advanced poker play

Introduction

The strategy of going all-in is a rarely used one outside of tournament poker, where it can be a very effective strategy to employ. However, whether in a side-game or a tournament the decision processes behind whether or not you should go all-in are the same. The problem for novice players of poker tournaments is that they won’t have had that many occasions in previous side-games to learn whether or not the best decision is to go all-in.

Going all-in

I guess, in case there are any rookie poker players reading this, before going any further we’d all better be clear what is meant by going all-in.  Quite simply it means betting all of the chips in your possession on the hand you’ve been dealt. Sounds dangerous and, yes, it can be a dangerous strategy to employ. Some folk will employ it when they’ve got a high hand whilst others will use it as a bluffing tactic to try and scare opponents into folding. You can also go all-in if you haven’t got sufficient chips to call a bet. Rather than folding and being left with an even shorter stack, probably leaving you in an untenable position anyway, you are in effect saying to everyone else at the table that you’ve reached a ‘make or break’ point in the poker game. Either way all of your chips are now covering the current pot, after that if other players then continue to bet they create another side pot that you’re not involved with. If you’ve gone all-in and do have the best hand then you win the main pot, but not the side pot as no player can win more than what everyone else has bet into. This last point is important as, even if you lose by going all-in you could still get some chips back. That situation could come about if your all-in is greater than the value of the other player’s bets – you get back the extra chips. However, the possibility of this happening is usually connected to the size of your stack.

Stacks and going all-in

If you think logically there really is little point going all-in when you’ve got anything but a short stack. Poker is all about using your skill in calculating chances and odds, but unless you’re holding King, Ace and a Queen, Jack, then a Ten were to occur, giving you a straight flush – you really would be crazy going all-in with the biggest stack. Anything like a decent hand with a big stack, you can just sit back calling and raising to your hearts content. Even with a medium stack, there’s more risk involved with going all-in that is really worth it. You really are better advised to calculate your odds of winning and fold if necessary. With a short stack, and especially in tournament poker, going all-in could be the strategy to turn around your game. With a short stack you’ll probably move toward going all-in as soon as the hole cards are dealt. With the short stack you could quickly find yourself unable to call bets and yet feel that you really need to see the river card. You have the dilemma of folding and being at the mercy of the next hand or going all-in and sitting it out. In many respects, with a good pair of hole cards, going all-in can be the better decision here. Although it’ll feel weird having no chips in front of you, in effect you’ve removed any pressure from yourself and can sit back and see what cards are turned over – free of any decision making. However, and perhaps more significantly, by going all-in having had the short stack – you’re still in play when that last card is turned over.

Going all-in before the flop

There are situations in which you might even consider going all-in before the flop. The simplest situation that could force this upon you is if you’ve been one of the blinds and know you wouldn’t be able to even call a bet after the first round of betting. Such a decision might, of course, be tempered according to how many people were sitting at the table and the number of reloads you’re allowed and have already used – or indeed can afford. So, going all-in before the flop, even with a pair of Aces in the hole can be tricky. The problem is that someone with a big stack can easily call your all-in at little or no risk to themselves, with a high risk of freezing you out of the game. However, of more concern to you is the risk that another player with a short stack will call your all-in, as although they are running a very high risk – they also know they could scoop a very high reward. Earlier on we mentioned about big stack players not being advised to go all-in. The more people there are at the table the worse your odds are for drawing the right cards after the flop. With a full table you’ve got a 1:83 chance of getting a top pair of cards and only a 1:56 chance of getting any sort of face cards pair. Going all-in only to see everyone else fold means you’ll make a real killing – not – on the blinds! Whereas, by betting through the hand you’d still have been in a strong position to win and could have then taken a sizeable pot too. For the rookie tournament player this is one sure-fire way of giving away to everyone else that you are just that, the rookie, by going all-in before the flop with a big stack.

Countering an all-in move

As well as knowing when to move all-in you also need to be wary of players going all-in against you. Presuming you’ve got the chips it’s always best to bet against rather than to just call an all-in bet. Quite simply, if you should decide to call an all-in bet you have to be 100% confident that your hand is superior to that of the ‘all-in’ opponent. So, when someone plays an all-in against you they put the onus on you make a decision about your chips too, with no room for bluffing. Therefore, providing there are other players still in the game continue to bet against them in the side pot. If there’s just the two of you left, if that 100% certainty isn’t there – fold; you can always get back at them next hand.