Limping
Limping means entering the pot by calling the big blind or making the minimum bet and definitely not raising the pot.
Limping is considered to be a conservative play and is frowned upon by aggressive players, particularly No Limit players. There is a lot to be said about limping, here is just a fraction of the opinions on the no-raise move.
-In limit games, where many players see the flop, limping is the accepted practice; in these games a single raise will seldom push out players but will reveal the strength of your hand;
-One way to win a hand is to force other players to fold, a raise pressures players to not make the call of the larger bet, a limp scares no one;
-If you limp, the small blind gets great odds to complete the bet and the big blind plays for free;
-Limping is a great disguise, no one knows what you have, so if you limp a lot, you will see flops with opponents who don’t know if you are play 34o or KK;
-If you limp and are raised, will you be calling a second bet with a marginal hand? How often do you want to waste two bets on such hands?
-Unless you always limp, players are going to know you raise with big hands and limp with small ones, that is too obvious of a tell to be giving your opponents;
-They don’t call it “Limp” for no reason.
-This is Beginner’s Poker Blog Post #124
