Poker

All-In

Definition

Betting all of your remaining chips in a single wager. In no-limit poker, any player can go all-in at any time. If you can't match a bet, you go all-in for what you have and are only eligible for the portion of the pot you've contributed to.

Going all-in in poker means betting all of your remaining chips on a single hand. In no-limit games, any player can push all-in at any time, creating dramatic moments where entire stacks are at risk. If you cannot match an opponent's bet, you go all-in for what you have and are only eligible for a side pot up to the amount you contributed.

The decision to go all-in should be based on pot odds, equity, and opponent tendencies. Common profitable all-in situations include having a very strong hand (top pair or better), having a strong draw with good fold equity, or being short-stacked in a tournament where the blinds threaten to consume your stack.

In tournaments, all-in decisions carry extra weight because elimination is permanent. The Independent Chip Model (ICM) adjusts the value of chips based on the payout structure, meaning an all-in risk in a tournament has different implications than in a cash game. Near the bubble or at a final table, survival considerations may outweigh pure chip-EV calculations.

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Related Terms

Buy-In

The amount of money a player exchanges for chips at a table game or the entry fee for a poker tournament. Minimum buy-ins vary by table, typically 20-50 times the minimum bet for cash games.

Pot Committed

A situation where you have already invested so much of your stack in the pot that folding would be mathematically incorrect. As a rule of thumb, if you've committed more than one-third of your stack, you're often pot committed.