What is going all in?

In terms of poker, going all in means betting your entire stack. If you win the hand, then you have the potential to win a lot of chips; but if you lose, you’re likely to be busted out of the game. This is why it’s so important to know the importance of going all in, what it could cost and how to avoid silly mistakes.

Other terms for going all in:

- Shoving

- Pushing

- Jamming

Some poker players will shove often, while others will rarely do it at all. It completely comes down to the individual style of play, other players at the table, the cards in your hand and the chips in front of you. This all sounds very vague, but we’re going to break down each one for you and why they’re important to consider.

Individual style of play: This will boil down to whether you’re a risky player or if you’re tight with your chips. It’s worth considering how your style of play will affect you going all in - will people think you’re bluffing because you throw chips into the pot with any two cards, or are they likely to take you seriously because you rarely make it past the flop? Speaking of other players at the table…

The other players at the table: Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), if you’re playing Texas Hold’em, then anyone can go all in at any time. This can quickly become annoying if one player keeps pushing just to steal the blinds, especially if they act after you!

The cards in your hand: This one should be obvious, but always consider your cards before you go all in. Pushing your chips is a very different move when you’re bluffing vs when you’re holding the nuts.

The chips in front of you: Going all in with a big stack is a sign of dominance, going all in with a tiny stack is a sign of desperation. When you’ve only got a few big blinds left in front of you, it makes sense to risk it all to double-up, however, it’s more interesting when people are willing to risk a massive stack by going all in. 

Things to be careful of when going all in while playing poker

There are a few different things to watch out for if you’re thinking of shoving, as they could cost you big if you make a mistake.

Why is there a side pot when I go all in?

A side pot is formed when a player goes all in, but their chip amount is less than someone else's and there is more than one person playing. The side pot is a way for the dealer to know which chips are eligible to go to each player.

For example, if Player A goes all in with $10 and three people call them, they’ll have $40 in their pot, plus any blinds or bets before this. We’ll call this Side Pot A. This is the maximum they can win, because they’ve only staked $10.

If Player B goes all in afterwards with $200 and gets $600 in Side Pot B, this is nothing to do with Player A.

Player A's all-in is only $10, so they can only take $10 from each player.

Just because they’ve gone all in, that doesn’t mean they’ll take their opponent's stack in its entirety.

As you can see:

- Player A has a stake in their side pot, so they can win it.

- Player A does not have a stake in Player B’s side pot, so they cannot win anything from it.

- Player B has a stake in both side pots, so they could win both.

The side pot is important, because it allows the other players at the table to continue betting, even after an all in. For example, Players C and D could continue betting against one another here, but for the sake of the example, we’ll keep it simple.

If Player A wins: Player A will take Side Pot A, plus any blinds or bets made before they went all in. Side Pot B will go to the next highest hand after them, whether that’s Player B, C or D.

If Player B wins: Player A is knocked out, and all the chips on the table go to Player B.

If Player C or D win: Player A and Player B are knocked out, and all the chips go to Player C or D.

This seems like a lot to take in at once, but it’ll make sense once you’ve seen it a few times on the tables. Just make sure you give the dealer enough time to count out the chip stacks and make sure everything is right.

Verbal is binding, even if just one chip goes in

It’s very funny to say ‘all in!’ as a joke and then toss in a smaller amount, unfortunately, this is completely binding at a poker table.

As poker rules go, verbal announcements are binding, which means if you say all in, you’re then going all in, whether you like it or not.

The same can go for putting even just one chip over the line. If your opponent goes all in and you put a chip over the line, that’s considered a call. They’ll flip over their cards in the showdown - if you didn’t realise you were calling an all in or the chip fell over accidentally, you’re in a lot of trouble here!

Differences in Texas Hold’em and Omaha all-in

Going all in will differ depending on whether you’re playing Texas Hold’em or Omaha. Why? This is because Omaha is usually pot limit, while Texas is no limit.

- No limit: There’s no cap on what you can bet. You can technically go all in pre-flop if you want, nothing can stop you!

- Pot limit: You can only bet 3x the last person's bet, plus anything else that’s been bet previously, including the pot.

This means that if you’re playing a particularly spicy game of Omaha, there could be several rounds of ‘pot’ called around the table before the dealer can even move, essentially signalling that everyone's gone all in.

When to go all in playing poker

There are some times when pushing all your chips over the line can be quite strategic. These are some of the times to consider going all in when playing poker.

When you’re short stacked: If you’re in a tournament and you’ve got 15 big blinds or less, then it’s time to start playing a little more aggressively or your stack is going to fizzle out before you know it. If an opportunity presents itself for you to go all, it’s recommended to at least consider it.

When you want to push someone out of the pot: Whether it’s keeping the short stacks out of the pot, or it's on the turn and you want to push the villain to fold before any more cards are shown, going all in is a great way to be intimidating at the table. This is important on the final table, as middle stacks will usually fold if there are still short stacks at the table because they don’t want to make any rash decisions and risk their place in the money.

An easy way to steal the blinds: If it looks like everyone’s got weak hands, it could be worth going all in just to steal the blinds. This works if you can make a joke out of it, but be careful about people calling your bluff if you do it a few times!

You’re playing against a whale or calling station: This is the poker player's dream, having a loose player at the table who will call anything, whether they’ve got good cards or not!

When not to go all in

Pre-flop: Unless you’re absolutely desperate or short-stacked, it’s better to wait until later in the hand to go all in. You’re more likely to get some value from the other players first, as well as actually being able to see the cards! 

As a bluff: Going all in as a bluff is one of the most powerful, but reckless moves you can do while playing poker. There’s a distinct thrill that goes along with it that’s difficult to replicate anywhere else, but at the same time, you could very easily get knocked out of the tournament.

Just because you can: Going all in regularly is a quick way to become the table villain. If you keep pushing to steal the blinds or bully people at the table, then others are going to notice, and you’re going to end up painting a target on your back. It’s best to keep it to strategic moves only, unless you want to make things difficult for yourself.