Theoretical justification for limping

[sammy_g]

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Yada, yada, yada.... Mix up your play. Bottom line.

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I agree that in practice -- against observant opponents -- you need to mix up your play. To do this, though, you must understand what is theoretically correct and then sometimes deviate to keep your opponents off-balance. But the question is, "Is it theoretically correct to ever limp first in?" This is a reasonable and interesting question.

I'd also argue that we are not limping first in simply to merely mix it up because that seems to be the standard play with some hands. If I limp with QJs in early position at a full hold'em table, I'm not making this play to mix it up. If I wanted to mix it up, I would raise with that hand.

With an open limp, I am basically saying, "I probably do not have the best hand at the table at the moment -- if I did, I would raise -- but there is enough money in the pot from blinds/antes that it is still correct for me to play."

In fact, it must somtimes be correct to limp. Take the extreme example: say you were playing $1/$2 stud with an ante of $1,000,000. You can't even think of folding on 3rd street. You wouldn't raise your bad hands, however, because no one else would ever fold, and you can't raise for value. So you limp.

[GreywolfNYC]

Okay. I wanted to provoke a flame or two before I replied. I know that DS says its okay to limp with group 5 hands (such as Ax suited) if the game is not too aggressive (HEPFAP at p.18). I also know that Miller tells you to limp with pairs all the way down to deuces, right? Now, Sklansky has made me more money than anyone else in the poker world and I have studied his books very hard. But limping in early position with these sort of marginal hands has cost me plenty. And it is a habit that I've been cured of.
Let's say you're UTG+2 in a full ring game that isn't too aggressive, but where the players are not total morons. You open limp with A6 of spades. Then, MP1 raises, it is folded around to the BB, who calls. You call. The flop is Ace, 10, 8, with one of your suit. The BB bets out...
My point here is now not only is your actual position difficult but your relative position is even more so as the BB has effectively put you under the gun with a less than premium hand.
All I can tell you is what I've experienced. I'm not a theorist and I'm not pretending to be one. I have discarded this practice of open-limping and it has vastly improved my game and my profit.
If you want to limp once in a while to "mix up your game", fine. But you should only be mixing up your game if your regular game isn't working. What's the point of fixing something that isn't broken?