Straddle

Also known as: straddling, live straddle, UTG straddle

A voluntary blind raise posted before the deal, usually 2× the big blind by the player under the gun, buying last action preflop.

A straddle is an optional blind bet posted in the dark before cards are dealt. The standard live straddle is posted by the player under the gun (first to act after the big blind), is 2× the big blind, and effectively creates a new, larger big blind. The straddler buys the last preflop action — everyone, including the blinds, must act before the straddle, who then has the option to raise.

Mechanically a straddle doubles the stakes for that hand and shortens everyone's stack in big-blind terms: in a $2/$5 game a $10 straddle turns a 100bb stack into a 50bb-effective game preflop. That compression is the strategic core — straddling deepens the money relative to the new big blind only for the straddler's left, while flattening effective stack-to-pot ratio postflop and inflating variance.

Most rooms cap straddles or restrict them to UTG; some allow re-straddles or a button straddle, which changes the action order. Whether straddling is +EV depends on edge and game: it's generally a slight loser for the straddler in a vacuum (acting from a blind with a random distribution), justified mainly to juice action or leverage a skill edge in big-bet pots against weaker opposition.