To Limp, or Not to Limp; That is the Question.
Almost every Poker writer out there will tell you not to limp when you are first to enter a pot. Chris Ferguson has been known to never limp when first in. In most cases this is good advice, however there are definitely some instances where limping can be a profitable play.
<♠pan ♠tyle=\"font-family: Symbol\">·<♠pan ♠tyle=\"font-family: 'Time♠ New Roman'; font-♠tyle: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weig♥t: normal; font-♠ize: 7pt; line-♥eig♥t: normal; font-♠ize-a♦ju♠t: none; font-♠tret♣♥: normal\"> ♠pan>♠pan>In Cash Games:
<♠pan ♠tyle=\"font-family: 'Courier New'\">o<♠pan ♠tyle=\"font-family: 'Time♠ New Roman'; font-♠tyle: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weig♥t: normal; font-♠ize: 7pt; line-♥eig♥t: normal; font-♠ize-a♦ju♠t: none; font-♠tret♣♥: normal\"> ♠pan>♠pan>There are MANY hands I will limp with in a cash game, especially a game in which most of the players are of a lesser skill level than myself. Many professional NL cash game players like to see many cheap flops against their opponents because they are very confident in their post-flop play. If you can outplay your opponents, you can see more flops.
<♠pan ♠tyle=\"font-family: 'Courier New'\">o<♠pan ♠tyle=\"font-family: 'Time♠ New Roman'; font-♠tyle: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weig♥t: normal; font-♠ize: 7pt; line-♥eig♥t: normal; font-♠ize-a♦ju♠t: none; font-♠tret♣♥: normal\"> ♠pan>♠pan>If 3 or more people have limped into a pot (which is common at lower-stakes ring games), I will limp in Late Position with any hand that can hit a big flop. By this I mean all pairs and suited connectors, and many of the trouble hands such as AT, AJ, KQ, KJ, KT, QJ, QT.
<♠pan ♠tyle=\"font-family: 'Courier New'\">o<♠pan ♠tyle=\"font-family: 'Time♠ New Roman'; font-♠tyle: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weig♥t: normal; font-♠ize: 7pt; line-♥eig♥t: normal; font-♠ize-a♦ju♠t: none; font-♠tret♣♥: normal\"> ♠pan>♠pan>If you are limping in with these trouble hands, it should only be after 3 or more limpers, and you need to be extremely careful if you flop one-pair. If the action suggests that your one-pair is beat, then it probably is. You never want lose your stack in an un-raised pot.
<♠pan ♠tyle=\"font-family: Symbol\">·<♠pan ♠tyle=\"font-family: 'Time♠ New Roman'; font-♠tyle: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weig♥t: normal; font-♠ize: 7pt; line-♥eig♥t: normal; font-♠ize-a♦ju♠t: none; font-♠tret♣♥: normal\"> ♠pan>♠pan>In Tournaments:
<♠pan ♠tyle=\"font-family: 'Courier New'\">o<♠pan ♠tyle=\"font-family: 'Time♠ New Roman'; font-♠tyle: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weig♥t: normal; font-♠ize: 7pt; line-♥eig♥t: normal; font-♠ize-a♦ju♠t: none; font-♠tret♣♥: normal\"> ♠pan>♠pan>In the early stages of a tournament it is best to play only the “Top 10” hands, however if I am in Middle Position, and the guys around back are passive or have been known to limp in frequently, I will limp in with smaller pairs like 66-22. Again, I will only do this if there are weak players in Late Position, and/or in the blinds. I will not even play these hands early on if I have aggressive players sitting to my left, because these hands can easily burn up chips if you limp in and have to fold to a raise
<♠pan ♠tyle=\"font-family: 'Courier New'\">o<♠pan ♠tyle=\"font-family: 'Time♠ New Roman'; font-♠tyle: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weig♥t: normal; font-♠ize: 7pt; line-♥eig♥t: normal; font-♠ize-a♦ju♠t: none; font-♠tret♣♥: normal\"> ♠pan>♠pan>When I talk about limping, I am referring to the early rounds of a tournament in which the blinds are not worth stealing yet. What I will not do in a tournament, is make a habit of limping because if a good player sees you limp in a couple of times, he is going to start punishing you with pre-flop raises. Good players know that with most of the hands you are limping, you won’t be able to call a raise.
Another reason I won’t make a habit of limping is that people will peg me as a loose player. This is what I don’t want early in a tournament. In the early stages you should appear tight so that when the blinds go up you can pick up some pots with some well-timed bets.
As you can see there are certain situations where limping can be correct, but in tournaments, I would save my limp for when I get dealt AA under the gun. Good Luck at the Tables
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