3-handed straddle

[Spence]

Anyone have a rule against straddling when 3-handed? Realistically I think if you are allowed to, you should do it everytime. It would give you position for the entire hand. Seems like something that we should not allow but I've never heard of it being disallowed in any casino I've played in. Perhaps it's just the fact that we don't make rules for when play is 3-handed. I know generally it is not profitable to run a game 3-handed but in my room we have a lot of bigger games that run short handed late into the night. Looking at it from a players perspective, I would definately straddle on my button every round. I just can't think of a drawback...

[Nick C]

Spence,
 The nice thing about a three handed game is, if the players don't like it, they won't participate. I would say, if the players enjoy the game and the house can find a way to run that type of a game profitably, why not? You might want to establish your own set of rules for your 3 handed game. There are some issues that could arise that would warrant special attention. The game should stop if one player takes a necessary break, for example.

Who knows, you may be creating the next new game!

[Spence]

Wasn't quite interested in going that far Nick, but thanks for the insight.

[Brian Vickers]

We've always allowed three handed to button straddle.  I see nothing wrong with it.

[W0lfster]

As far as I know, generally the button cannot straddle. I see your point as having the button act last on every betting round but this is precisely why it is not allowed in a lot of casinos. They think it is unfair for the button to act last preflop - in a way I see their point, 3 out of 4 rounds you act last anyway which is very much of an advantage as it is, why give the button any more of an advantage?

[Nick C]

W0lf,
 When you are talking about a 3 handed game, don't they all have the same advantage when the button comes to them? My question is; how does the house make money?

[JasperToo]

Depends on the house, but the ones that rake the pot preflop are the only ones making money when the game is that short.  And playing with the straddle on is the only way for players 3 handed to have anything in the pot worth fighting over.