The SBP Archives - Your less than frequent dose of SBP!

Going all-in and calling an all-in are two completely different things. Remember, the objective when playing is two-fold: accumulating chips AND not going broke. I find a lot of players, in their attempts to win pots, often neglect that vital 2nd part of the equation. There seems to be a myth that you must play recklessly and bluff like there's no tomorrow to be a winner. This is hardly the case. In fact, I find solid play by using good cards and strong position win the most. And remember, when you put all of your chips in the middle, you better have a premium hand to back it up otherwise you're catching a cab home early.

To give you an example, one time I was playing online (a shocker in itself indeed!) and on the very first hand, there were two callers and the third person immediately went all-in. Everyone folded to me, and I looked down at pocket Jacks. Without really thinking, I called the all-in. He showed King-Queen. Sure enough, a King came up on the river and I was packing my bags. After just one hand!

In that situation, I was ahead pre-flop. Not by much though: about a 55-45 favourite. My entire tournament life though was in this one hand and we didn't even start. So why risk going broke so early? Especially in this situation: At best, I might have called someone with a lower pair, but the most likely scenario (which is what ended up happening) was that I was up against two overcards and it was a coin flip whether or not I was going to continue. It was also possible to be up against pocket Aces, Kings or Queens which would have made me a HUGE underdog. Without question this player was a maniac going all-in like that, but he could win without showing his cards if everyone folded. Myself, I HAD to win the showdown. That's why going all-in first has one major advantage:

Regardless of your two hole cards you can win the hand if everyone folds.

And if you are called you still have a shot of winning & doubling up if the community cards are nice to you. The point of this article is that you should never risk your tournament life like I did in the above example on a coin flip with everyone equal in stack size. I recommend calling only with pocket Aces or Kings in the above scenario, MAYBE Queens but even then a lot of players like pulling an all-in with Ace-King so it might end up just being a coin toss on whether or not you survive there, too.

Get your chips in the middle, but be sensible about it.