10 Tips for a Successful Poker All-in Strategy

Here's an article I found that might be helpful for some while the others might argue some tips. Hope it's a good read:

All-in is a betting strategy used in today's most popular poker game, No limit Texas Holdem. When you declare that you're going "All-in", you are putting all your chips into the pot on that hand. This could be a do or die move by you, depending on whether you have more or less chips than an opponent who calls your bet. If you have less starting chips and lose the all-in, you are out of the game.

This is what makes all-in such a powerful strategy in Texas Holdem poker, but also what makes it such a dangerous one. Go all-in and you can be finished on one turn of a card.
Some poker players however miss the point a bit with their all in bets and lose out on opportunities to take advantage of a strategically placed bet.
Here are 10 tips that should help you to decide when the right time is to go all-in.

1. Don't just wait until you've got the "nuts". If you do this you will be very predictable and opponents will simply fold to your all-in.

2. Remember that it is much easier to make an all-in bet than to call one. All you need to do to win the hand is bet when you're sure your opponent will fold.

3. If you are a strong chip leader you can bully your opponents into folding. You will lose some of your chips if you lose an all-in, they will lose them all and be out of the game.

4. Don't go all-in on a stone cold bluff. Always make sure that even though you might not have the best hand, you have a chance of making it with the cards that are still to be dealt. Put another way, leave yourself with "outs".

5. Beware of going all-in with a short stack of chips. You are far more likely to get called by a big stack because if you lose, you will be out of the tournament. You need to have an almost unbeatable hand in these circumstances.

6. If you are low on chips, use the all-in to your advantage if you get a monster hand. You will almost certainly get called and you might even get more than one caller so instead of doubling your money you can triple it or even better.

7. You can't bluff if you're short stacked, you do not have enough chips and nobody is going to be afraid to bet against you. You can only go all-in if you get a good hand.

8. If you're short stacked, don't let your chips drain away with the blinds. Make a stand with an all-in while you still have a chance to steal the blinds. If you get called you can still win the pot and be back in the game.

9. If a short stacked player goes all-in, it is usually better for you to re-raise all in. This will scare off any other callers after you in the betting who might have also called just because of the value they were getting for their bet.

10. If somebody goes all in against you, use the previous tips above to decide why he did. Does he only go all-in with the nuts? Is short stacked? Is he trying to bully you to get you to fold? Weigh up the situation very carefully before deciding whether to call.

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