10 Tips for a Successful Poker All-in Strategy

I really like those Strategy's, I definilty need to learn to not be as big as a bully while the chip leader, I've crashed and burned being ahead more then the times I've won.

I think it's important to keep your objectives in mind, if you want to consider this strategy.

If you are short-stacked in a tourney, you'll be looking to double up at the right time. "The right time" being the central idea. Any time you want to push, you'll want to be as sure as possible to get only 1 caller. That means 1) do it while you have at least 4 X BB to discourage the limpers and 2) do it when you're ahead of a relatively low number of callers. Isolating is obviously a problem when you're lowstacked, but it's the premium situation for a lowstack. With blinds, ante and change, you could be tripling or better on a 30-70 chance of winning against overs. Not too shabby. In multi-way pots your odds drop like Enron shares.
"Piggy-backing" is a nice way to isolate. Say your in late position with your puny stack. Ahead of you a player raises the minimum and the medium stack next to him goes all in. You have K3s. If you call all in here, you'll probably have two-way action with a chance for a pot 3-4+ times the size of your stack. You'll be "piggy-backing" the medium stacks strength, giving you the premium 2-way situation. If you're up against say QQ, you're only a 30-70 dog. Pretty sweet.

If you have middle-sized stack, the all-in strategy could play well the way t1riel described - giving you the initiative and pressure. You're looking to steal or double up here.

If you're a big stack in a tourney, I think the all-in strategy will come very short. A big stack is playing a game of information and pressure. Getting information is not putting your opponents in instant all-in situations. Your opponents know you have a lot of chips and that they're risking all of theirs if they call you. A 3-4 X BB raise is just as effective and you'll still have the option to fold to a reraise all in, if the information tells you you're beat. You'll still be showing tremendous strength, presenting your opponents with tough decisions and the end result could very well be the same. Only diffence is, you'll have a lot more information to act on.

Consider a situation where you are shortstacked in a tourney. The big stack in middle position raised the pot 4 x BB pre-flop, and you are the only caller in BB with ATo in the hole (a hand that you might also call an all in with at this point). It cost you a 3rd of your stack. The flop misses you, coming 36K and now the big stack bets out to put you all in. If he got any piece of that, you hold a 3-outer, maybe 6 - you reluctantly fold. The big stack might not have connected, but got richer by keeping pressure. An all-in bet pre-flop by the big stack would have put this pressure-strategy out of play, and presenting less tough decisions to the short stack.

Coin-flips are for short-stacks, not big stacks.

Wow, that's a long post. Sorry to go on and on ;-)

Luske

a really really nice post. truly breath taking