S
ssbn743
Visionary
Silver Level
It’s funny because I hardly ever limp – I mean hardly ever, the only time I do is after 1 or 2 players limping before me and I’m in late position. Also in the first 1 to 2 levels of a deep stack tournament I will limp with practically everything just because raising doesn’t do much with 350BB stacks all around the table.
It’s really frustrating for me though, other players habitually limp into pots from all positions. I habitually raise from late positions with a very wide range and they habitually call and, oh guess what….that’s right, check. Now I’m certain that I’m +EV with my continuation bets, but every so often I get some A-hole that limp/check/calls all the way down, or I fold at some point in there and lose more chips than I really want to.
It’s a giant pain in the ass for me and it doesn’t change; ever. So I’ve tried to take an analytical approach to this problem and attempted to understand the psyche of a limper. I’ve come up with a couple of questions:
1. Is it ever profitable to limp into a pot? And let’s forget about the standard rookie/weak player limp/raising from UTG.
2. What are they attempting to accomplish?
3. Do I need to limp more often?
I know everyone that sits at the table has seen Rounder’s or some other Hollywood conception of poker; generally I can see them coming from a mile away as they limp/raise from UTG so I don’t think that’s what I’m really after here. In such a case they obviously have their reasons for doing it – and I have done it too, albeit, I do only in very explicit and rare situations.
I just don’t see how it’s profitable to play like that – they get no information on anyone else’s hand; which is fine because they’re not playing poker but are playing cards instead. That’s ok if that’s how they want to play, it’s their money and it just adds value to my stack, but why limp in the first place; surely they must figure out eventually that it is not profitable; right?
I generally only limp if I’m in the blinds and no one has raised or behind two+ limpers and I never really intend on winning the pot; I just do it to try to throw players off of what I’m actually trying to accomplish. But this approach in and of itself is an oxymoron since if all they’re thinking about is their cards they certainly do not notice my limp/raise numbers.
Yet every few games or so, as I keep raising the same limpers over and over again (some of which are regular players and players I would otherwise consider to be above average), they say “Man….you raise every time I limp!” I always respond by saying “There’s a pattern emerging here…” which usually gets me a glare.
Anyway, ultimately I’m just not real sure of myself when dealing with limpers and default to aggression to save my bacon. That usually works, especially as the blinds gets higher and higher, but at the same time I wonder; should I be limping more often? Limping more often would be akin to taking a kind of “if you can’t beat them, join them” approach; or, do I keep on raising?
It’s just obvious that the limping is never going to end – so I need to understand that approach to the game better if such an approach exists.
It’s really frustrating for me though, other players habitually limp into pots from all positions. I habitually raise from late positions with a very wide range and they habitually call and, oh guess what….that’s right, check. Now I’m certain that I’m +EV with my continuation bets, but every so often I get some A-hole that limp/check/calls all the way down, or I fold at some point in there and lose more chips than I really want to.
It’s a giant pain in the ass for me and it doesn’t change; ever. So I’ve tried to take an analytical approach to this problem and attempted to understand the psyche of a limper. I’ve come up with a couple of questions:
1. Is it ever profitable to limp into a pot? And let’s forget about the standard rookie/weak player limp/raising from UTG.
2. What are they attempting to accomplish?
3. Do I need to limp more often?
I know everyone that sits at the table has seen Rounder’s or some other Hollywood conception of poker; generally I can see them coming from a mile away as they limp/raise from UTG so I don’t think that’s what I’m really after here. In such a case they obviously have their reasons for doing it – and I have done it too, albeit, I do only in very explicit and rare situations.
I just don’t see how it’s profitable to play like that – they get no information on anyone else’s hand; which is fine because they’re not playing poker but are playing cards instead. That’s ok if that’s how they want to play, it’s their money and it just adds value to my stack, but why limp in the first place; surely they must figure out eventually that it is not profitable; right?
I generally only limp if I’m in the blinds and no one has raised or behind two+ limpers and I never really intend on winning the pot; I just do it to try to throw players off of what I’m actually trying to accomplish. But this approach in and of itself is an oxymoron since if all they’re thinking about is their cards they certainly do not notice my limp/raise numbers.
Yet every few games or so, as I keep raising the same limpers over and over again (some of which are regular players and players I would otherwise consider to be above average), they say “Man….you raise every time I limp!” I always respond by saying “There’s a pattern emerging here…” which usually gets me a glare.
Anyway, ultimately I’m just not real sure of myself when dealing with limpers and default to aggression to save my bacon. That usually works, especially as the blinds gets higher and higher, but at the same time I wonder; should I be limping more often? Limping more often would be akin to taking a kind of “if you can’t beat them, join them” approach; or, do I keep on raising?
It’s just obvious that the limping is never going to end – so I need to understand that approach to the game better if such an approach exists.