Going All In

Going all in is a unique aspect of no-limit poker that is not usually available to the limit player. 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 it is right to go all in.



1. Preflop: Aces or Kings
If you have aces or kings, you really want to get as much money in the pot preflop as possible. Here is an example: Assume that you and your opponents have about $500 in your stacks. You have the A A and open with a raise to $25 from under the gun in a $2-$5 no-limit hold'em game. Everyone folds to a middle-position player, who makes it $75 straight. Everyone else folds to the big blind, who calls. At this point, there is $175 in the pot and it costs you $50 more to call. If you were to just call, there would be $225 in the pot, and you would have two opponents. I believe a better option is to simply go all in for your entire stack. If both opponents fold, that is fine, since you pocket $175 immediately. If one opponent calls, usually the reraiser, you still have a large edge over a lower pair or two big cards headed by an ace. You also negate the reraiser's positional advantage and don't have to worry about being outplayed post-flop. If both opponents call, you are the most likely player to "triple up." In fact, I would make this play even if the big blind had folded, since I am heads up, but out of position. I am amazed at how often I get called.



2. Preflop: A-K (Short-Stacked)
As a no-limit player, I normally don't like building big pots with this hand, and going all in preflop is something I would avoid like the plague. However, sometimes I don't mind going all in with big slick. Assume that you are on the button with A-K and have about $150 in your stack. Suppose that a maniac open-raises for $30 and everyone folds to you. You should go all in because: (1) The maniac will usually call, (2) You can eliminate the rest of the field, (3) You frequently have the best hand, (4) You get to see all five boardcards, which improves your chances of ending up with the best hand when your hand is not already the best, and (5) Since you are short-stacked, you will often end up with most of your stack in the pot anyway.

3. Post-Flop: Huge Draw

Suppose that you are in the big blind with the A K and have about $500 in front of you. A middle-position player who plays in a loose-passive manner limps in. Everyone then folds to a tricky, aggressive player in the small blind, who also limps in. You raise to $30 in this $2-$5 game. Both opponents call. There is $90 in the pot and three players.



The flop is J 10 8. The small blind checks. You bet $50, and the middle-position player calls. The small blind check-raises, making it $150 straight. There is $340 in the pot and it is $100 to you.



The right play is to simply move all in. The probability of your opponents folding, your chances of making the nuts by the river (you have 12 outs to the nuts with two cards to come), and your overcard outs make raising mandatory. Simply calling would be terrible poker, because if a blank comes on the turn, you are setting yourself up to be pushed off the hand. If you are going to raise, you want to raise a sufficient amount, so that your opponents have an incentive to fold. If you raise just the amount of the bet, you are inviting them to call, and if you raise any more than that, you are "pot committed" anyway.



In the actual hand, the big blind just called. The middle-position player also called. There was $540 in the pot. The turn was the 3. The small blind went all in for $500. The big blind went into the tank and reluctantly folded. The middle-position player called. The river was the Q and the middle-position player won with the 9 2, making a flush, while the small blind had the J 7. Not only did the big blind miss out on winning the pot, he actually had more outs than he realized. He had six overcard outs (and, yes, two fewer flush outs).



One of the key points to observe in many of these hands is that if you don't go all in, you frequently end up with most of your stack in the pot anyway. This can happen through continuation betting or simply calling when someone else bets or goes all in.



4. Post-Flop: Big Made Hand

Suppose that you are in a $2-$5 game with the 2 2 in the small blind. You have $300 in front of you. An early-position player opens with a raise to $20. Two middle-position players, the cutoff, and the button all call. You call, and the big blind calls. There are seven players and $140 in the pot.



The flop is J 10 2, giving you bottom set.



There are two reasonable courses of action. The first is to check, hoping someone will bet, and, depending upon the action, go all in. The problem is that you are running the risk of handing out free cards to several opponents, and may be put in a guessing game later. The second is to simply go all in immediately. This is a huge drawing flop, with both a two-flush and two connecting Broadway cards. You must ensure that anyone trying to draw out on you pays the highest price possible to do so. You have too much of a hand to ever fold, so all of your money is most likely going in at some point anyway.



5. Post-Flop: Good Hand and Good Draw

Suppose that you have $300 in front of you in a $2-$5 game and are in the big blind with the Q J. An early-position player limps in and a middle-position player raises to $25. The cutoff and button call. The small blind folds. You make a dubious call for another $20. The early-position player calls. There is $125 in the pot and five players. The flop is J 9 3, giving you top pair, decent kicker with a flush draw and an overcard.



Considering your stack size and the amount already in the pot, you should go all in. Your hand may be the best, your draw may be the best, or neither or both, who knows? You want your opponents to fold, but you have a good hand to fall back on when they don't. To do anything else is to simply put yourself out of position and unclear about what you want. What you don't want is to be involved in a three- or four-way pot with neither the best hand nor the best draw. When this happens, you get squeezed with hardly any chance to win. Give a bigger jack a chance to fold. A guy with K-J offsuit may be unlikely to pay $300 to continue playing. Give a bigger flush draw a chance to fold. Someone who came into the pot with king-little suited in spades may decide to fold rather than pay $300 to make a non-nut flush. If you get called, it will almost always be from one opponent, and that opponent cannot have both the best hand and the best draw.



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