While aggression is quite rightly one of the buzzwords of modern poker, there is one move which has seemingly been written out of the playbook: the limp-shove. Considered risky by some and transparent by others, it’s nonetheless a valuable play and one that’s worth having in your tournament arsenal.
While always sticking to ABC plays can cost you chips, the limp-shove should only normally be contemplated with your most premium hands, namely A-A, A-K, K-K and very occasionally Q-Q. This range might look incredibly tight, but there is reason to play a limited range. If you try this move with J-J or A-Q, all too often you will find the player you are ‘catching’ actually has you crushed with Q-Q+ or A-K – not a good day at the tournament office.
Limp-shoving is an effective way of reasserting yourself at a table which is being run over by one or more loose-aggressive opponents. In this spot you can limp with your premium hand, your LAG opponent will take it as a sign of weakness and raise, then you get to raise it up even higher when it comes back to you. This allows you to pick up a healthy chunk of change even if your aggressive player realises something has gone wrong with his plan. And should they play on, they’re very rarely getting their money in good.
When does the move work best?
There is no point limping into a pot under the gun with pocket Kings if the rest of the table is going to join in and try to take a cheap flop. Limp-shoving works best at fast, aggressive tables and preferably from early position because you have more players behind you who can act as extra juice in the pot or pick up genuine raising hands.
Another factor to bear in mind is your stack size. The limp-shove is an effective way of playing when you have around 15BBs, offering an easier way to get your whole stack in preflop rather than opening and being flat-called. Keep an eye on the table dynamics and make sure the stack sizes around you allow you to deploy the limp-raise to maximum effect. Next time you see those Aces, you might just want to give it a try.
You can also try it with other ‘live’ hands, such as 6-7 suited or 9-8 offsuit, as the move certainly makes your hand seem a lot bigger than it actually is. Here the advice is simple though – if you do insist on adding these hands to your range, make sure you have some fold equity when moving all-in. There’s simply no reason to be risking your entire stack with Nine-high if you can avoid it.