diff --git a/yuyo/backoff.py b/yuyo/backoff.py
index 3a221fcd7..03862e297 100644
--- a/yuyo/backoff.py
+++ b/yuyo/backoff.py
@@ -133,7 +133,7 @@ def __init__(
         jitter_multiplier: float = 1.0,
         initial_increment: int = 0,
     ) -> None:
-        if max_retries < 1:
+        if max_retries is not None and max_retries < 1:
             raise ValueError("max_retries must be greater than 1")
 
         self._backoff = rate_limits.ExponentialBackOff(