limping ?can it ever be a good thing?

in tournament play sngs and mtt i read constantly that limping is a bad thing to do ,is there a time when limping in isnt strategically wrong ,for example when on the button or close to the button 2 -3 limpers call i have 10 j suited , i,d like to see a flop but the limpers are wildly aggressive donks who will respond to any raise with an allin bet,so if i just call i get a chance to see a flop cheaply,is that a bad move. is limping in when you have position on other players but only hold suited a marginal hand or suited connecters bad ? i have hit some monster hands whilst limping that have been well concealed because i called preflop. im no expert and its a genuine question ,why is limping such a bad thing?
im no constant limper but seeing a flop cheaply is sometimes helpful ,please someone show me the error of my ways ??

I dont think it is too bad early on if the blinds are small and depending on how many people call.Yea it will hit you some monster hands u normally wouldnt of u didnt call it.I dont recommend doing it too often though cause u can find ur self caught up deep in the hand with a mediocre pair.

Limping with a big hand is sometimes a good strategy if you are up against an opponent that is very aggressive. I have also limped with big hand when HU in hope to get my opponent to make a move. The only bad thing about limping with low suited, big pairs and monster hands is you opponent may have the ATC that hits bigger than what you have. I say raise when you feel it is necessary. X

you probably heard that OPEN limping is bad, aka if no one has raised or limped in front of you that you should not limp. With a few exceptions this is true, but if others limp before there are definitely spots where limping behind is the best move.

I dont think its a horrrible play to limp along with the fish, I would raise that hand 50% of the time and limp along 50% of the time, but if it was folded to you in the cutoff you have to raise 100% of the time or just fold it preflop.

Limping is a great way to mix up your play too. Constantly raising can only do so much.

Well put, i have used limping in as part of my game with monsters ...

Sorry to be off-topic, but is your sig some sort of IQ test

If it is, I guess I failed...

Nope but i think i need to fix it some!
" uncles' reaction as "oooh-la-la!" LMAO" was from a post...

I think that I limp too much - only in poker, though!

I always decide on my percentage that day. You know when you are hitting and when you are not, so you learn to judge when it is safe to limp and when not. Good Luck!

I agree. I seldom limp in to open the pot. The vast majority of the time (90% or so?), I open the pot with a raise. The most frequent positions where I might limp is the button, SB, or BB, but again, I try to not do so too often, especially in an MTT becuase it makes it a lot tougher for you to figure out what sort of hand your opponents are on. If I limp in the pot, I'm usually working with the mindset that I'll need to hit the flop pretty hard and otherwise, be prepared to fold.

early in a tourney, I don't see a problem limping. It protects your tourney life and allows you to see how people play on the flop for cheap. You also probably won't have your stack decimated by a calling station that hits a weak two pair against your top top.

thats cleared up a few things for me ,!great posts thanks to everyone who answered, no open limping! best poker forum on the planet

Limping is no different to any other play in poker.

I have learnt that when making any play (limp, fold, raise, reraise, allin) u have to have a reason for doing it.

I see too many players making a play "Because the book says u should" the biggest is raising on the button.

What I do now is think "I`m going to raise, what do I want to achieve by it. That, to me, is sometimes overlooked.

with the way every one goes off on the all in so much i found myself limping in even with a great hand cause u just know its gonna be raised or u can look at it another way if u raise to big with say pocket queens everybody folds so i slow play everyhing the last 2weeks and it seems to have kept me in more pots and definetly has helpeed the br.

I think limping can be good when close to the button (like you said) to let you see the flop when you have mid suited or mid pair or something. It will help you see the flop and then decide what you want to do with your hand

are you sure about that

if the table is full of calling stations, that are just going to call every raise or steal attempt you make. why not limp marginal hands if your stack can take the hit. try and hit the flop and value bet the shit out of them.

