Limp in poker: subtle tactic or beginner's mistake?

The difference between “call” and “limp” in poker

A player makes a call when they follow a raise already made by another player. Limping, on the other hand, consists of entering the pot pre-flop for the amount of the big blind without the players before you having made a raise.

Limping, a fish mistake?

In traditional poker of past years, limping was often considered a typical mistake of novices, or "fish" in poker terms. However, as the game evolves, so do the strategies. Although still subject to debate, limping can reveal strategic subtleties that often escape less experienced players.

Limp strategy: when to use it?

Good limp strategies in poker

Here are four situations where limping may be relevant:

• In late position if several players have limped previously: especially in Knock-Out (KO) tournaments, limping can allow you to see a flop for a minimal bet, benefiting from a passive dynamic. This is, of course, with hands that you would have folded if opponents before you had raised.

The idea can also be to trap a player after you who decides to 3-Bet Squeeze or shove thinking he is facing capped ranges. However, only use this strategy if you have noticed this behavior in an opponent who follows you; otherwise, it would be more profitable to raise or shove your best hands yourself.

• Completing your Small Blind: If no one has raised before you, completing the small blind can also be an effective way to see the flop without committing to a costly pot.

In case of an ISO from the Big Blind, you will have two options: fold your worst hands and call the others, especially suited hands.

• On the Button with a short stack (less than 12BB): Limping here can be strategic to control the pot size (with T7s for example) or to trap your opponents (like with AA), but be careful not to overdo it.
• In the Small Blind in Heads-Up with a short stack (less than 12BB): In fast formats like Spin & Go, or at the end of a tournament in Heads-Up, using the limp to trap your opponents with strong hands can be very profitable, especially if they shove with a lot of hands.

Bad limp strategies

Most of the time, limping is generally considered a bad practice in poker. Here are three reasons why it will make you lose money in the long run:

• Use it too often will signal to opponents that you are playing too weak or medium hands. If you face competent players, this will open the door to aggressive raises from them, putting you in difficult situations.
• Moreover, limping prevents you from taking the initiative in the game, with the consequence of limiting your ability to control the course of the hand and the size of the pots.
• Finally, limping can make it more difficult to build large pots with strong hands and can encourage multi-way play (i.e. a game with several players in the hand), reducing your probability of winning the pot.

Practical examples

A beneficial limp scenario

Let's say you're on the button with 8 ♥️ 9 ♥️. Three players before you have limped. You decide to limp as well. The flop comes 7 ♠️ 6 ♠️ 10 ♥️, giving you a straight. Here, limping allowed you to enter the pot at a low cost and make a strong hand discreetly.

Problematic limp scenario

You are UTG in 6-max, and you decide to limp with Q ♠️ Q ♦️, hoping to trap the opponents behind you. Three players after you follow your example and limp as well. You find yourself in a multi-way pot with a total of four players, including yourself.

The flop comes: 8 ♠️ 5 ♠️ 9 ♥️, which seems favorable for your queens. However, the presence of several opponents increases the complexity of the hand. It becomes very difficult to evaluate if your queens are still ahead, especially since there are still two cards to come that could complicate the situation...