What is limping in poker, and is it bad?
Limping is entering the pot preflop by just calling the big blind instead of raising. In 6-max No-Limit Hold'em it is almost always a mistake: it gives up the initiative, invites multiway pots, and tells everyone your hand isn't strong enough to raise.
Why it matters
Raising first-in does three things a limp can't: it can win the pot immediately, it builds a pot with the initiative when you're called, and it keeps your range uncapped. A limp does none of them, and open-limping with strong hands ("limp-trapping") usually just wins a small pot.
The exception is thin: some small-blind strategies limp part of the range against a big blind who won't attack it, and very deep live games can justify occasional limps. For 6-max online at 100bb, the answer is raise or fold.
The numbers
- No chart on HoldemPro's range pages contains a limp — every seat's strategy is raise or fold first-in.
- The button opens 53.2% of hands as a raise; a player who limps those instead forfeits the ~1.5bb of blinds a raise wins outright each time everyone folds.
Figures come from the same preflop charts and research data the rest of the site uses (charts last updated July 5, 2026); they change when that data does.
Every open-raise and defense range by position, 6-max 100bb, with the frequencies below.
Aggression factor under 1.5. You check too many strong hands and let villains realize equity for free.
Common questions
Should you ever limp in poker?
Rarely. Isolated small-blind limps against a passive big blind and some deep-stacked live spots are the exceptions. If a hand isn't worth a raise first-in, folding is better than limping.
What should you do against limpers?
Isolate: raise larger than usual (about 3bb plus one per limper) with a wide range in position, so you play a big pot with the initiative against a capped range.
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