{"id":2522356,"date":"2023-08-12T19:18:36","date_gmt":"2023-08-12T19:18:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/?p=2522356"},"modified":"2025-12-29T12:56:04","modified_gmt":"2025-12-29T12:56:04","slug":"three-ways-to-punish-wide-preflop-ranges-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/three-ways-to-punish-wide-preflop-ranges-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Three Ways to Punish Wide Preflop Ranges &#8211; Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>In the <a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/three-ways-to-punish-wide-preflop-ranges-part-one\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">first installment of Three Ways to Punish Wide Preflop Ranges<\/a>, we discussed how poker players see too many flops, and began to review how to exploit that mistake. I said that one thing you can do is limp with certain classes of hands in early position. The first group of hands I suggested is the \u201cclassics\u201d \u2013 AA-QQ and AK. The ones that you\u2019re used to seeing people limp\/re-raise in early position. Or maybe even limp\/call if they want to be extra tricky (i.e. unwise).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The next category of hands you might limp is one you may not expect \u2013 let\u2019s look at it now.<\/p>\n\n\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-table-of-contents uagb-toc__align-left uagb-toc__columns-1  uagb-block-3453f8b1      \"\n\t\t\t\t\tdata-scroll= \"1\"\n\t\t\t\t\tdata-offset= \"30\"\n\t\t\t\t\tstyle=\"\"\n\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"uagb-toc__wrap\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"uagb-toc__title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTable Of Contents\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"uagb-toc__list-wrap \">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<ol class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#consider-limping-with-speculative-hands-that-would-like-to-see-a-flop\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">Consider limping with speculative hands that would like to see a flop<\/a><ul class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#except-when-you-limp3-bet-your-ten-nine-suited\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">Except when you limp\/3-bet your Ten-Nine Suited<\/a><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#why-limp3-bet-ten-nine-suited-but-not-pocket-sevens\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">Why limp\/3-bet Ten-Nine Suited but not Pocket Sevens?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#keep-absurdly-loose-opponents-on-your-right\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">Keep absurdly loose opponents on your right<\/a><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#high-vpip-players-are-giving-away-money-collect-more-than-your-share\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">High VPIP players are giving away money. Collect more than your share.<\/a><\/ul><\/ol>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Consider limping with speculative hands that would like to see a flop<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Think about hands such as 7<mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);color:#ff0000\" class=\"has-inline-color\">\u2665<\/mark>7<mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);color:#ff0000\" class=\"has-inline-color\">\u2666<\/mark> and T<mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);color:#ff0000\" class=\"has-inline-color\">\u2666<\/mark>9<mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);color:#ff0000\" class=\"has-inline-color\">\u2666<\/mark>. These hands can flop well, but don\u2019t do well if they open, but are faced with a raft of callers behind them. Let\u2019s say you\u2019re in a $1\/$3 game, open 8\u26638\u2660 to $10 in early position, and get four callers. Unless you flop a set, you\u2019re unlikely to win the hand. But it sure would be nice to go set-mining with that hand. So you <a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/3-deadly-techniques-to-punish-limpers-in-live-cash-games\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">can consider limping<\/a> for $3, and seeing what transpires behind you. If there\u2019s a raise and a 3-bet, you fold. If there\u2019s a single reasonable raise, then you can safely call. If there is no raise, and the big blind checks, you\u2019ve gotten to mine your set for the best possible price.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The same is true of a hand such as T<mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);color:#ff0000\" class=\"has-inline-color\">\u2666<\/mark>9<mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);color:#ff0000\" class=\"has-inline-color\">\u2666<\/mark>. The difference with T9s is that its most frequent way of hitting the flop is with a <em>draw<\/em>, rather than a made hand (88 flops a set or it doesn\u2019t).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And this is where the hands diverge in terms of how you respond to a raise after you\u2019ve limped in. With 77, it\u2019s best to call, assuming that the raise is small enough that you can appropriately set-mine. You can also call with your T9s, again, if the raise is small and the stacks are deep enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In short, you are paying one big blind with these speculative hands for the privilege of seeing what happens behind you.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/push-fold-charts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/jl-push-fold-charts-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"Master a GTO short stack preflop poker tournament strategy and know when to move all-in with the help of Jonathan Little's Push Fold Charts on PokerCoaching.com\" class=\"wp-image-2519906\" width=\"633\" height=\"356\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/jl-push-fold-charts-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/jl-push-fold-charts-746x420.jpg 746w, https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/jl-push-fold-charts-373x210.jpg 373w, https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/jl-push-fold-charts-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/jl-push-fold-charts-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/jl-push-fold-charts.