A live Straddle is when the player to the left of the big blind places a live straddle blind bet. The straddle has to be a raise over the big blind. This is a live bet and the player placing the straddle effectively becomes the the “Big Blind” The action begins with the player to the left of the straddle. If action returns to the straddle without a raise, the straddle has the option to raise. The player to the left of a live straddle may re-straddle by placing a blind bet raising the original straddle

There you have it. The Straddle defined. You will mostly see this kind of play in Limit and No Limit Hold’em games. Straddles are used to induce “action” and generally must be agreed upon by all players before being invoked unless the game is setup as a straddle by default.

Deuces,

CIII