[innerpeace]

if you feel that you can outplay your opponents post flop, then it's generally better to keep the pot small preflop. in high stakes games, everyone thinks they can outplay everyone else, which is why you might see more open limping. this even happens in short-handed games, especially if the big blind over-defends. also, by making your initial bet size small, it's easier to deal with a re-raise, especially if your range is wide. open limping also mixes things up and can throw your opponents off balance, which is an important consideration in higher-stakes play.