Learning All-In Poker Rules: When and Why You Should Go All-In

All-in" in poker is betting all of your remaining chips. You would go all-in if you have a good hand and you'd like the other person to call, or a bad hand and you'd like the other person to fold. Or if you don't have that many chips left relative to the pot (e.g. if there is $75 in the pot and you have $50 remaining in your stack).

Few wagers have more weight than the all-in bet. The aggressive play is a make-or-break moment for both you and your opponent. Let's dive into the rules, strategy, and psychology of the high-impact play at thegamblinghouse.org.

What Is All-In In Poker?

All-in in poker is betting every chip that you have. When you state, "I'm all-in," you have committed your entire chip stack.

(True, in poker, the word is binding. To call a poker all-in is the same as pushing all your poker chips into the middle.)

This is specific to No Limit Texas Hold 'Em poker, in which you can bet whatever you want – unlike Limit poker, where you have limited bets. In Limit poker, you can only become "all-in" if your remaining chips are under the current bet or raise amount.

What Are The Poker All-In Rules?

The genius of No Limit Hold 'Em is that you can go all-in at any time it's your turn. There are some exceptions that you should be aware of.

1. Verbal is binding

As stated above, stating, "I'm all-in" equals betting by hand.

2. You can go all-in with one chip

Veteran players would say "all-in" under their breath and place one chip in the center. Don't be fooled and think that is them just betting a single chip – they are betting their entire stack. If you are in doubt, you can always ask the dealer for clarification and ask, "Are they all-in?"

3. Your hand may be exposed

If your all-in bet is called, expect your cards to be flipped over so everyone can view them. Poker tournament dealers will flip the cards face-up. Cash games won't necessarily have this done in real life, but most casinos do have a policy where any player at the table can call "all hands" and the cards can be flipped over. This is done after the action is completed.

4. Players may re-raise after an all-in bet if the all-in is a full raise

Arguably the most significant of all the poker all-in rules is whether or not it re-opens the action. If, for example, someone has raised and you go all-in, can the raiser reraise one more time? That would be dependent upon how much your all-in is for, and if or if not it is a full raise (a full raise is equal to or bigger than the size of the current bet or raise).

5. You always have the option to go all-in – even on less than the bet amount

If you're bet $80 and you only have $60, you can still call the bet by going all-in. Now you can only win a multiple of your all-in. For example, if you win the hand, you would win $120 (your $60 bet and your opponent's $60 bet, but not his additional $20).

6. If a hand contains more than one player, the dealer will generally create a side pot after an all-in

Let's go back to the same example. Someone bets $80. You only have $60 and go all-in with the rest of your stack, but another player at the hand calls the entire $80 bet. The dealer will then mark a main pot and side pot.

The big pot will contain $180 (3 players x $60). The side pot will be only between the other two people, since they have chips remaining.

You might only win the big pot, as you would not have contributed to the side pot.

When Do You Go All-In?

You can go shove/jam/ship/go all-in at any time you like, but do take into consideration the pot size. TYPICALLY going all-in is only appropriate when you have a pot-size bet or less.

• If there's $75 in the pot and you have $50 left in your stack, is the time to go all-in? Yes, since your stack-to-pot ratio is less than 1:1. You have less than a pot-sized bet left in your stack! This would be a good moment to go all-in with the proper hand.
• If the pot holds $75 and you have $500 in your stack, is it the time for a go-all-in? Not unless. When you have a strong hand, you will most likely scare your opponents into folding. It is not the moment to bluff either – you are going to risk $500 to get $75. The rate is bad.

Poker tournaments force all-ins much harder than cash games. In a poker tournament, blinds increase – it costs more to remain in one hand. Occasionally a player will be pushed all-in automatically!

This is achievable when, say, you have 400 chips but the big blind is 500 chips. That is why players start pushing all their chips into the middle preflop before they get to this point (they do not want the auto all-in nightmare).

It's common to go all-in before the flop even with bad hands in poker tournaments as a tactic to "steal the blinds" – wishing that everyone will fold and winning chips by default. It's an all-in bluff to the ultimate! 

Why Would You Go All-In

When you don't have a lot of chips in relation to the pot, it is justifiable to go all-in significantly more often. This holds true for cash games and tournaments alike. Awhile back we added that going all-in preflop is a significant tournament strategy.

Even more polarizing is going all-in on the river – the final round of betting in poker.