To raise or limp?

Preflop, is it better to raise or limp with small pocket pairs and suited connectors?

If I can limp, I will limp.

Unless there is a lot of money on the table already (many limps), in which case they can make a great bluff to get most of that money.

Always nice to hit a set, but someone once said you want 15x the raise to be able to justify set mining.

And that's if people go all-in against you with top pair.

I'd say the answer is on a scale. The closer you are to the button and the tighter your opponents are, the more you want to raise. The earlier your position and the looser your opponents are, the more you want to call or fold.
As the tournament progresses other factors come into consideration, such as stack to pot ratios, blind size and ICM.

Personally, I like to see flops with those hands before committing too many chips. I still think it's good to raise a little when you're in position. If you're talking about freerolls, you'll have to commit too many chips preflop anyway to play those kind of hands.

LIMP LIMP. Why would anyone raise anything but all in with a small pocket pair 66 and below? Also suited connectors maximize value multiway...the flush over flush rarely happens dont work about it too much.

Generally limp but short stacked a pair is great to shove with.

Batarang96 said:

Preflop, is it better to raise or limp with small pocket pairs and suited connectors?

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If you are fairly new to poker and not yet profitable, just keep limping out of your game.

Once you get great at post flop play, then add back limping into your game in select circumstances. And bring them back with a split strategy: with limp/calls, limp/folds and limp/raises.

preflop, there are some ways for you to win the pot: ... Playing looser against limpers is often the best game from a practical perspective..

It will always depend on the table and the position I am in. If people have limped in I will happily call along with them. If in later position I will, mix raises and calls but again depending on the table. If the table is just calling everything I will limp. If the table is folding to raises I will raise them in late position. I really depends in the circumstance.

Limping is often seen as a sign of weakness and i agree to a point with that theory but as you know, many players will trap with a limp too. (We have all done this at one point or another) and probably every day when we play at some point..

Why is limping also considered a bad play or a strong play in specific situations?

Check out these articles and draw your own conclusions..

https://www.cardschat.com/forum/cash-games-11/open-limping-it-so-bad-233455/

https://www.cardplayer.com/poker-news/20718-poker-strategy-with-ed-miller-when-limping-is-good


Personally, i go with a theory that who would not want to limp and see a pot cheaply..holding 22, 33 for example or Ace rag suited..flopping a monster/monster draw cheaply is a poker players dream..especially if short stacked

Batarang96 said:

Preflop, is it better to raise or limp with small pocket pairs and suited connectors?

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Why you play with small pairs or small suited connectors?
You play because these hands may develop into monsters and can fetch you a good pot.
So, what to do?
Try to see the flop.
And that answers your question. Do whatever is needed to be done to see the flop with as little as possible investment. I am not in favor of raising if a player called earlier then you. Raise only if you are first to act.

I am of the opinion that small pairs are harder to win.
I'd rather wait for a crack.

80 % limp, 20% raise with no pre raises. I like to mix most of my betting up a bit hoping someone is paying attention and think I'm playing a hand that I'm not.

I rarely limp, even with small pocket pairs. I either raise or fold most of the times. When you raise, you have the agression in the hand and can make other people fold if they miss the flop, even if you don't hit the set. If they do call your c-bet, you can either fire a second barrel or see the river for free (most of the times) and it improves your chances of either hitting your set or win the hand with a bet

The first important thing is to stay true to your type of game. If you are usually aggressive, then you have every reason to be once again because even a small pair has great potential for success. If you are more passive or unobtrusive, do not try to impress your opponents, since with big raises pre-flop you have every chance of finding yourself face to hands such as AK, AJ or just higher pairs served. . Without losing too many chips, you can pay the big blind and see if the flop will be generous with you.

In general you can limp some pocket pairs when your are deep enough blinds wise in order to hit a set on the flop , roughly 1/10 times this will happen. Sometimes I 3bet / squeeze with some mid pocket pairs 77-TT , it is not always a +EV move but this has to do with your opponents , how weak-passive / stong-aggressive they are.

Suited connectors on the other hand , 89s+ have a ton of post flop playability!You can either flat or light 3bet them for balancing purposes. One of my favorite combinations in poker.Especially on wet boards you will always get value against weak and sticky opponents by their top top hands or their pocket overpairs!

Small pocket pairs and small suited connectors need to be played passively and as cheap as possible to see the flop. You can put a minimum raise if you play in a position.

If its worth playing, Its worth raising....
But you don't have to

depends on the number of chips...
best limp... but it all depends on the situation at the table...
:icon_rr:

Batarang96 said:

Preflop, is it better to raise or limp with small pocket pairs and suited connectors?

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If I am in late position, I like to make small raise. If I am in early position I will opt to limp if I able to see a cheap flop.

Like most poker it is very situational.

Small pairs and suited connectors.....if you can isolate to 1 or 2 players maximum then you can work magic and beat your opponents!

I like to limp with suited connectors for the straight flush draw trap.

But limping with a small pair then you are just set mining (generally) and you might get paid off by a bigger preflop hand.

See how you do with one strategy and then compare your results to another strategy.

But again it depends on the action at the table.

Good luck !

I will change my strategy depending on the players at the table and the current stack sizes.
Playing at low micro stakes MTT. I run into a lot of limpers and have done quite well against them. I find it best to try to see the flop as cheap as possible with these types of hands a this level.. and if that means limping then that is what needs to be done. I do not suggest open-limping often, especailly from late position and prefer limping behind after multiple limpers.

I will mainly limp behind only with speculative hands like Low-Medium PP or Suited Connectors.

These are hands that will benefit being in a multi-way situation and will be easy to fold if the flop does not suit the hand or we do not catch the set with the pocket pair.

This will work the best on tables with very passive players who are happy to just limp along.

Against more aggressive players or with a shorter stack, then I would just avoid getting into these multiway pots, and either raise or fold, depending on the table position, stack size, player stats, and action before us.

General rule says, if you don’t raise your hand then you shouldn’t play that hand. But sometimes mixing with raising and limping would make your game less predictable and harder to exploit. It’s all depends against who you play

I think it's better to open raise X2, if you limp from UTG or MP, and if there are good players at the table, they can detect weakness in your hand and make a strong ROL.
Almost all strategy articles that I've read, say it is not a good idea to limp.
For example if you have 10 or 14BB, you can not limp, and you can only do one thing, fold or push.

it is difficult just to answer your question. It all depends on the position of the number of chips on what stage of the tournament how aggressive your opponents are. In general, there are many factors that influence the decision making !!!!