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Phil Gordon
September 28th
2007
To limp or not to limp -
that is the question.
I'm not going to name
any names here, but
there are some big-time
pros who will argue that
it's OK to limp into a
pot before the flop.
They reason that the
more flops they see, the
more likely they are to
hit something big. If
not, well, then they're
pros and they can
outplay their opponents
after the flop.
I tend
to land on the other
side of the fence in
this debate. My pre-flop
strategy is this - its
raise or its fold,
there's no in between.
I'm not injured - I
don't have a sprained
ankle or a broken leg -
so why would I limp?
There's nothing wrong
with seeing flops, but
why let your opponents
get in cheap with an
inferior hand?
I like
to size my pre-flop
raises based on my
position. A lot of
inexperienced players
raise based on the
strength of their hands,
but good players will
pick up on this play
before too long. If you
always raise four times
the big blind with
pocket Aces, Kings, and
Queens, but only three
times with everything
else, skilled opponents
will notice these
patterns and exploit
them later on.
If, on
the other hand, you
always raise a
predetermined amount
based on your position,
your holdings will be
much better disguised.
By adopting this
strategy, it doesn't
matter if you're holding
pocket Aces or 7-8
off-suit (which is the
kind of junk I highly
recommend you don't
play), your opponents
will have a much harder
time putting you on a
hand after the flop.
Cards aside, here's how
I like to play before
the flop:
-
From early position
- including the
blinds - raise
two-and-a-half times
the big blind. You
are more susceptible
to a re-raise from
this position, so
it's best not to
risk too many chips.
Still, this raise
lets everyone know
that you mean
business.
-
From middle
position, raise
three times the big
blind. Hopefully a
couple of people
will already have
folded to you, so
there's less chance
of being re-raised.
Hence, you can
afford to make a
stronger push and
possibly steal the
blinds.
-
From middle/late
position, raise
three-and-a-half
times the big blind.
You really want to
encourage those last
couple of players to
fold so you can go
heads up with the
blinds or just steal
them outright.
-
From the button,
raise four times the
big blind. You
either want to steal
the blinds or make
it really expensive
for them to re-raise
you.
Now,
obviously when you play
this raise or fold style
before the flop, you
can't be afraid of
action. A lot of players
- especially when they
raise with a hand that
they'd rather not see
called - get that
internal dialogue going
that says "Please fold,
please fold, please
fold." But here's the
thing; you should want
action and welcome a
call.
The
fact is your opponent is
going to miss the flop
such a high percentage
of the time that it
shouldn't matter whether
you hit or not. You're
the one who raised and
you're the one in the
driver's seat. Every
chip that your opponent
put into the pot before
the flop is, in all
likelihood, coming over
to your chip stack. Even
if your opponent does
hit the flop, chances
are they might not hit
it very hard. If your
opponent has A-8 and the
flop comes K-8-4, the
pot can still be yours.
Steel those nerves and
fire off a continuation
bet - you're going to
get them to lay down
their hand a good amount
of the time.
At the
end of the day, it's all
about how many chips are
coming back to your
stack. The more you put
in pre-flop, the more
you should get out of
the pot when it's all
said and done. Forget
about limping, it's time
to go full speed ahead.
Phil Gordon
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