Button Straddle

Also known as: button straddle, Mississippi straddle, btn straddle

A blind raise posted by the button instead of UTG, which reorders preflop action so the blinds act first and the button acts last.

A button straddle (a Mississippi-style straddle posted on the button) is an optional blind bet of typically 2× the big blind put up by the player on the button before the deal. Unlike a standard UTG straddle, it changes the action order: the most common ruling is that preflop action starts with the small blind and proceeds clockwise, with the straddling button acting last — buying the single most powerful seat in the hand both for the straddled round and on every postflop street.

That positional bonus is what makes a button straddle materially different from a UTG straddle. The UTG straddler pays for last preflop action but plays out of position postflop from early; the button straddler gets last action preflop and keeps the button postflop, so the straddle is far closer to break-even and can even be defensible against passive opposition. Rooms vary on whether the small blind or UTG acts first when a button straddle is in play, and many cap or disallow it — confirm the house ruling before posting.

Like any straddle it doubles the effective stakes and compresses everyone's stack-to-pot ratio for the hand, inflating variance. Its main use is to juice a deep, action-friendly game while sitting in the best seat. Re-straddles and over-the-top straddles are room-dependent; when in doubt, ask the floorman.