The poker gurus say that you should never open limp. Although there are a few situations, where the word “never” can be used in poker, this isn’t one of them.
Whenever, I see a rule that people follow blindly, I try to think of ways to exploit the blind followers. In this case, the blind followers are players, who automatically raise to isolate limpers.
In this article, I will explain:
1. How to exploit limpers
2. How to exploit players, who attack limpers (aka Isolation Raisers)
The type of games that I am talking about, are online microstakes games.
1. How to Exploit Limpers
We need to understand the problems with open limping. There main disadvantages of open limping are that:
Open limping encourages “aggressive” players, who have position on you, to raise.
Typically, the limper will be in early or middle position and the “aggressive” player will be in the cut-off or on the button. As I will explain later, many of these exploiters are not particularly aggressive. They are simply following a set of rules that were supplied to them by poker gurus.
Open limping means that you may miss out on winning the blinds without a fight.
Sometimes, everyone has a weak hand and the blinds would fold to a raise. If you open limp, and no-one raises, the big blind gets a free play.
Open limping encourages other players to limp behind you.
If you have a hand, that doesn’t play well in a multi-way pot, this can be a disadvantage. On the other hand, if you have a hand, that does play well in a multi-way pot, it can be to your advantage to open limp.
For example, if you are at a table full of loose-passive players, who can’t fold top pair, you might want to set-mine against them.
When you do hit your hand, you will only win a small pot.
In general, players don’t fight as much in limped pots. Although this might make it easier to just take the pot down post-flop, this is only true if you have position and everyone checks.
In addition, you can win big pots, when the pot starts off small. For example, if you hit a set and a calling station hits 2 pair or a lower set, your opponent is never folding.
Why Exploit Limpers
If you intend to enter a pot when one or more players has limped in, the advice is that you should raise. Note, that I am saying, “if you intend to enter the pot”. I will come back to this point later.
The advised raising amount varies from guru to guru. I can remember reading advice that you should raise something like 4BB and add another 1BB/limper.
There are several arguments for raising limpers.
You gain the initiative and you have position, which can increase your chances of winning the pot.
This is only true against tight opponents. Loose opponents are more likely to call your c-bet on the flop.
The limpers might fold, and you can win the pot without resistance.
Again, this is only true against tight opponents.
It deters aggressive players who have position on you from 3-betting.
This can work the other way as well. Good aggressive players know that regulars will raise limpers with marginal hands.
If the regular does this too often, this can encourage some aggressive players to 3-bet from the button or the big blind.
Figure 1: Stealing from the Isolation Raiser. MP limps in and the regular in the cut-off raises. An aggressive player, on the button, 3-bets to steal from the isolation raiser.
The above 3-bet has to work 68% of the time to break even. This might sound like a lot. However, the limper probably has a weak hand and is unlikely to call another 17BB.
The regular is likely to have raised to isolate or bluff the limper. Some regulars will attempt to do this with any 2 cards.
The blinds may wake up with strong hands. However, their calling and raising range will probably be small. I would imagine most microstakes players would fold AK or JJ in the blinds, even if they suspected that the button is bluffing. If we assume that the blinds would only get involved in this pot with AA-QQ, this means that each of the blinds has around a 2.56% chance of getting involved in the pot.
Typically, the limper and the regular will fold. However, the regular could consider 4-bet bluffing, if he thinks that the aggressive player is bluffing. However, most regular microstakes players haven’t got the nerve to play back in this situation.
The regular has become predictable and therefore, exploitable.
The aggressive player’s move works better from the big blind for 2 reasons.
Firstly, he can put one BB less into the pot compared to 3-betting on the button. In this case, he would have to win the pot 67% of the time to break even.
Secondly, the big blind doesn’t have to worry about the players behind him waking up with strong hands.
Position doesn’t matter too much when all you are trying to do is win the flop pre-flop or win with a c-bet post-flop.
Types of limpers
There are 3 main types of limpers. They may fold pre-flop. However, when you get called, how are you going to play post-flop. The gurus will say, “you just c-bet”. However, it’s not always as simple as that. You have to think about your opponents’ ranges and when and if they have a tendency to fold.
1. NITs
Some NITs limp in with their low and medium pocket pairs. Although there aren’t many NITs that do this these days, there are a few. You should notice these players because they stand out like a sore thumb. When these players limp, you know exactly what type of hand they have.
