Limping means entering the pot before the flop by just calling the big blind instead of raising. An open limp is a limp when nobody has entered the pot yet. An over-limp is a limp after one or more players have already limped.
Why open-limping usually loses
- You give up the chance to win the pot right away, which a raise often does.
- You invite the big blind and others in cheaply, so you play many multiway pots without the initiative.
- Good players will raise your limps (an isolation raise), forcing you to fold or play a bigger pot out of position.
- Limping weak hands and raising strong ones makes your hand easy to read.
When limping is fine
Over-limping behind several limpers with small pairs and suited connectors can be reasonable in loose live games, because you get good odds to hit a set or a strong draw. Completing from the small blind is also common in some games.
How to beat limpers
Raise to about 4 big blinds plus one big blind for each limper with a wide range of strong hands. Limpers usually call and then play poorly after the flop, so you win a bigger pot with position and the initiative.
Every term in this series is listed in our poker glossary, and our starting hand chart shows which hands to open-raise.