Limp Reraises

A limp-reraise is the act of just calling the big blind, and then reraising after another player has raised. What does this bet mean, and should you ever use it yourself?



This essay focuses mainly on limp-reraises at no-limit hold 'em, where it is much more important to make the correct decision facing a limp-reraise. Here are some comments for fixed-limit hold 'em and pot-limit Omaha players. At fixed-limit hold 'em, there are two types of limp-reraises. I like to call them 'real' and 'tilt'. When a player makes a real limp-reraise, the situation is similar to no-limit. The player has a big hand and is slowplaying it because he sees the pros on TV do it. Expect to see a big pair or maybe A-K. However, often a player makes a tilt limp-reraise, where he is either on tilt or just wants to gamble for whatever reason. (This bet is most common when the player has limped, and it is two raises back to him. Perhaps he feels the pot will be capped anyway and he just wants to save time.) This player will often turn up with a hand like A-7 suited, so you should not be intimidated by his limp-reraise. How can you tell these bets apart? The best clues are whether the opponent is a solid player (more likely that he has a real hand) or a loose gambler, and whether the pot has been raised twice before the player now reraises, in which case it is likely to be a tilt reraise.



In pot-limit Omaha, the most likely explanation for a limp-reraise is that the player has A-A-x-x, and has heard that A-A-x-x is a favorite over any other hand heads-up, from Phil Hellmuth or elsewhere. Unfortunately for the aces, making the first raise is unlikely to get the action heads-up, so the player instead limps in and hopes someone else raises so he can reraise and hopefully get a lot of his stack in preflop in a heads-up pot. If you see a limp-reraise in PLO, as with most other preflop reraises, assume the raiser has A-A-x-x and proceed accordingly. Similar comments apply for pot-limit Omaha hi-lo, except that if the reraiser is a good player, he will usually have a low card with his aces, such as A-A-3-x.



Back to no-limit. How do you react facing a limp-reraise? First off, notice that a limp-reraise is the preflop version of slowplaying. You are letting people into the pot cheaply, then unleashing a big raise when others have committed themselves to the pot. This means that when you see someone use this play, they almost always have a very big hand. Second, notice that a player who is short-stacked (even in a fixed-limit game) will often just try to push all his chips in with a limp-reraise when he wants to lose all the rest of his chips or win a pot. The advice in this essay does not apply when the opponent is short-stacked.



Generally speaking, when playing no-limit, expect to see a limp-reraiser have A-A or K-K. Occasionally you will see a limp-reraise with Q-Q or A-K, but aces or kings are the most common.



So what does this mean? In general, the best play, facing a limp-reraise, is to fold unless you have A-A. I know this advice sounds insane. I'm telling you to fold any other hand, even kings or queens, just because your opponent has put in a raise preflop. But put yourself in the shoes of the raiser. He only limp-reraises with his very best hands. If he makes the play with A-A or K-K, then your K-K is either even money or a huge underdog, and the pot is very small compared the amount you will have to put in later. Fold now or you will probably find yourself broke when the dust has cleared. By the way, if you are lucky enough to have pocket aces and see someone limp-reraise, push all your chips in. Whatever his hand, he will almost certainly call. Don't give him a free chance to catch a miracle flop, and don't let a dangerous-looking flop intimidate him into folding. Thus, if someone limp-reraises and you flat-call him, you made a mistake, no matter what your hand is.



There are players who enjoy limp-reraising with any A-K or J-J in addition to the big hands. Against these players it is correct to also push all-in with K-K, but to fold any hand Q-Q or worse. It is very rare to meet a player whose limp-reraising standards are so loose that Q-Q or lower becomes playable. The only time this really occurs is when the player is a known maniac or is on tilt. You should be paying enough attention to your table to determine whether the player meets this standard, in which case you must get in there and gamble with him if you have any big pocket pair.



The reason the limp-reraise works is that the other players, especially the initial raiser, feel pot-committed after they have put in one raise, and they want to see a flop. Also, they are fooled into believing the raiser doesn't have a big hand, because that player did not raise initially. Don't be fooled. Remember that players save their limp-reraises for their very best hands, huge pocket pairs.



On a related note, consider this action on a future betting round, say on the turn. Player A checks, player B makes a bet, and player C raises. If player A now comes over the top of both players with a reraise, he almost certainly has the nuts or close to it. The act of raising a cold bet and raise to you is a very strong power play, even in a fixed-limit game, especially if you are on the turn or river where the betting limit has doubled. Whether you are B or C in this spot, fold unless you have a monster or A is a maniac. Failure to do so will prove expensive.



Finally, should you ever limp-reraise yourself? It's not a bad play if you're in early position with a big hand (a pair Q-Q or bigger), your game is moderately aggressive (meaning that a preflop raise behind you is likely), and your opponents don't play well (so your limp-reraise will trap them effectively and they won't be able to get away from their hands cheaply). Remember that the goal of this, like any slowplay, is to wait until a small pot escalates in size before announcing your strength. If a few players have called already, it is best to raise yourself and hope to collect from them.



The bottom line



If you see a limp-reraise preflop in no-limit, warning bells should go off in your head. You're up against a huge hand. Remember that you haven't invested much, and folding now will be a lot cheaper than going broke on the hand. Sometimes you don't need to see your opponent's cards to know he has a rock-crusher.