What is a limp in?

[ScootScoot]

I found this term on the Poker Terminology page: Limp In - to call the size of the blind without raising it. I don't understand it at all. Part of the problem could be that I really don't understand what a blind is.

[najdoyza]

OK, a blind is a forced bet to start the action and get players into the pot. The big blind is always the minimum starting bet of whatever level the game is on and the small blind is half of that.

Limping - or just calling the minimum is when you want to see the flop but don't feel your hand is worth raising and is so called becasue it's often felt that you have a weak hand when you don't raise or that you have a strong hand when you do. Frequently strong hands are misrepresented as weak by just limping so that more players might join the pot and you can then get a bigger pot if your hand holds up.

[ScootScoot]

Could limping then be used as a bluffing strategy? You really have a strong hand, but you don't want to show it so you limp? Or am I completely misunderstanding?

[pocketjacks]

That's also referred to as slow playing and yes it can be used as a way to disguise a good hand. Limping is just calling pre-flop. Then if you have a good hand after the flop and you check that's slow playing. The idea behind slow playing is to entice players with lesser hands to bet into you. That way you are just calling and thus they don't know the strength of your hand while you get a chance to evaulate the strength of their hand by the way they bet it.

[RiverQueen]

Limping in is at anytime during the game when you only bet the minimum bet allowed. It can be pre-flop, post-flop if you are the first bettor, the turn and the river.

A lot of players do the limping in hoping to get raised then hesitate a while before they call, which is really bluffing the hand.

If they know that there is a player at the table who always bets big or raises then the limping in is a way to entice him to even bet a little bigger cause he wants you out.

[ScootScoot]

Wow! That sounds like something that only someone with experience and control should attempt. It sounds deliberate and not accidental.

[PokerPrincess]

It is a very deliberate move. That kind of move is NEVER accidental. They know what they are doing, they usually have a good read on the other players and they probably know that one of the players at the table will always raise a minimum bet just to scare the original bettor off the cards.

Another deliberate bet is a "check/raise". That's when you have first bet and you know there is someon at the table that is going to either bet or bet a 3x of 4x the blind to scare you off. So you let him do it and then you come over the top and raise him 2x o 4x more. Now if you have hurt his ego he will quickly try to put you all in if he has the chips. That's when you take him and call his allin bet and hurt him real bad or even take him out of the game. These are forms of strategy.

[ScootScoot]

No kidding. That is some strategy there. And quite a payoff, if it works. And gosh I would hope it would work. I'd want that pot! Limp in!