Never Go Broke In A Limped Pot!

Beware the trap of a limped pot!

In lower-stakes poker games worldwide, one principle should echo louder than any other: Never go broke in a limped pot. It sounds simple, but time and time again, experienced players find themselves bleeding chips from their stack, paying off the “fish” muttering, “How could they have that hand?”

The answer is almost always the same—because you let them limp.

A common assumption is that in a multiway limped pot, the big blind (BB) holds an inherent advantage. They close the action pre-flop, often seeing a flop for free with random holdings. This leads to the belief that a top pair or two-pair hand should dominate the loose limpers—especially when those limpers are recreational players.

But this is precisely where the trap lies. Recreational players are not bound by hand charts or optimal ranges. They rarely, if ever, study poker and don’t understand the math behind their actions. Like Han Solo flying into an asteroid field, they proudly proclaim “Never tell me the odds.”

Their pre-flop limping range is not just wide; it is often unfathomably vast. They limp hands that no experienced player would consider. When you believe your two pair is good against a limp-call, check-call, check-raise line, you may be about to pay off the absurd: a turned gutshot from 6-3 offsuit, or a rivered straight with 8-5 suited.

Example 1: The Cracked Overpair

$1/$3 No-Limit Hold’em. Five limpers to the big blind, who looks down at 4♠2♥ and checks.

The flop comes 9♣ 4♦ 4♥.

BB leads out $6 into $18. Two calls.

Turn: 7♠.

BB bets $20. The first limper raises to $60. The second limper calls, and the Big Blind also calls.

River: J♣.

BB checks. The first limper bets $200. The second limper calls again. Now the Big Blind is in a tough position. Holding three 4s is usually a strong hand, and there are no flushes possible, and the only straight available is ten-eight.

The real question here is what hands are in the limper’s ranges that we beat. The limpers can have all the full houses (JJ, 99, 77, J4, 94, and 74), and 10-8 is not out of the question either, all of which we lose to.

What else could the limper be betting in this way? There is a chance that they have a slow-played overpair or an odd two-pair like J9, and we can beat those hands.

Once you figure out the hands that beat you and the hands the player might bet this way that you are ahead of you have to decide what hands from this analysis are likely. If the player has more hands that we beat than we are beaten by then it might be a call. If the inverse is true and the player only makes these bets with hands we lose to, we are best off folding.

The real question here is, can we really beat both players given the large river bet and a call? The answer is usually no.

Recreational players are normally not capable of starting a bluff on the turn and continuing with a second barrel on the river after being called in two spots.

This means it is much more likely that one or both of these villains have you beat. Most recreational players, even the ones capable of bluffing, rarely bluff on paired boards.

Are there some times when you will fold the winning hand here? Yes. However, you will fold the winner far less often than you will call the second-best hand.

In this particular hand, the Big Blind was not able to fold his three-of-a-kind, only to be shown 7♣4♣ by the first limper and 10♥8♥ by the second limper.

The Big Blind was actually third best here and lost an additional $240 that he could have saved by understanding that his naked trips were behind the check-raising range of the first limper.

The calls by the second limper also should have been a warning sign that trips with no kicker would not be winning this pot. Always keep in mind, that multi-way pots require an even stronger hand to win a pot than do heads-up pots. Waiting for a better spot is never a bad idea if something in the hand just doesn’t make sense.

The Big Blind thought they were extracting value from draws and weaker pairs. They failed to consider the sheer breadth of the limper’s ranges. He became blinded by the nominal strength of his hand in a vacuum and not in relation to what his opponent’s range must be to have called his first bet and then raised his second bet.

Example 2: Two Pair Isn’t Always the Winner

$2/$5 No-Limit Hold’em. Four limpers, big blind checks with K♦ 7♣.

Flop: K♥ 7♥ 3♠.

Big Blind bets $25 into $25 and two players call. This should be the first red flag; what can these players be calling a pot-sized bet with after just limping pre-flop? Flush draws are going to be a large portion of their range but we can’t discount the possibility of a strong hand like a set as well.

Turn: 5♦.

Big Blind bets $75. The first limper raises to $200. The second limper folds. Big Blind calls.

River: 9♣.

Big Blind checks. Limper bets $400. Big Blind calls. Limper shows 6♠ 4♣ for a turned straight.

The Big Blind was blinded by his top two-pair and assumed he was well ahead. He put too much faith in the incorrect assumption that the best hand the opponent could have would be a flush draw.

However, the limper had a hand that the Big Blind would never have thought could be in a reasonable pre-flop range. But in a limped pot? Anything is possible, so discounting a passive player’s aggression on subsequent streets can be a costly mistake. In this case, it cost the Big Blind an extra $525.

Example 3: Some Players Never Raise Pre-Flop

In a recent bounty tournament, I played I ran into a mind-boggling spot that almost cost me a tournament cash. It was close to the bubble, 20 players left 17 got paid. I was in middle position with about 52 big blinds, the player to my direct left with 31 bigs limps, I open A♥9♥ to 4.5 bigs.

