Limping with less than 10BB?

[jasonv12]

I'll admit, I limp in with less than 10bb. However, I will only limp in with hands that I am prepared to go all-in with. So if someone raises me I will go ahead and shove most of the time. This goes against proper strategy, but I believe in the 5-10 range I still have enough bbs to see 2 flops if I need to. So when I hit 10bb, I tighten up my range, limp sometimes and see a flop cheap. If I hit the flop or sense weakness I'll shove on the flop. If I think I'm beat, I still have another chance. 10bb is still enough in a shove that most other players won't call unless they have a super strong hand. By limping and then shoving on the flop I can build up the pot a little more. Once I hit 5bb is where I'm gonna shove anything playable.

You reasoning is good, but I'm not sure this wins in the long run. Here's the problem: you're opening yourself up to a lot of luck, by which I mean you will have to get lucky in order to come back from a short stack. Whereas by open shoving you will need to get lucky if called BUT you also have the added equity of when everyone folds and that right there can get you back in the game with 0 risk whatsoever. And with 5-10bbs, losing one pot, even for a limp can be enough for you to lose all your remaining fold equity.

You really need to balance a)equity when called and b)likelihood of being called and when a shove feels profitable, just go with it when you're this short.

Shoving is unexploitable.