Knowing when to go all in in poker will pay off a smart player
From an early stage, children are often lectured that telling a lie is not good and should therefore be avoided. There may be certain instances, however, that some people would argue that a white lie is better and more helpful than the outright truth. This can be very tricky though, and determining the situations that call for such requires a great deal of skill.
It is a skill that definitely comes in handy in the quest to be a good poker player. Knowing when, and when not to, bluff is a primary and an integral component of a great poker player's skill set. It is also good to learn more about strategies that would help you not just learn poker, but win at it.
One of these is when to go all in. This strategy can help you strike big, or it can turn sour and drastically cut short your playing time. The important trick then is knowing when it makes sense, and when it doesn't.
Let us start with when it does not. I am sure that there are other scenarios when going all in does not make sense, but very important to remember is not to do it pre-flop in the first few rounds of a game. Why, you ask? Simple. Because it will immediately signal to the other players that you have a good hand, and will likely get calls only from those holding equally-decent cards.
Having said that, following are scenarios when going all in is a good bet.
The first may seem to directly counter the previously explained situation. In fact, going all in pre-flop may be a good idea during the latter part of a tournament and once you know that you are playing against very good opponents. This is because getting to the flop may mean getting outskilled. Also, most of the time, skilled players know better than to call pre-flop when they hold poor hands.
The next situation is also in the late rounds of a game, when you have established that you play tight, i.e., playing only a few, but good, hands. By then, the others would hesitate to call the bet as they would be expecting you to hold winning cards.
Interestingly, the converse can likewise be a good time when to go all in. As a tournament progresses, the participants tend to play tighter. Raising the blinds of these tight players by going all in could actually work for you and win you big.
In summary, knowing this combination of circumstances will help you determine when to go all in and improve your poker playing.
