The Best All In Poker Strategy for Winning More Money

If you’re looking to take your poker game up a notch, then learning how to play “all in” is essential. This aggressive strategy can be risky, but it also has the potential to win you a lot of money if used correctly. In this guide, we’ll teach you everything you need to know about playing all in poker and give some tips on how to make the most out of this powerful move.

All In Poker Rules – When should you go all in?

The poker boom in the 2000s saw “All In Poker” become a mainstream term. Although the term is used regularly in American culture, it derives its origins from the poker glossary.

Going “all-in” means that you put all your chips into the pot during a poker hand. Here are some examples of when it is strategic to go all-in.

All In Poker Rules

An all-in poker game involves “big bet” games such as No-Limit Hold’em or Pot-Limit Omaha. However, all-ins are less common in games that have a limited betting structure.

All-in means that a player puts all of their chips into the current pot. A player can only go all-in with the chips they have started the hand with.

If you have $200 in your hand, $200 is the maximum you can add to the pot. If you are confident that you have a strong poker hand, you can’t decide to take $100 out of your pocket to add to the pot.

Going all in is also known as pushing, shoving, or jamming. If you win the hand and get called by one opponent (or both), you will double-up, doubling your chips.

Side Pots

Sometimes, three or more players are playing in a hand. One player is all in while the other two have chips.

Let’s say, for example, that the player on the button goes all-in preflop for $100 and both blinds have $200. The $100 call is made by the small blind, while the big blind also calls.

The main pot now stands at $300. However, the blinds are still being played out by the two remaining players. Any additional action between the players results in a side pot, which can only be won by the two larger-stacked players.

A poker all-in doesn’t allow a button player to win any side pot. This player will end up winning $300.

Poker All-In When to Shove

Only certain situations should warrant an all-in poker move. An aggressive all-in strategy that is too aggressive can result in huge losses at the table.

There are times when all-in is the best move.

When you’re…

If you have less than 15 big blinds, it may be time to go all-in. This applies more to poker tournaments than to cash games. Cash games allow you to replenish your stack after each hand.

If you are called or raised, a standard-sized raise is difficult with a small stack. You almost get all-in with the standard raise, so it is worth pushing your entire stack to maximize fold equity.

If you are placing a 5-bet in cash games

If you have 100 big blind stacks, any 5-bet should result is an all-in move.

Let’s say you are playing a 100-player big blind online cash game at $1/$2 stakes. The button opens at $5 and you can 3-bet up to $20 in the small blind. The button opens for $5 and you can 4-bet to $48.

This spot should be shoved if you have a hand strong enough to re-raise (aka 5bet). Any other size will give your opponent the chance to call with almost anything and leave you with a poor stack-to-pot ratio.

If you prefer a 4-bet to a large 3-bet

Sometimes, an opponent’s 3-bet can be so large that a standard-size 4-bet won’t work. This is more common in live cash games where opening raises and 3-bets are larger than in online cash games.

Let’s take our previous example as an example and make it live cash instead of online. The button player will often open to $10 or more in that spot. Your 3-bet in big blind should be at a minimum of $40 in that scenario.

The button should face their 20-big-blind 3-bet and opt for a jam if he or she decides to 4-bet.

Conclusion

All in poker can be a risky strategy, but it also has the potential to win you a lot of money if used correctly. In this guide, we’ve taught you all you need to know about playing all in and given some tips on how to make the most out of this powerful move. Good luck!