Calling an All-In Bet

By calling an all-in bet, I mean one of two situations. The first is when your opponent bets all of his money and you have more than enough money in your stack to call. The second is when your opponent bets enough so that, if you call, it is for all of your money. When should you call someone else's all-in bet? Knowing how to handle this properly can be the difference between being a winning and a losing player. This column will discuss some situations in which a player is facing an all-in bet.



1. Preflop: Pocket Kings


Suppose you are in a $2-$5 no-limit hold'em game with $500 in front of you and are holding the K K in the cutoff seat. A very tight player is in the big blind. The under-the-gun player opens with a raise to $25. Everyone folds to you and you make it $75 straight. The button and the small blind both fold. The big blind now goes all in for $400. The under-the-gun player folds. What should you do?



In the actual hand, the player said: "I know you have aces or kings, but I have to call with my kings and pay you off." The big blind had pocket aces and won when the boardcards failed to help the player.



When a very tight player wants to play for all of his money against two opponents who have raised and reraised, what can he have? With A-K, he would not want to play for all of his money, since he would be fearful of being up against aces or kings. With A-K, even against queens or a lower pocket pair, he is still a small underdog. With a raiser and a reraiser, he knows there is an excellent chance that at least one player has a pocket pair.



With pocket queens, he would still be concerned about being overpaired by aces or kings making him a huge dog. He knows that he is only a small favorite against an A-K. From his perspective, going all in would be right only if both the raiser and the reraiser had lower pocket pairs, which is extremely unlikely.



This means that he can have only aces or kings. Since you have two kings, there is only one combination he can have for two kings, but six hands he can have for pocket aces. This is one of those rare occasions when it is right to fold pocket kings preflop.



2. Post-Flop: Big Overpair



You are in early position with the J J and raise to $25 after a tough, tricky player limps in from under the gun. Both the cutoff and the under-the-gun player call. All of you have about $500. There is $80 in the pot and three players.



The flop is 5 5 2, giving you a big overpair with a backdoor-flush draw. The under-the-gun player checks to you. You bet $50 and the cutoff folds. The under-the-gun player now makes it $150 straight. You decide to just call. There is $380 in the pot and two players.



The turn is the 7. Your opponent now goes all in for $330, which would put you all in if you call. What should you do?



Let's review the action. Your opponent limped in from under the gun rather than raising, so it is unlikely, though possible, that he has a bigger pocket pair. He called a significant preflop raise with only one other player. Would he do this with a 5 in his hand? It seems unlikely. Furthermore, with trip fives, he probably would wait until the turn to check-raise or try to go all in, since you would be more "pot-committed." His most likely holding is a pocket pair that is an overpair to the board. He check-raised the flop in case you had A-K. When you called, he knows you have a big overpair and not A-K. He is now going all in to try to represent a big hand and hope you will be afraid to lose all of your money with a one-pair hand. The bottom line is that it is simply too easy for your hand to be the best, and you should call.



In the actual hand, the player called. There was $1,040 in the pot. The river was the Q. The pocket jacks held up, as the other player had the 9 9.



3. On the River



You are on the button with the 10 9 and have $300 in front of you. The small blind has about $1,000 in front of him. Two early-position players limp in, and you limp for $5. The small blind completes, and the big blind checks. There is $25 in the pot and five players.



The flop is J 9 9, giving you trip nines with some runner-runner possibilities. The small blind comes out betting $25, and everyone folds to you. You just call rather than put in a big raise. You have caught a good flop and have no desire to scare off your opponent when you have position. There is $75 in the pot and two players.



The turn is the 3, giving you a flush draw in addition to your trip nines. The small blind checks. You make a pot-size bet of $75 despite the flush possibility. You tend to discount the flush possibility, since your opponent checked when the flush card arrived. Furthermore, you have outs to beat a flush. Your opponent just calls. There is now $225 in the pot.



The river is the 2, giving you a flush. Your opponent now bets $200, which puts you all in if you call. What should you do?



You have to fold. There is $425 in the pot and it costs you the rest of your money to call. The only thing you can beat is a lower diamond flush, which could happen if your opponent started with a low suited connector in diamonds. But with one of those hands, he certainly would have bet the turn. His most likely holding is something like top pair with a diamond kicker that now gives him a big flush.



In the actual hand, the player made a crying call and lost when his opponent showed him the A J, for an ace-high flush.



"Do you ever consider pot odds when you call pot-size turn bets?" the player asked. The small blind just shrugged and stated that he came to gamble. Of course, the real answer to this question depends upon how big a river bet the player is willing to call with a worse hand.

Jim Brier can be reached at [email protected], and would welcome any questions or comments. He has co-authored a book with Bob Ciaffone titled Middle Limit Holdem Poker. It is available through Card Player.