In part 1 of this series we talked about the strategy of open-limping in Sit & Go’s, with a look at the types of situations in which you could consider using this move, as well as some basic hand ranges. Two other key factors to consider are position and the number of players who have limped in before you. Generally speaking open-limping in mid to late position (i.e. when there are five or fewer players behind you) is not a great idea since you want to try and pick the blinds up or at least charge other players to play against you in position.
When others players have already limped in your options shift, as limping behind them becomes much more viable. You can now limp with a similar range to the hands you would open-limp in early position in a loose-passive game: small to mid pairs, suited connectors and Aces, and some Broadway hands. In a cash game it would often be better to raise and isolate with many of these hands against one or two limpers, but in Sit & Go’s limping a lot of these hands is preferable since you only start with a very limited stack size. You want to either hit flops and build chips or keep as many back as possible for the later stages where fold equity is crucial. So whereas a hand like 7-7 or A-9 suited might get raised in a cash game, in a Sit & Go limping can be preferable for pot control, because they are often hands that you only really want to play on the flop. On the other hand, you will still want to raise with your stronger pairs and Aces in most situations (i.e. T-T+, A-J+) since these are hands that can flop better and you want to build pots with.
Hidden benefits
Another benefit of limping in position behind other players is that it will give you the opportunity to extract more money postflop, get away from some hands or see what your odds are to draw in position. For this reason some weaker hands like K-Jo or gap-suited connectors are more playable, whereas in early position you need to fold these hands. Similarly in late position there are fewer players to isolate you, so even in tough higher stakes games you can still limp quite liberally, especially if it is the weaker players who have already entered the pot ahead of you.
Read part I
Read part III