Hold'em strategy articles tagged "rake".
In Mississippi straddle games, the button has already put money in and still has position, so most positions need to respond to raises much tighter than usual. When an SB open is combined with rake in particular, calling ranges compress sharply.
Rake is not just a cost. It changes pot odds and equity realization, compressing preflop ranges. We use calculations to see how much tighter you need to be, especially when defending the BB and calling 3-bets.