There was in excess of 60k on the table…

And the play went pretty much 50-200-500..

Way bigger than a 2/5/10

Dan, you need to get out less.

>>>>e.g. if everyone limps for 4, we know the button (after the blinds have done their action) may well raise big with nothing … is this player capable of that? will one of the blinds pick up on that matter and pre-emptively do that … and will the button see what’s up and re-raise … what range of hands might he do with that … and overall, how good of a call is it for me really then with KJ in middle position? I could raise but my images is loose aggressive, so any AJ or higher will re-raise me but maybe i can just build a pot with a little raise and calling any re-raise to give the other players “pot odds” to call … yeah, that should work … if the flop comes out with any sort of middle cards i should be able to represent suited connectors so long as i can count on that button re-raise to push out the potential two-pair floppers …<<<<

i’m not saying i would want to play that way all the time … i’m all for at least 80 percent purity in life and poker … but it’s at least as much fun as playing 3-6 badugi.

To stimulate action with a pot in play before the first player acts. We compensate the forced blinds by allowing them to act last in the first round. But in many rooms (not the Hard Rock) the blinds actually act first because of the button straddle. Now if the rooms want to offer tables w/ straddles and those w/o then I have no problem but fundamentally a straddle anywhere but under the gun is a change in the game, which imho is no more skillful than a wild card or any other gimmick to stimulate action.

Change the game anyway you like, as long as all players at the table agree or you post the gimmicks before I take a seat. For my bankroll, I prefer a game of skill not chance.

FWIW, I got my ass handed to me (twice) in the above-mentioned big game, and made most of it back when i dropped down to “Wacky 1-2″ … which was like the above game, but only a $4 forced button straddle.

I like it honestly, I love it when you can get 7-2 going, and I’ve always loved a Mississippi straddle. If I get back to vegas with a reasonable bankroll, I’ll definitely check this out.

http://tinyurl.com/m3djxk

If they are going to use a mandatory button straddle, why not just put the jokers back in the deck? There is a reason they call these things gimmicks. Either it’s a game of skill or it isn’t.