Generally in tournaments, the strategy is to open small, 2-2.2 bigs. I have found that a lot of players will call light so I adjust by opening slightly larger, usually 3 bb and add 1-1.5 bb per limper. As expected, everyone folds except the limper and we go heads up to a flop of **A♦7♠2♦. **

When the villain checks, I bet 4 bb into a pot of 12.5 bb. The villain calls and we see the K♥ on the turn. The villain checks again so I bet 7.5 bb trying to size up small enough to get called by worse but large enough to still set up getting stacks in on a clean river.

The villain just calls again creating a pot of about 30 big blinds. The river is the 9♠ I think this is a perfect river as now I am beating all his possible better aces like AJ or A10 that may have taken this line.

To my surprise, the villain leads out for 9 bb leaving just under 10 bb behind. I was surprised by the bet but was also thrilled assuming that the villain just overplayed his Ax hand and was committed to calling off his stack to my raise. I was sure I was best and would collect his bounty so I raised to put him all-in.

I was the one who was in for a shocking surprise when he snap-called and tabled A♠K♣ for a better two-pair. To say I was surprised is an understatement, the fact that the villain did not raise or back raise 3-bet pre-flop and then proceeded to not show any aggression until the river had me baffled and wondering if he would raise any hands pre-flop if he didn’t raise this one.

I got my answer a few hands later when I saw he didn’t raise KK in a pot that limped 5 ways pre-flop.

Luckily for me, I was able to double up a few hands after this one and went on to take 3rd in the tournament but the real takeaway for me is that you have to avoid the trap of assuming that every player at the table will act as rationally as you will.

A lot of recreational players will play far too wide a range when you allow them to play passively by limping. Just as many recreational players will play their strong hands passively as well.

This passive play with strong hands is generally a fear response, they are afraid of losing a big pot with a strong hand so they defer to play the hand passively and allow a more aggressive player to drive the action while they sit back and just call.

Why Recreational Limping Ranges Are Dangerous

1. They Include the Absurd

Limping ranges from recreational players often consist of hands you wouldn’t dream of playing: offsuit connectors, gapped cards, trash-suited hands, and random offsuit face cards with terrible kickers. they can even include completely absurd hands like 9-2 offsuit because that was their jersey number in high school.

2. They Hide Strength

A limper can just as easily have 7-6 offsuit as pocket sixes or a suited ace. The wide range masks monsters, making it difficult to narrow down their holdings based on pre-flop action alone.

3. They See Cheap Flops

Limped pots let weak hands realize their equity cheaply. That 8-5 suited isn’t folding pre-flop, and it’s exactly the kind of hand that smashes a board like 9-6-7.

Top Pair, Medium Kicker

Holding K♥ Q♠ in the big blind can feel like the nuts when you hit top pair in a limped pot. But against five limpers? Your one pair is not nearly as strong as you think.

Overpairs in Limped Pots

Overpairs like J-J or Q-Q are hard to play well out of position in limped pots. The boards often hit random, uncoordinated holdings that have made two-pair or straights.

Two Pair Hands

When you make two-pair in a limped pot, it feels like payday. But it can turn into a trap. Two-pair is vulnerable to straights, sets, and flushes of recreational players who limp a hand like 8-5 suited.

How to Protect Yourself: Avoiding Disaster in Limped Pots

1. Raise First In

If the action folds to you in the big blind and you have a playable hand, consider raising. By punishing limpers, you thin the field, take control of the hand, and build a bigger pot likely holding the best hand. When you do this your raise should be on the larger side, in a typical $1/$2 game I recommend at least $20-$25. You want to disincentivize loose calls. Remember, picking up the dead money without seeing a flop is still a good outcome.

2. Keep the Pot Small

Avoid building a large pot out of position with vulnerable holdings. Top-pair, weak kicker, or two-pair are often not worth pot-sized bets against multiple limpers. It is best to exercise caution when out of position unless you have the absolute nuts.

3. Exercise Pot Control on Wet Boards

When the board is connected and multiway, consider checking more often, even with top pair. Giving a free card is less costly than betting into a limper who has just made the nuts.

4. Recognize When You Are Beat

When a limper raises on the turn or river, it is often the sign they have connected in an unpredictable way. Take the time to consider their wide range and be prepared to fold even strong hands that are not the nuts.

5. Beware of Straights and Two Pair Combos

On boards like 9-7-5 or K-6-4, the limper’s range is packed with hands that make two pair and straights. Exercise caution, even if you hit top pair or have an overpair.

Be Warry and You Will Never Go Broke in a Limped Pot

Poker is a game of incomplete information. When a pot is limped, the information is especially murky. Your opponents can have anything—literally anything. Overestimating your hand strength in these spots is a fast track to losing a big pot.

Recreational players thrive in limped pots because they see flops with holdings that defy logic. Accept this. Respect the chaos. And above all, remember:

Never go broke in a limped pot.