Most serious Poker players consider Limping (just Calling the Big Blind Pre-Flop) to be a bad play. They will tell you that you need to show Aggression with a Raise and force out those weak hands while taking a strong psychological position into the Flop...and yes, that might be true in a lot of instances but not everyone agrees. One of the worlds most famous Poker players Daniel Negrano has coined the term “Limping is Pimping” because he sees value in the Limp, and I agree with him.
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Particularly early in a Tournament with entry level players, just Limping is very common and I would say a smart way to play for most players both new AND experienced. At this level there are a lot of Social Players who just want to PLAY the game and they will enter pots cheaply with a wide range of hands. An aggressive player who is always raising Pre-Flop to force others out of the pot quickly becomes unpopular and misses the opportunity to test out the other players at the table cheaply. Besides, at the early point of a tournament the Blinds are so tiny they are hardly even worth stealing. A Limping strategy early tournament is a very cheap way to get into the game and find out who you’re up against.
There is another really good reason to Limp too, and that’s because it’s smart to get into as many pots as you can with the weaker players while they are still in the game even if it means playing a lot of Multiway Pots. There are always lots of opportunities to outplay weaker opponents early in tournaments when everyone is Limping into a “Family Pot” (a pot where all players see the Flop). Weaker players don’t Hand Read well and they don’t always see the dangers of a Wet Board so you can Trap or Triple Barrel your way into some big wins early if you can isolate a weaker player Post-Flop - even if you start out with an obscure and marginal hand yourself.
In life I always try to be a Contrarian and oppose the Herd. Today the accepted convention in Poker is that Limpers are signaling weakness, but if everyone is thinking the same way then that can be exploited too. As a player who likes to Trap and is playing in tournaments where lots of players like to be Loose and Aggressive, signaling weakness works well in my favor and I do like it when they come at me with those big bets. So I’m with DNegs on this one - Limping is Pimping.
In Texas Holdem limping is one of the great strategies that can gain a player significant chips using hand strengths as well as position. In all scenarios, it is in one’s best interest to always raise with AA and isolate whatever strength appears on the table, although with an under-the-gun AA, sometimes the risk of limping can be a great payoff. Reading the table offers judgment calls that can make or break your game as well as strategy.
Under the gun limps with a strong pair can lead to community pots being raised by last to act to try to steal and then you’re open to raising significantly to isolate or steal the pot. In theory, this can work and in many instances early in the game, this can get you enough chips to be a significant contender when the blinds increase. I used this ideology in last night’s charity poker tournament and it worked well in the first two blind structures, though I did lose 1/2 my stack later in the game using the same method only to beat out by a one-out river card.
Changing up your game is important and seeing a flop is a valuable commodity in late position where you see what action is in front of you. After the flop, there becomes a new opportunity of stealing or flopping the best hand. Love your posts, seems we have much in common
Yes, I do like to limp with AA under the gun and see what happens. I guess I protect my limping range by doing that but I am also much more likely to limp in early position or against aggressive opposition.
I've never been a great poker player, I've always stuck to blackjack where I can almost always win! I'm glad you're good at poker. You do have to be aggressive to flush out the type of opponent's you have, I agree. Great strategy you've developed. May it bring you large winning pots!
You have to play in away that’s unpredictable or pros read you too well. Going by every single norm is not the best when you are among equals or better players.
I come from the earlier days when everyone told you that limping is bad, but the games and times changed. I'm still not limping enough myself, but I see the point of why someone should do it. Especially limping behind after a few limper makes sense to me.
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You’re really making me interested in playing poker
Are limping and pimping ways of playing poker or what?
It is very good and interesting game and people like to play it to pass their time well.