Straddle
A straddle is an optional extra blind, posted in the dark before the cards are dealt and normally twice the big blind, which buys the straddler the last word before the flop.
It is usually posted by the player directly to the left of the big blind, and it works like a third blind: it becomes the amount to call, and the straddler acts last before the flop rather than first.
Where it is allowed and in what form differs by room, and some houses permit it from other seats as well. What is consistent everywhere is the effect, which is a larger pot and shallower stacks measured in big blinds, so every hand plays bigger than the stakes suggest.
an example
your cards
The blinds are 1 and 2 and the player after the big blind straddles for 4. Every other player now faces a call of 4 rather than 2, and a stack of 200 that was 100 big blinds deep is effectively 50 straddles deep.
This example is made up. The real one is in your own hand history: find straddle in your own hands and see how often it came up and what it cost you.
related terms
Blinds
The blinds are the two forced bets posted before any cards are dealt, by the two players to the left of the button, so t ...
Limp
To limp is to enter the pot before the flop by calling the big blind rather than raising.
Position
Position is where you sit relative to the button, and it decides whether you act before or after your opponent in every ...
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Knowing the word is not the same as seeing it.
The full order of play, from the blinds to the showdown.