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 633px) 100vw, 633px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/push-fold-charts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"><strong><em>Make the best preflop decisions with Jonathan Little&#8217;s Push\/Fold Charts!<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Except when you limp\/3-bet your Ten-Nine Suited<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Remember you were concerned about turning your KK face-up by limp\/3betting it preflop? While you should definitely not limp\/3-bet <em>all<\/em> of your T9s kinds of hands, you can take a very small fraction of those and treat them as if they were KK.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why limp\/3-bet Ten-Nine Suited but not Pocket Sevens?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>When you have 77 and continue putting chips in the pot after the flop, it\u2019s usually because you\u2019ve flopped a set. This is particularly true in a multi-way pot. Suppose you\u2019re playing $2\/$5 hold\u2019em with $500 stacks. You limp UTG with 77, the lojack makes it $25, the cutoff cold-calls, and you call as well. The flop comes K-7-4 rainbow. You check, the lojack bets $40, the cutoff calls, and now you can put in a hefty check\/raise to $150, setting up a turn jam.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But if you don\u2019t flop a set, you\u2019re basically done with the hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Conversely, T9s will be doing a lot of bluffing on flops where it continues. As I discussed in my <a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/suited-connectors-3-myths-and-3-truths-to-remember\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">article about suited connectors<\/a>,\u00a0 such hands make great bluffing hands, as opposed to \u201ccall and get there\u201d hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Because you will be doing a lot of bluffing when you continue with a hand such as T9s, it is advantageous to be able to represent an uncapped range with a suited connector on the flop.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thus you don\u2019t need to turn your 77 <a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/the-best-way-to-bluff-in-poker\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">into a bluff<\/a> preflop. But on rare occasions, you can turn your T9s into a bluff. If everybody thinks that you have kings, and folds, that\u2019s a <em>great<\/em> outcome. But if you get a caller or two, now you can continue on favorable flops with the specter of your holding KK still hanging over their heads.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Again, don\u2019t overuse this play. You don\u2019t get KK (or better) very often, so if you start limp\/3-betting all those hands <em>plus<\/em> all your suited connectors, you will quickly lose credibility. So pick a tiny subset (\u201cToday is T<mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);color:#ff0000\" class=\"has-inline-color\">\u2665<\/mark>9<mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);color:#ff0000\" class=\"has-inline-color\">\u2665<\/mark>and 9\u26638\u2663 day\u201d) and play those like a premium pair preflop.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Also, your informational limp may give you some unexpected opportunities. You are in a $1\/3 game with $300 stacks, and limp UTG+1 with 9\u26608\u2660. It is not on the limp\/3-bet list today, so you plan to call a reasonable raise behind you. But then the unexpected happens. There are three limpers behind you for $3 each, and now a loose-aggressive player in the cutoff makes it $25. The action folds back to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You might consider promoting your hand to the limp\/3-bet category. Presumably the others who limped have weak ranges. And the loose-aggro player may well be pouncing on all that seemingly dead money with a weak holding. If you have a tight image, and haven\u2019t made the limp\/3-bet play today, think about making it $110 to go. Expect insta-folds from the other limpers, and for the cutoff to fold often enough to make your play quite profitable. If they do call, maybe you\u2019ll flop a bunch of equity, and can just shove the flop for less than a pot-size bet.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Always be on the lookout for such opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Two reminders:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>This discussion is <em>not<\/em> permission to limp in early position with 76o or J5s. If you feel tempted to do so, just stick with the no-limping rule.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You can\u2019t pull this limp\/3-bet stunt with every suited connector you choose to limp in early position. Remember that when you do it, you\u2019re claiming to hold weapons-grade premium cards. You can only hide a tiny number of bluffs among the rare premiums that you get.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/the-best-way-to-bluff-in-poker\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/PC-Blog_The-Best-Way-To-Bluff-In-Poker-2-1024x576.png\" alt=\"Learn how to bluff in cash games and poker tournaments with these poker tips from PokerCoaching.com founder and professional poker player Jonathan Little.\" class=\"wp-image-2521745\" width=\"613\" height=\"345\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/PC-Blog_The-Best-Way-To-Bluff-In-Poker-2-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/PC-Blog_The-Best-Way-To-Bluff-In-Poker-2-746x420.png 746w, https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/PC-Blog_The-Best-Way-To-Bluff-In-Poker-2-373x210.png 373w, https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/PC-Blog_The-Best-Way-To-Bluff-In-Poker-2-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/PC-Blog_The-Best-Way-To-Bluff-In-Poker-2.png 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 613px) 100vw, 613px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/the-best-way-to-bluff-in-poker\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"><strong><em>Let Jonathan Little teach you how to bluff like the pros!