Limping in No Limit Holdem Cash Games
There are many players that believe that it is never appropriate to limp into a pot in Texas Holdem. They believe that if you are going to play a pot, you should play the pot to a raise. This type of thinking is great for stealing blinds and trying to take a pot down without a flop, but it is not good for taking someone’s stack. In No Limit Holdem, the object of the game is to take your opponents entire stack. In order to do so, you will need to expand both the type of hands you play and the way you play them. One way to do so is to limp into the pot with certain hands pre-flop. While this concept can be used for tournament play, the concepts in this article will apply primarily to cash game play.
Limping into the pot is effective on two levels. First, when it works, you can see the flop at minimum cost and when you miss your hand, you can get away from the hand. Next, it will allow you to widen the types of hands that you play. You can now play small pair, suited connectors and even connecting large cards effectively.
You can use limping to also give off a certain image. Many players will take a limp to be a sign of weakness. Some will think that you are a passive player or a weak-tight player when you limp into pots. This will be reinforced when you limp in and have to fold when you miss the flop. You can use this to your advantage later in the game when you do hit strong hands after limping into the flop. If you play a pocket pair and flop a set, you can slow play it and let the opponent bet into you. Sometimes you can also run a bluff when the flop comes in such a way to make your opponent slow down, such as a paired board or a flushing or straightening board.
There are also times that you may want to limp into a pot due to the odds that the pot is laying. If you in the small with a 7-3 offsuit and 4 players limp in ahead of you, you are looking at 11 to 1 on your money for a call in the small blind. (This is assuming a $1-$2 blind NL game.) With those odds, you could call with literally any holding. While this concept is more of a Limit Holdem concept than a NL concept, there will be times where games are that loose and you want to be aware of those types of plays.
Finally, when deciding whether to raise or limp, think about your objective in the hand. If you just want to pick up the pot and increase your stack size, then go ahead and make the raise. However, if you have a hand that could stack someone if you hit, then you may want to limp in and see if you can hit the flop.
Limping is a form of gambling in Holdem. You are investing money in the hopes to hit the flop. There are times where you will hit the flop and take a small pot. There are even more times that you will miss and have to fold, thereby losing the money you invested. However, then there are the times where you will hit a big hand with your limped hand and as a result will be able to stack your opponent. These types of outcomes are the main reason we limp into pots with inferior hands. Next time you play, try limping in to see a couple of cheap flops with certain hands. You never know, you may flop a monster and stack someone.