If they don’t hit their set post-flop, they will check and fold to a bet. If they hit their set, they might call or raise a c-bet. These should be your favourite limpers when you are in late position. You should raise about 5 times the big blind. These players will usually fold to a raise this size. If they call, you only need to c-bet ½ of the pot. They will fold pocket pairs that have missed their sets for this price. If they call or raise, you are done with your hand.
If they put a big donk bet in on the flop, you should fold. In this situation, you have put villain on a pocket pair. As such, when he fires a big donk bet, he almost always have a set.
Theoretically, you can make this play from late position with any 2 cards. However, you do have to look at who is left to act. If there is a calling station still to act, you need a reasonable hand. If there is a LAG to your left, you also have to be careful. If he sees you raising limpers too often, he will 3-bet you and take the pot (as shown in Hand Example 1).
However, if you have table selected well, the players to your left will be tight. In this situation, you can make this play with any 2 cards.
2. TAGfish
So, these are the guys that have read poker books and have been taught not to limp. They would love to limp into the pot with their pocket pairs. However, they know that they will get punished for this.
Therefore, the TAGfish have invented a strategy to get around the limping problem. A lot of these guys raise pre-flop to either 2BB or 2.5BB with pocket pairs. With strong hands, they raise between 3BB and 4BB.
As far as I’m concerned, when a player does this, his baby raises are as good as limps. In fact, it is better than a limp. This is because, when you 3-bet him, you win more money compared to raising a limper.
3 Weak-Tight Players
These players tend to limp and call a pre-flop raise and check-fold the flop if they miss. These are good players to raise. Again, you can do this with any 2 cards if you in late position and you have only tight players to your left. Your default raise size should be 4BB.
As with NITs, you can just c-bet ½ of the pot on the flop or you can check on the flop and employ a delayed c-bet on the turn. If your opponent calls, you should let the hand go unless you have a strong hand.
3. Calling Stations
This is where you can have problems. When you isolate a calling station, you have to realise that this player isn’t just going to fold on the flop to a c-bet.
An Example of a Calling Station Range
If you take the above range as a calling station range, you see it catches a piece of the flop 66.3% of the time. Although he seldom catches a strong piece of the flop, it means that he will not fold a lot on the flop.
Therefore, you may need a hand that is playable post-flop. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a great hand. The types of hand that are best to play are high cards. When these hands hit the board, you are most likely ahead. You can play small and medium pocket pairs. However, you will usually miss your set and you won’t know if your hand is good. These players might let you get to showdown cheaply. As such, sometimes, you can get value from your pair. In addition, the times you do hit a set and your opponent hits top pair, you may get paid well.
If you have a read as to when this particular calling station might fold, you may be able to get away with isolating without a strong hand. The pot will be big pre-flop. Therefore, even most calling stations will fold their weak holdings on the turn or river.
If you haven’t got a read, you should isolate calling stations for value and not as a bluff. The other player-types described above, can be isolated as a bluff.
4 Multiple limpers
When you raise into multiple limpers, you need to know whether you are doing this to get folds or to isolate. If all the limpers are NITs and weak tight players, you might raise to get folds.
However, if there is a calling station among them, you have to be aware that you are probably going to play a hand post-flop. In this case, you need a hand that is playable post-flop. If you are raising multiple limpers, your default bet-size should be to raise 4 big blinds + 1 big blind per limper. The reason for the larger bet size is because you really want folds here.
If the first limper calls, others may follow. As mentioned above, when you raise into multiple limpers, you usually require some kind of a playable hand. However, if all of the limpers have a high limp fold percentage, you can raise with weaker hands.
If you are not in the habit of raising limpers, you should start with the NITs and weak-tight players. They provide the least complex situations post-flop.
2. Exploiting the Exploiters of Limpers
Why is the isolation raise exploitable?
Because regulars use the isolation move too often.
When a player uses a poker move too often, they become exploitable themselves.
Some players use the isolation raise every single time that they are on the button and one or more players have limped.
This means that this type of isolation raiser will usually have a weak hand.
Therefore, attacking this type of isolation raise should make easy profits.
I’ve already given one example of exploiting the isolators of limpers (Figure 1 above). In this section, I will explain another method that you can use to exploit isolators. This time, we are deliberately making ourselves the target.
Most people have heard of the limp re-raise when you have AA. Basically, you limp into the pot with AA. When a player raises, you re-raise and he usually folds. It’s considered by many gurus and their followers, as a bad play.
Their argument is that, if you limp re-raise with AA, any poker player will know that you have AA. Therefore, everyone will fold.
If everyone will fold to a limp re-raise, you don’t need AA to make this play.
But won’t people realise that you are bluffing and play back at you?
