What sort of crazy ignition gimmick is this?

Today I fired up the engine for the first time. I took a 1 gallon gas can and ran a hose into the fuel pump, cranked it to fill the carburetor, put the spark plugs in, and it started up right away! Engine sounds pretty quiet.

I tried running it both with the red button in and out, it ran both ways. So I will set about disconnecting this CDI BS, I won't have stuff like that on the car.