called a missiippi straddle, though, I do not know if the re-stradle is standard. The consensus is that if you can stradle on the button you should do it everytime/very often because the effect is to raise the stakes when you have the best position.

Other players may catch on that you are straddling when you have position only and counter this by stradling their buttons, or by restraddling it away from you. The number of times restraddling is allowed is very important, because it will be -EV if you straddle but lose position.

jedi · #8 06-28-2006, 03:40 PM

Maybe if your game was No Limit it might be profitable since position means more there, but as the others have already said, it's not worth it.

Xhad · #9 06-28-2006, 04:37 PM

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Is it really that negative EV to play every button hand for $6?

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It's probably not extremely -EV due to the large amounts of money being committed for no reason from others, but it's still -EV.

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Isn't this like playing a $3-$6 game except when you are the button you get to play $6-$12 except postflop bets are smaller and you post an extra big blind every round?

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FYP to illustrate why this sucks.

For anyone asserting this straddle is +EV: If your hand isn't worth paying 3 bets for (which is most of them), you can fold instead of paying 3. If your hand is good, you can raise, which is going to amount to almost the same thing as straddling. So basically you're saying that the extra 3 bets you pay with 53o and 72s is a worthwhile price to pay for the priveledge of putting in one extra bet when you have the like 4% of hands you could profitably play if you didn't straddle. This just doesn't make any sense to me, and I'd really like to see this B&M thread where people decided otherwise.

Warren Harding · #10 06-28-2006, 04:53 PM

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This just doesn't make any sense to me, and I'd really like to see this B&M thread where people decided otherwise.

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Right. It's a pot-limit thing, sometimes no-limit too. The discussion stuck to NL/PL, for which it is +EV due to position and table-loosening. You'll never see it in cardroom/casino limit.

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