The first two bets that go into the pot of a Hold'em game are forced bets. As a result, they're called "blinds" because the players don't even have to look at their cards, they're betting anyway. I'll come back to the idea of blinds later.

On the first round of betting, players can fold/call/raise, but no checking is allowed. The first player to enter the pot by either calling, or raising is said to "open".

Limping - When someone decides to enter by just calling the big blind, they are "limping" into the hand. If a player limps into a hand, they are (usually) looking to see the flop, and play accordingly afterwards. There is no way to win a hand preflop by limping.

Because of that, there is a school of poker thought that discourages ever open-limping. In fact, I think I've seen a T-shirt that says, "Friends don't let friends open limp".

Like any bet, players can open limp from early, middle or late position. Each of these actions can say something about the players hand. For example, straightforward players would not limp open limp from early position with a monstor hand. They might limp with a middle pair. (Of course not everyone is a straightforward player.)

Limping is an attempt to pay the least to see the flop, and indicates a wide range of possible holdings.

OVERLIMPING - when the hand is already opened, and an additional player decides to limp as well, they are overlimping.

Overlimping is a cheap way to enter the pot, especially when holding hands that need to win a big pot to be played profitably. Limping into a pot is not a sign of strength.

Notes on Limping

• From Early Position - there are plenty of payers to act behind you. One of them may raise, forcing you to fold "prospect" hands, or commit more chips to see the flop.

• Limping Tends to Encourage Limping - as players enter the pot for cheap, the building pot encourages more players to enter the pot for the cheap.

• Table Dynamics Matter - and are the difference between the first and second scenerios. If the players behind you are aggressive, limping from early position can be a bad idea. If they are passive, you can reasonably hope to build a pot by limping in.

• Catching Part of the Flop - this is a hole for beginning players, and has more to do with hand selection than bet type. Still, players who would like to enter the pot with weak starting hands are more likely to limp with them than raise.

  If a player enters with a hand like A 7s, and the flop comes A x x, they have caught part of the flop. Anyone holding a more solid hand like AT or AJ has them dominated and will likely extract more chips from them between the flop and the showdown.