LIMPING UTG

I've gotten myself embroiled in a philosophical debate concerning how to play pocket tens from first position. The textbook strategy is to either pump them or dump them. Make a strong raise and hope to take the blinds or get heads up, while folding to a reraise, or simply dump them and wait for a better spot. My argument for limping addresses an alternate strategy for playing hands like AK, AQ, JJ, and TT during the early stages of a tournament when playing a big pot with great cards against inferior competition is preferable to stealing the puny blinds.

MY INITIAL POST:

It's against conventional wisdom, but lately, I've been getting into the habit of limping UTG with this kind of hand. My reasoning is that I want to stay active in the hand while seeing what action transpires behind me.

What I hate is when I bump 3x and then somebody else bumps me 3x. That is way too much to invest with tens. If I simply limp, then if somebody bumps, it is not much more to call. Or if there is a ton of action, I am not much invested and can get away.

Other times, maybe it becomes a family pot and I stand to make a killling if my ten hits, especially if someone else managed to catch a smaller set. When the blinds are small, I would rather gamble on catching a concealed set instead of attacking blinds that are not big enough to make a difference.

Another good outcome is when it is on its way to becoming a family pot, but somebody in late position cracks foxy and pushes their short stack all in to pick up all the dead money. Then if I like the spot, I can call with a much better hand than foxy was expecting to see. Raising in late position into a bunch of limpers is irresitible to some players, even during the early stages, so I want to give the newbies a chance to donk off their entire stack while I'm sitting on a playable hand.

Another benefit is that my limps get respected after showing that I can limp with AQ or JJ. It enables me to enter pots on occasion with QJs or 87s and try to build a family pot with cards looking for multiway action.

REBUTTAL:

I personally think almost every reason you gave for limping with tens is warped logic, and it's just not even true.

A) If you raise UTG with TT, and you get re-raised, then you can just fold. In fact, you'll lose less money in the long run this way, because if you limp in, you are going to call a raise anyway, and then you may get stuck calling bets while dominated if all undercards flop.

B) Ideally, it would certainly be nice to limp in UTG with TT, get a nice family pot going, and then end up in a set-over-set situation. But Jesus, you can't play for that situation, it's too idealistic. I'm trying to get heads-up in a spot where I have a good read on my opponent.

C) Most people who make that "all-in to steal the limpers" play will have two cards higher than tens, or a pair which you may or may not beat. That said, this point you make is much more true (and likely) than the others, in my opinion.

D) You have to win the pot in order to show that you limped with AQ or JJ (or TT). When you limp UTG, you're decreasing your chances of winning the pot by like... A MILLION PERCENT!! Not to mention, limping with 87s in first position is a little weak, anyway.

ME AGAIN:

Of course it is warped logic - I pointed that out going in. Anybody can regurgitate the "proper" way to play a hand, but I'm advocating an oddball strategy that has done better for me than the textbook method of how to play a midpair from under the gun.

Sure, there are many hands I could have stolen the blinds with a big raise that went uncalled. But with a deep stack and lots of donks - early in the action - my goal is to get into hands against opponents who aren't as good as I am. So I gamble. I can limp with tens, invite half a dozen players in with me, and simply fold if I don't hit. If I do hit, I usually at least double up. If a shorty tries to steal, I can isolate him and take him down. If I need to fold to an unfavorable flop, big deal, I've lost the chance to possibly steal some relatively insubstantial blinds.

To address your points:

A) If I raise UTG, I don't want to fold to a reraise very often, yet I don't want to call either and be out of position for a big pot. I am raising like anybody when the blinds get big enough, but when the stacks afford an occasional limp, I can basically turn myself into another big blind and let the action come back to me before deciding how to play my hand. It's a slippery slope argument to assume that I am going to get trapped by a larger pair and be unable to get away from the hand.

B) I'm not necessarily trying to get heads up. I am trying to get myself into position to win a monster pot. I've concealed the strength of my hand while inviting donks to play against me. That is a favorable situation for me. Hitting the occasional set more than makes up for all the misses. If I don't hit trips, I might still win a decent pot by having the best hand hold up. If there is action I can't stand on the flop, then I get away cheaply - I don't curse myself for not getting heads up.

C) If a $1500 stack pushes all in after four limpers, and I've got $4000, how worried am I that he has two overcards? Not very. If he does, I've got odds to call. Often he doesn't. If he beats me, I'm still okay. If I win, I've taken down much more than just the blinds. Overall, positive EV.

D) Limping UTG with 87s is definitely weak and I will fold to any kind of action. This enables me to limp UTG with AA if I think someone will try to get me off of it. On occasion, I will limp with AA and get five callers and be very tentative postflop. Other times, I will limp with AA and 99 will put in a big raise, followed by an even bigger raise from QQ before it gets back to me. Guess what I do then.

It's definitely a gambling move, but I have learned that I have to gamble early on within reason if I want to build a stack, and limping with raising hands I have found to be a low risk - high reward move. I trust my game enough that I am looking to get involved in pots and limping is a way to see many flops cheaply. It is also perfect cover for trapping those players who see limping as inherently weak.