Should I follow range charts and limp on SB? It make me look like a passive player.

[PokerPT2645]

Hi all,

I am just starting to learn poker and I play 2NL on 888, 6Max.

I have a question on how to act on SB. Jonathan Little's ranges say you should limp in many situations when on SB. Like 35-is % is a raise, 35-ish% is a call (so limp), the rest is fold.

If I follow that, I will end up limping quite a lot on SB and my stats become something like 20/12, so I look quite passive.

Now, they I see it this can go both ways for my "reputation", I can be seen as a passive player, so exploitable, but at the same time this actually transmits a wrong image about my style because I am actually pretty TAG. So this confuses my opponents.

So do you think this SB limping may benefit me?

Or maybe it's better to just play it tight on SB and only raise with no limping?

Best

 

[samsonand]

Ranks help at certain times of which you could take advantage of but still the best thing is the reading of cards of each game and each player

 

[infonazar]

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[c0rnBr34d]

I haven't seen the chart you're referencing but I doubt that following it would make your stats go to 20/12. It sounds like for certain hand combinations you will be raising 1/3 of the time, calling 1/3 of the time, and folding 1/3 of the time. If you look at the total range there are probably only a few combos with this breakdown so the overall limp frequency will be quite low. Also, it should be fairly rare that there is no raise in front in the first place, so the amount of times you even have the opportunity to limp are already limited. Then on top of that you are only subject to this if you happen to have one of these couple of hands AND there was no raise, AND you are still only limping one out of 3 times.

Aside from all that. It's important to know who is in the BB. Some players will overcall, some will overfold, some will 3 bet a lot, some will never 3 bet. All of these factors (and others) should influence whatever range chart you are using as a baseline. For example, if the guy to your left is calling too much then raising marginal hands loses value since they will call or raise more than folding and you'll just be bloating the pot out of position. Likewise if the player to your left is very aggressive with a high PFR and 3 betting a lot then limping or raising marginal hands loses value as you will not be able to profitably continue often enough.

Lastly, unless you're using a random number generator it can be tough to split those frequencies accurately. For example how do you make sure you're doing the right thing if one of the combos is 64s. There are only 4 combos available so if we split it by suit and raise spades, fold diamonds, and call hearts we are doing 25% each. Then with clubs we have to figure out how to split the difference to reach 35/35/30? It's just not going to work out most of the time. In practice you'll need to simplify things a bit or use a random number generator.

 

[gryphon3005]

Nothing wrong with confusing your opponents but they will eventually sniff out your play in the sb. Then you switch it up and let Dr. Jekyll take over from Mr Hyde. Sudden aggression from the sb will often payoff when you C bet after missing the board but you need some history of weaker plays from the sb to sell the bet. I think Little's chart will always err on the side of caution since it's deigned for new players.

 

[iamKK]

Hi all,

I am just starting to learn poker and I play 2NL on 888, 6Max.

I have a question on how to act on SB. Jonathan Little's ranges say you should limp in many situations when on SB. Like 35-is % is a raise, 35-ish% is a call (so limp), the rest is fold.

If I follow that, I will end up limping quite a lot on SB and my stats become something like 20/12, so I look quite passive.

Now, they I see it this can go both ways for my "reputation", I can be seen as a passive player, so exploitable, but at the same time this actually transmits a wrong image about my style because I am actually pretty TAG. So this confuses my opponents.

So do you think this SB limping may benefit me?

Or maybe it's better to just play it tight on SB and only raise with no limping?

Best

There is nothing wrong with flatting an open raise from SB, however, having a 35% flatting range would be a bad idea if you are unable to play OOP well. Just because you are a TAG doesn’t mean you can’t flat a raise. I wouldn’t worry too much about your image at 2NL, as long as you have discipline and play your range well you will be able the crush 2NL.

 

[PokerPT2645]

Thank you for your replies lads!

 

[Dhendrixon]

Hi all,

I am just starting to learn poker and I play 2NL on 888, 6Max.

I have a question on how to act on SB. Jonathan Little's ranges say you should limp in many situations when on SB. Like 35-is % is a raise, 35-ish% is a call (so limp), the rest is fold.

If I follow that, I will end up limping quite a lot on SB and my stats become something like 20/12, so I look quite passive.

Now, they I see it this can go both ways for my "reputation", I can be seen as a passive player, so exploitable, but at the same time this actually transmits a wrong image about my style because I am actually pretty TAG. So this confuses my opponents.

So do you think this SB limping may benefit me?

Or maybe it's better to just play it tight on SB and only raise with no limping?

Best

I am a premium member to poker coaching as well. These charts should be used only as a guide to help you improve your game. Since you are playing micro stakes I wouldn't recommend limping the SB too often as the rake will eat you a live when the BB checks. You could limp some premium hands hoping to extract more chips from the BB, but other than that I would almost always raise first in at the micros.

Also note then the charts are also situational as you don't want to 3 bet light when only a player raises with AA, KK or QQ. You should however 3 bet light when some raises all sorts of hand in later positions.