Phil Gordon Explains How to Plug Hold’em Leaks Part 1: Limping

18 Feb 2010

In a recent talk, Phil Gordon explained how to plug leaks in tour Texas Hold’em game. Phil Gordon is a professional poker player who lives in Las Vegas. He has made the WSOP final table on three occasions and on one of them he finished fourth. His total tournament winnings are in excess of $1,700,000. He is also a frequent commentator on the game, so when he explains how to plug leaks it is probably worthwhile to listen to what he has to say.

He explained that there are five major Hold’em leaks. He defined a leak as a mistake that a player has made so often that it has become a habit and the five major ones that he describes are:

1)    Limping when you should be raising
2)    Making the wrong sized bet
3)    Playing weak hands that can easily be beaten
4)    Overvaluing hands because they are suited
5)    Betting on hands of only medium strength on the river when you should be checking

Here we will summarise what he had to say on the first one, limping when you should be raising. We will come back to the others over the next few days.

In terms of limping, he said that if you are the first person to bet, then you should never limp; it is always better to raise. He said that he would never limp in no limit Texas Hold’em. He pointed out that you can often see some top players, for instance Phil Ivey and Gus Hansen limp before the flop, but he pointed out that these are the greatest post-flop players in the World.

A reason for raising, he explained, was to eliminate competition. Raising makes it less likely for other opponents to bet, which increases your winning chances. Another reason is to control the betting as you are encouraging your opponents to check. It is as if you have announced by your raise that you have the best hand. The third reason is to get your opponents to say something regarding the strength of their hands. If they check then you can assume that their hand is not rubbish. The fourth reason is to disguise your own hand’s strength. By always raising, the opponent has to deduce weather your hand is weak or strong. The final reason is to steal the blinds when everyone else folds.

Phil Gordon is a professional at Full Tilt Poker.