Limping big pairs.

Marcus Bateman / Marcus Bateman / 24 September 2008 / Leave a Comment

This concept shows brilliantly how fluid the general consensus on the 'correct' poker strategy can change. When I first started playing seriously around six years ago, this was a very common strategy advocated by many.

If I think back to the online tournaments of even just a few years ago, this was a strategy used constantly by some players - now it is rare to ever see it in any high stakes online tournament. One of the biggest proponents of this play is eleven time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth, who continues to regularly use and advocate this strategy to this day - despite drawing widespread criticism from large swathes of the poker community.

Apart from Phil Hellmuth and a select few other pros, the current general opinion on this play is that it is weak and should only very rarely be used. The basic argument against this play is focussed on two key reasons. The first is that by only calling with big pairs, you leave yourself open to numerous other players calling with hands like suited connectors and small pairs, all of which are capable of cracking your big pair on a multitude of safe looking flops. You can easily let a lot of marginal hands in cheaply - which is clearly not a good idea with a big pair.

The second reason that this play is often criticised for is that even if you induce a raise from your opponent, your subsequent play effectively makes your hand transparent. Although simply calling with a big pair is a deceptive move, the call re-raise is not. By limping a big pair and then re-raising you effectively telegraph your holding to the table. This allows your opponents to either fold if the stacks are too short to warrant trying to catch a flop, or flat call if you are playing deep, and attempt to crack your big pair. This is perhaps why a player like Phil Hellmuth is often complaining about bad beats - by playing this type of style you will frequently get yourself into very difficult situations with your big hands.

Unless you have the skill and experience to make the big calls and laydowns necessary to play this style, it is probably best to stick to raising and re-raising all your big hands - it simply makes the most sense in terms of protecting your hand, giving your bluffs credibility and building a big pot with a big hand. Price out your opponents, make your life simpler and build as big a pot as possible with your monsters.