I have found that, I used to only limp regardless of my hand or position. Through the knowledge I have aquired here and by playing in games I have now found that, in certain situations, you need to decide which is appropriate, limping or raising. In position, I will raise with any hand, so long as there are no callers before me. This was a new concept for me and very effective in taking down pots that I formally would have folded.
Knowledge is grand
I mentally rank the
hands which are dealt to me 1 thru 10. If I have a top three hand I will raise, this in effect will, hopefully, get rid of the people with marginal hands that may catch something. When someone calls me I use that information to determine that one's range of hands. This information is accumalated thoughout the tourney or game.
If I have a hand that I feel is worth seeing a flop, albeit cheaply, I will limp in, bearing in mind that , depending who I am playing against, I may get raised and what I will do. Certain times against certain players I will limp in knowing that they will raise and thereby disguising my hand.
There are so many variables pertaining to this topic that it could take pages and pages to explain all the intricacies of limping vs. raising. You must basically use a raise to your best advantage for the situation.