Sometimes, yes. Not always.
I limp re-raised the same player 5 times in an online 25NL poker session. He re-raised my limp 5 times in a row and folded to my re-raise 5 times in a row.
He was playing on so many tables that, I don’t think he even noticed that he was getting limp re-raised by the same player.
Players, who play on multiple tables, often have a formula to how they play poker. They don’t have enough time to think about their decisions.
However, aggressive players will play back at you. We will look at how to approach this scenario.
The Goal of Our Limp Re-raise
The goal is to limp re-raise bluff an aggressive player. Our bluff hand will be a pocket pair. We will carry out this bluff 1 or 2 times. After this, you hope that you get dealt AA, KK or QQ, when you are in early position.
Because you have limp re-raised the aggressive player already, he will become suspicious that you are bluffing. Therefore, he should be ready to play back at you.
The main idea is to set an aggressive opponent up, so that he plays back at you at the wrong time and with the wrong hand.
It is Essential that the Aggressive Players are in Late Position.
If you choose your tables carefully, the aggressive player should be in a late position, when you are in early position. I always tell my students that, you should choose seats, such that the aggressive players are as far away from you as possible.
This is because, if they are either on your right or left, they will interfere with your late position moves.
For the limp re-raise move, you want the aggressive players in the cut-off or the button, or in both positions.
What Types of Tables to Limp Re-Raise
We want to combine the limp re-raise bluff with other advantages. There are 3 main situations, where you might consider using the limp re-raise move.
1. No Action with AA at Tight Tables
There are some tables that are so tight that an UTG raise seldom gets any action. When you raise with AA in early position, you will often end up just winning the blinds. There are several scenarios where you can lose by limping in with AA.
If you do lose in this way, some know-it-all will say that it serves you right for limping in with AA. There is no rule that says that you should win with AA 100% of the time.
However, I think it is more profitable in the long term to be creative, rather than win just 1.5BB for the best starting hand in NL Texas Holdem Poker.
2. Avoiding Multi-way Pots with AA at Loose Tables
At loose tables, a standard UTG raise often gets called by several players. In this situation all premium hands become a problem. You end up out of position against several players with top pair or an overpair.
We’ve all been there. You did what the gurus told you to do, and you raised pre-flop with your AA or KK. Then, a bunch of calling stations call your raise. You see a flop with 3 calling stations and you are up against possible sets, draws, and weird 2 pair combos.
You are out of position and you are not sure whether to c-bet into 3 players or check and see what they do. If the hand gets checked around and the turn card is a scare card, what do you do now? If you bet and you get callers, what do you do on the turn.
Calling stations like slowplaying their strong hands. They often wait until the river before showing strength.
The scenario that the gurus told us about was when we have top pair with the best kicker or an overpair, we stack a fish, who is holding top pair and a bad kicker. This doesn’t happen that often in a multi-way pot.
You might think that you can avoid your AA ending up in a multiway pot by raising by a bigger amount pre-flop. When I’ve tried that, I’ve found that everyone, including the loose players, fold.
Of course, by limping, there is a chance that the pot will go multi-way anyway. However, you only need one raiser to solve that problem.
3. You Want to get in the Hand with a Pocket Pair at Loose Tables
At loose tables, I want to get in the hand with pocket pairs. The presence of calling stations at the table, was when I first started using this strategy.
If I was dealt a pocket pair in early position and there were calling stations at the table, I wanted to play my hand. Calling stations play suited cards. They will sometimes hit 2 pair with their suited cards. If I have a set, when a calling station has 2 pair, I expect to stack them.
Therefore, if there are calling stations at the table, your pocket pair is useful when the hand gets limped around. If the hand gets raised by your target aggressive player, your re-raise will win the calling stations’ stakes as well as the aggressive player’s stake.
Figure 2: Hero Open Limps with 88 to make the limp re-raise move
Above is an example, where you might try to limp re-raise from UTG. The table doesn’t need exactly the above dynamic. You do want some calling stations at the table. The idea, if that if the hand is not raised, you get to setmine against the calling stations for the price of 1BB.
If your limp re-raise gets called, you should check-fold unless you hit your set.
If you get called by other limpers and the late position aggros do not raise, you get to see a flop with your pocket pair for 1BB.
Limping Behind a Limper
It can be worth limping behind a limper with AA. Consider an example when you are at a table where the majority of players are playing tight pre-flop and there is an aggro or 2 in late position.
You have seen this player raise limpers a lot. If you are dealt AA in early position and a player has already limped in, you can limp behind. The idea is that the aggressive player in position will raise.
