Marginal preflop hands against limpers

[Dobbler1]

What's the consensus regarding how to play marginal hands preflop against an open limp?

For example, if I'm on the button with 10-J off, if the action folds to me I'll probably raise, but if someone raises ahead of me, I'll fold without a second thought. When someone limps from early position I'm not sure what the optimal play is. Do I treat it like a raise, and fold my marginal hands? I must widen my raising range against a limper for sure, right? Raise with the hands that I'd normally call a preflop raise with?

For the record (sorry if this sounds dismissive... but it is a little bit), I'm not asking everyone what they're pet theory is, I'm asking what the consensus is in poker theory.

 

[EarnDAStack]

In poker theory and in practice limping is incredibly unprofitable so there's no consensus theory as how to best play against it as it's not a sound strategy to begin with. It's entirely dependent on what kind of a player you think the limper is, your hand strength and the players left to act behind you.

 

[Luvepoker]

What's the consensus regarding how to play marginal hands preflop against an open limp?

For example, if I'm on the button with 10-J off, if the action folds to me I'll probably raise, but if someone raises ahead of me, I'll fold without a second thought. When someone limps from early position I'm not sure what the optimal play is. Do I treat it like a raise, and fold my marginal hands? I must widen my raising range against a limper for sure, right? Raise with the hands that I'd normally call a preflop raise with?

For the record (sorry if this sounds dismissive... but it is a little bit), I'm not asking everyone what they're pet theory is, I'm asking what the consensus is in poker theory.

I don't really think there is any solid answer for this. For me it depends on many factors. The table, is it passive or aggressive, Loose or tight, who open limped and what type of player is he and is this normal. Position. All affect what i will do,

Take to JTo hand, if I am in the SB and the button limps I may raise to get him to fold or at least heads up. Same hand but UNG+1 and UNG limps I can just fold happily as A call may get me in a hand 4,5 or 6 way and as you said its a marginal hand.

 

[Igor Popadyk]

limp depending on who, now there are players that limp the top of the range, often they say that weak players limp, but the strong ones use it to hide their strength

 

[Dobbler1]

limp depending on who, now there are players that limp the top of the range, often they say that weak players limp, but the strong ones use it to hide their strength

I have noticed this. I suspect they are denying themselves value in the long run, but I'm not a good enough player to start lecturing others on their strategies yet (notice the "yet" ).

 

[blueskies]

Depends on if I have any read on the limper and on the blinds. If the limper is sticky, I tend to limp. If limper calls preflop loosely but gives up easily if he misses, then I raise. (These are the easiest types to play against) If the blinds are frequent 3 bettors than I will have to think about whether to raise or not. What's my table image? How have I play recent hands?

Lets say it's 10NL. UTG limps to 10. You pop it to either 35c or 40c, then one of the blinds make it $1.20, are you really calling with TJ off? You fold, and you lost 4 big blinds for no reason except to "squeeze" the "fish." I rather see a cheap flop with a speculative hand and try to win a big pot. If you call, you've just committed 12 big blinds with a mediocre hand before you even saw a flop.

If you call and the flop comes AJ3 or 754, and the aggressor bets, you gonna call? How many streets will you call?

I am a fan of aggressive play, aggression is good, but the mistake I see a lot of people make is they don't understand situations. They just bet bet bet and think that's the right play all the time. They may win many small pots, but then they make one big mistake and they are in the red.

I know you are not "supposed" to ever limp, but I personally do not like the words "never" or "ever" in poker. Depends on the situation and opponents. At low levels, limping is fine in certain situations.

 

[Dobbler1]

I know you are not "supposed" to ever limp, but I personally do not like the words "never" or "ever" in poker. Depends on the situation and opponents. At low levels, limping is fine in certain situations.

Fair enough, although I feel like open limping is almost always a bad move.

 

[gloemcesar]

Hello there

Well, it depends... But when a player in first position limps dont compromise yourself with marginal hands becouse they are players still for play so you are gonna folding your marginal hands if another bet come in. Sometimes the limp if a trap like the AA's limp utg.

 

[gloemcesar]

Hello there

The problem when a player limp in first position is that we dont get any info of the strength of his hand. If the player limps often if for sure a weak player and it's gonna had weak hands most of the time, so we want to get value with our strength hands from him.

 

[Edu1]

limp depending on who, now there are players that limp the top of the range, often they say that weak players limp, but the strong ones use it to hide their strength

Hello there

Well, it depends... But when a player in first position limps dont compromise yourself with marginal hands becouse they are players still for play so you are gonna folding your marginal hands if another bet come in. Sometimes the limp if a trap like the AA's limp utg.

Hello there

The problem when a player limp in first position is that we dont get any info of the strength of his hand. If the player limps often if for sure a weak player and it's gonna had weak hands most of the time, so we want to get value with our strength hands from him.

True, it took me a long time to understand that, I lost so many times against a limp in early positions. Now I play carreful against that strategy.

 

[rastapapolos]

If a player limps it encourages more limper in the pot, now if you have some small suited connectors or small pocket pairs sure it's profitable to set mine or see a flop cheaply. But if you have good hands you have to raise to get more EV and discourage the hands already mentioned to enter the pot. You should always consider your equity vs 1, 2, 3 players.

 

[dreamer13]

Every time you see a player limping, you should see it as an opportunity to take his stack, or at least most of it, in a fairly short amount of time. Never be the first player to limp! Make a limper call pre-flop out of position with a wide range is one of the most profitable scenarios in poker. Limping also prevents you from representing a strong hand on certain board textures. You can't tell a believable story that you have a strong hand on, say, an AJT flop after limping preflop.

 

[Rob Hobson]

Against limpers, any hand...

 

[siberianspecial]

raising a marginal hand over limpers will depend on your stack size, as the chance of getting a 3-bet is high, especially at tables over 8 players, so be very careful with this strategy.