Limping occasionally can be fine, however if you flat call too often, especially in mtt/sng you can find yourself short stacked, unless you hit a great flop. Open limping from late position is pretty much a big leak. You have position so use it to your advantage. You have the chance to blind steal, and if they call then you can play position on them.

your welcome, tho watch out for traps, calling stations.

Limping is a good strategy sometimes. But it is not good to overdo it. If there are no limpers or raisers in front of you then you should raise. If there are a few limpers and you have a marginal hand, it is probably best to limp also. Limping can be a good part of you're game if played well or a bad part if not played so well. I would however never limp with hands such as K-K, A-A, or Q-Q. With those hands you should try to get most of your money in the pot pre-flop MOST of the time. There are very rare occasions when you should limp or fold these hands.

limping is never a good idea unless you are one of the blinds because you either have a hand that is good enough to raise with and you do not want the extra callers or you should not be playing the hand in the first place so why should you be putting any chips in the middle

Because it might become a good hand, and you want to see the flop cheaply...

I'll limp early and late....In the middle of the tourney i raise....

I don't think limping in is a bad thing I do it fairly often and do hit monster cards and i like to limp in with KK AA and hopefully trap aggressive player.Limping in a freeroll tournment does work because it always have some that will raise always.

i think it is ok to limp if you mix it up a little. I also think later in a tournament limping is not the right play, but early there are definately situations. On the other hand Chris Fergusen who is a great player never ever limps as most of you know. I think the reason he does this is so people cant put him on a hand easily. I watched him play online and what he was doing was raising 2.5X blind at the earliest stage in the tournament. This allowed him to stay in with hands like pocket 3s or a suitd connector and if someone reraise huge he could fold without loseing much. I couldnt see his cards, but im guessing he was doing it for that reason he might have been playing tight and just getting lucky and playing a lot of hands. This is different compared to how most people say u should play early it hink they say u should raise 4-5X blind. But i guess fergusen is so good he can get himself in tough situations and make the right play a lot of the time

I don't think limping is a very bad thing to do, IMO limping should be done more often earlier in the mtt other than later, because early on the tournament there's a lot more calling stations that wont raise you very often when ever you limp and you can get paid of well when you flop that straight and they hit top pair.
but later on the tournament there's going to be better players who will crush you when you try to limp.

I make it a habit to never limp with anything considered premium. I have just been bitten too many times to do it. It is easy to want to try to get as much action on the flop, but never fun when your AA loses to 74 on a straight...

Like almost every other play in poker, whether to limp or not depends a lot on the tale dynamics and the situation. I will limp in the big hand in early position if I am at a table of over agrressive players. If I feel pretty confident someone else will raise, I'll limp in ealry position and go for the check raise. If I'm at a table with a lot of calling stations, passive players, or players who like to see flops for cheap, I'll raise every big hand I get. It all depends on the players and the situation.

If you can limp and see the flop without being raised behind that's good, especially with small pairs and suited connectors, or from the button or blinds with a crappy hand.

I like to limp with AA in early position if I think somebody will raise behind, and I can come over the top.

But in both these cases, you have to have a sense of the table and the players. There are very few concrete rules in poker, it's almost always situational.

Fergusson say
If you are the first to talk in a pot
Pass or raise but not limp the big blind
Limp is good in head up to hide a AA or great pair

I find that I use limping against very aggressive players that I am sure will re-raise and will allow me to set them up and come over the top. I will also limp with suited connectors since those are the pots you don't mind having more than one caller in. Otherwise I prefer not to limp because I play a rather aggressive style and will usually get calls even when I raise.

limping also disguises your hand. I dont want to limp in when the blinds become overwellin and im out of position. limping when the blinds are low is okay because a standard raise isnt that much. i ususally dont limp once the tourney starts anting and start tightening up.

Limping can be a good thing and is a good tactic if you want to draw players and money into the pot. However there are risks and you have to accept these risks. I would say only limp if you are in late position with no or very few bets before it gets to you. You want to give the players after you, keep them to 1 or 2, false hope and then hit them hard and take their chips.