Limping vs. the Completion Bet (Jude)

Today, I'm going to post two hand histories from the Razz sng I played the other day. Even though I won the tournament, I made several mistakes (one of them was a huge mistake), but that is the beauty of limit poker; you can totally screw up a few hands and still come back for the win if you keep your cool, stay composed and remain focused. Were we playing NL, well that one big boo-boo could've cost me the whole tourney. That is why I <3 limit poker; it's forgiving. ;)

As The Poker Enthusiast and I were going over the HHs from the sng, he noticed that I was limping into some pots. Just like in NLH, limping in is the wrong way to play. My reasoning for limping in multi-way pots was that if the others bricked or my up cards appeared better as the hand played out, I could pick up a nice little pot cheaply. That's incorrect reasoning, but I think many new players make that mistake, so if you see a player continue to try limping into pots, you can be fairly certain they are new to the game and use their inexperience against them.

Here's examples of limping vs. bet completion and some thoughts on them.


Full Tilt Poker Game #4676634709: $5 + $0.50 Sit & Go (35419707), Table 1 - 120/240 Ante 20 - Limit Razz - 13:06:34 ET - 2007/12/30
Seat 1: KevinRahe (2,156)
Seat 2: JudeSalem (3,133)
Seat 5: QueenChas (2,991)
Seat 6: iriraz (2,082)
Seat 7: MsStyque (1,257)
Seat 8: Copper Blue (381)
KevinRahe antes 20
JudeSalem antes 20
QueenChas antes 20
iriraz antes 20
MsStyque antes 20
Copper Blue antes 20
*** 3RD STREET ***
Dealt to KevinRahe [Ah]
Dealt to JudeSalem [4h Td] [Ac]
Dealt to QueenChas [7d]
Dealt to iriraz [5c]
Dealt to MsStyque [Jc]
Dealt to Copper Blue [2s]
MsStyque is high with [Jc]
MsStyque brings in for 40
Copper Blue folds
KevinRahe folds
JudeSalem calls 40 <---Bad limp in. As chip leader, I should be applying pressure, not showing weakness.
QueenChas calls 40
iriraz folds
Had I completed with my A up, MsStyque would've folded the bring in J and QueenChas may have folded her 7. By limping in, I'm giving both players a chance to out-draw me, which is stupid, as my hand needs a lot of improvement anyway.

*** 4TH STREET ***
Dealt to JudeSalem [4h Td Ac] [2d] <---While I caught a great card and won the pot, I took an unnecessary risk and only gained 40 chips. Unnecessary risk > 40 chips!
Dealt to QueenChas [7d] [7c]
Dealt to MsStyque [Jc] [3s]
JudeSalem bets 120
QueenChas folds
MsStyque folds
Uncalled bet of 120 returned to JudeSalem
JudeSalem mucks
JudeSalem wins the pot (240)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 240 Rake 0
Seat 1: KevinRahe folded on 3rd St.
Seat 2: JudeSalem collected (240), mucked
Seat 5: QueenChas folded on 4th St.
Seat 6: iriraz folded on 3rd St.
Seat 7: MsStyque folded on 4th St.
Seat 8: Copper Blue folded on 3rd St.

The next hand is another example, but I wasn't the guilty party this time. I've made this mistake many times in the past, but I couldn't find another example in this particular sng of me doing it, so I'll use another player's hand, QueenChas.

Full Tilt Poker Game #4676625209: $5 + $0.50 Sit & Go (35419707), Table 1 - 120/240 Ante 20 - Limit Razz - 13:05:30 ET - 2007/12/30
Seat 1: KevinRahe (2,236)
Seat 2: JudeSalem (3,213)
Seat 5: QueenChas (3,031)
Seat 6: iriraz (2,162)
Seat 7: MsStyque (937)
Seat 8: Copper Blue (421)
KevinRahe antes 20
JudeSalem antes 20
QueenChas antes 20
iriraz antes 20
MsStyque antes 20
Copper Blue antes 20
*** 3RD STREET ***
Dealt to KevinRahe [5d]
Dealt to JudeSalem [4c Ts] [Ks]
Dealt to QueenChas [2h]
Dealt to iriraz [Ad]
Dealt to MsStyque [4s]
Dealt to Copper Blue [6c]
JudeSalem is high with [Ks]
JudeSalem brings in for 40
QueenChas calls 40 <---Yes, there are a lot of low cards showing, but not completing here with a 2 up is not a very good play. A completetion would, 1. Possibly thin the field. 2. Define your hand as being stronger than it may be at the moment and allow you to take control of the hand.
iriraz calls 40 <---Dumb
MsStyque calls 40 <---And Dumber
Copper Blue folds
KevinRahe folds
*** 4TH STREET ***
Dealt to JudeSalem [4c Ts Ks] [6d] <---By QueenChas not completing the bet, my 6 could be a danger card (if I had good cards in the hole), as it's lower than hers and I know by her limp she has a high card behind.
Dealt to QueenChas [2h] [7s]
Dealt to iriraz [Ad] [Jd]
Dealt to MsStyque [4s] [3d]
MsStyque checks <---MsStyque's check here could mean she paired the 3, but QueenChas would have more info had she completed and possibly (actually most likely) this player wouldn't even be in the hand now.
JudeSalem checks
QueenChas bets 120
iriraz folds
MsStyque calls 120
JudeSalem folds
*** 5TH STREET ***
Dealt to QueenChas [2h 7s] [Kh]
Dealt to MsStyque [4s 3d] [7c] <---Terrible for QueenChas.
MsStyque bets 240
QueenChas folds <---Now, because she didn't complete, we know the K really hurt her hand and she has no choice but to fold. She blew 160 chips, when a completion would've cost 120 and would've most likely picked up the pot for her when she drew the 7 on 4th street, as MsStyque (who like I said, probably wouldn't be in this hand now) check/called and iriraz and myself folded.
Uncalled bet of 240 returned to MsStyque
MsStyque mucks
MsStyque wins the pot (520)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 520 Rake 0
Seat 1: KevinRahe folded on 3rd St.
Seat 2: JudeSalem folded on 4th St.
Seat 5: QueenChas folded on 5th St.
Seat 6: iriraz folded on 4th St.
Seat 7: MsStyque collected (520), mucked
Seat 8: Copper Blue folded on 3rd St.

So hopefully, these hands show how limping into pots and showing weakness can cost you chips, as well as pots. Since poker is conditional though, with nothing set in stone, limping does have it's place, but usually in a situation where you're slow playing a super strong starting hand against a lone opponent and you don't want to chase him out early. However, in most cases, the completion bet is the way to go. :)

*These are my thoughts as a beginning player. Any additional thoughts from readers or blog contributors are welcomed!*