<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Keep absurdly loose opponents on your right<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>I have always been taught \u2013 and always teach \u2013 to keep tough players on your right. It is tiring to have your raises often 3-bet by a tough player on your left. And in general, it\u2019s no fun playing out of position against a competent opponent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, if you have an opponent who is VPIPing absurdly high \u2013 60% or more \u2013 then you want them on your right. Why? Remember our original thesis: the money that players lose by VPIPing <a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/3-unprofitable-preflop-mistakes-you-are-making\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">too many hands preflop<\/a> largely goes to those people acting behind them. The more that you act after such players, the more of their losses flow in your direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In fact,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sitting behind a player with a VPIP of 80% is more important than sitting behind a tough aggressive player.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This goes counter to everything we\u2019ve learned about position. But after all, that 80 VPIP player will be in the pot on 80% of hands, frequently with absolute junk. You gain enormous EV by playing pots in-position against them. Conversely, the tough aggressive player will be in relatively few pots \u2013 they\u2019re not getting in there with trash. So yes, it\u2019s annoying when you raise, <a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/5-reasons-why-3-bets-crush-in-cash-games\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">the tough player 3-bets<\/a>, and you have to fold. But that will be rare compared to the times you\u2019ll be able to raise a good hand behind a limp from the weak player, and play a pot in-position against their wide range.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">High VPIP players are giving away money. Collect more than your share.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Increase your open sizing as you get closer to the button. Penalize players who are willing to call with weak ranges out-of-position against you.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Consider developing a limping range that includes both premiums and hands that want to purchase information for one big blind.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Keep overly loose players on your right, so you get the most opportunities to benefit from the chips they\u2019re wasting.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Remember, no matter what you do, players who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mypokercoaching.com\/pfr-vpip-poker-stats\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">VPIP too much<\/a> are losing money, and the rest of the table is going to share it. Using these techniques allows you to collect more than a fair share of all that free money.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the first installment of Three Ways to Punish Wide Preflop Ranges, we discussed how poker players see too many flops, and began to review how to exploit that mistake. I said that one thing [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":205,"featured_media":2522425,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[877,16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2522356","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-poker-basics","category-poker-strategy"],"acf":{"peak_live_date":null},"aioseo_notices":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/PC-Blog_Three-ways-to-punish-wide-preflop-ranges-Part-Two.png",1280,720,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/PC-Blog_Three-ways-to-punish-wide-preflop-ranges-Part-Two-373x210.png",373,210,true],"medium":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/PC-Blog_Three-ways-to-punish-wide-preflop-ranges-Part-Two-746x420.png",746,420,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/PC-Blog_Three-ways-to-punish-wide-preflop-ranges-Part-Two-768x432.png",768,432,true],"large":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/PC-Blog_Three-ways-to-punish-wide-preflop-ranges-Part-Two-1024x576.png",1024,576,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/PC-Blog_Three-ways-to-punish-wide-preflop-ranges-Part-Two.png",1280,720,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/PC-Blog_Three-ways-to-punish-wide-preflop-ranges-Part-Two.png",1280,720,false],"author_image":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/PC-Blog_Three-ways-to-punish-wide-preflop-ranges-Part-Two-100x100.png",100,100,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Lee Jones","author_link":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/author\/jonesleehgmail-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"In the first installment of Three Ways to Punish Wide Preflop Ranges, we discussed how poker players see too many flops, and began to review how to exploit that mistake. I said that one thing [&hellip;]","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2522356","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/205"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2522356"}],"version-history":[{"count":30,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2522356\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2524590,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2522356\/revisions\/2524590"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2522425"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2522356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2522356"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2522356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}