Figure 3: Hero Limps behind a Limper with AA is from Early Position, when there is an Aggressive Player on the Button
This can go wrong, and you can end up in a multi-way limped pot. If this happens and any player seems particularly interested in the pot post-flop, you have to be mentally prepared to throw your hand away.
The best case scenario is when the aggressive player raises and the original limper calls. You should then re-raise. The aggressive player will know you have an AA/KK type of hand and fold.
If the original limper calls your re-raise, you are in great shape. You have with AA, in position in a big pot against a weak player. Things don’t get much better than that pre-flop.
If the aggressive player raises and the limper folds, you should re-raise against a good aggressive player. He will know that your hand is strong and fold. Consequently, you will win a smallish pot. However, it is better than just calling and playing this hand out of position.
If your opponent has statistics on you, your hand is face up however you play it. If you limp and then call a raise of around 6BB out of position, an intelligent player will know that he has to be careful post-flop. He will probably put you on a pocket pair and if you call one bet, he will suspect that you have hit your set. It’s a situation, where you stand to win an extra bet, if you are ahead but lose a lot if your opponent hits 2 pair or better. However, you can just call if the aggressive player is an overly aggressive LAG. Post-flop, you can just check, let him do his thing and hope your hand holds up.
In the hand example below, hero has a pair of 8s and under the gun limps into the pot. This is not a good spot to bluff.
Figure 4: Hero Should NOT Limp Behind a Limper with the Intention of Bluff Re-raising an Isolation Raise from the Aggressive Button
Predicting When and If Players will Play Back at You
If you find that your opponent is not adjusting and repeatedly allowing you to win pots, you don’t need to adjust. Once you have made the limp re-raise move successfully 3 times, you have won enough money to compensate for the move going wrong once.
You may be able to predict the players, who will play back at you. The question is, how many times do you have to bluff, before an opponent will play back at you. It depends how aggressive your opponent is. If you limp re-raise twice within a short space of time, the most aggressive players will play back at you the second time that you limp re-raise.
Usually, I figure that I can get away with a bluff twice before a player will start to think about playing back at me.
As I mentioned earlier, there are players, who will never play back at you. These are the TAGfish. Their problem is that the gurus forgot to tell them what to do, if an opponent keeps 3-betting their isolation raise.
If a TAGfish plays back at you, he usually has a strong hand. Therefore, you should fold against TAGfish when they appear to be playing back.
You need to get a feel for which type of player that you are up against before you use any move.
What do we do when the Aggressive Player Calls the Re-raise?
When we are bluffing, we need to have a plan for every scenario. What do we do when the bluff goes wrong? Obviously, if limp re-raise gets re-raised pre-flop, we are folding.
However, what should we do when the aggressive player just calls our pre-flop re-raise?
We must first look at the aggressive player’s re-raise calling range. We can’t work this out exactly. However, we can make an estimate of his range.
You would expect him to re-raise pre-flop with AA and KK. Therefore, we can take these combos out of his calling range.
This leaves AK (16 combos), QQ (6 combos) and JJ (6 combos) in his calling range. If he goes lower than JJ, that is better for you.
An Example of an Aggressive Player’s Pre-flop Re-raise Calling Range
Low Flops
If the flop comes up low, villain will fold his 16 combos of AK. This will happen most of the time. If the low flop has 2 suited cards, villain will call with 1 combo of AKs. In this case, a ½ pot flop c-bet will be profitable.
Ace-high or King-high flop
If the flop has an ace or a king on it, villain will have 12 combos of AK and 6 each of QQ and JJ. The latter combos will be under pressure when there is an ace or a king on the board. An aggressive player will usually call a flop bet with these.
Mathematically, we can’t barrel more than 50% of the pot on the flop and turn and make a profit.
Therefore, it is not worth betting on the flop on an Ace-high or King-high flop.
Conclusion
There are 2 purposes of bluffing against an aggressive player. Firstly, the bluff itself can make you money. Secondly, you are setting the scene for him to play back at you. However, the aggressive player doesn’t know that you will change your strategy and you will be ready for him.
Another advantage of the limp re-raise move is that it makes you look like a fish. When people see you as a fish, you get more action with your strong hands. You do get called names as well, especially when you win.
Any move should be done occasionally. It should be done throughout a whole poker session or in every session. If you make the same move too often, the other players will start to read you.
Exploiting isolators works because some players use the isolation raise too often. If you use the limp re-raise bluff too often, you will become exploitable as well.