Why is it that so many players go all in in poker tournaments preflop when they could just as easily call and hope to hit the flop? It's very common on free texas holdem online poker site but also, surprisingly, in money games.
Well in cash games they do it to steal of course. In free holdem poker sadly it's more just for the hell of it! However, if called, what positive factors does moving all-in grant? Let us examine two hands to analyze why:
HAND #1
Blinds: 6k/12k
A has Q-Q raises to 36k
B has 10-10 calls 36k
C has K-K reraises to 140k
A reraises all-in (Pot 989k)
B folds
C calls 643k (Pot 1.632m)
Board ended Jc-Jd-6c-Qd-3d
A went all-in as by three-betting, he can push one of B and C from the pot, and if C (the likely caller) calls, A hoped that it will be A-K or A-x, where he has still an edge. But it turns out, C had K-K, so A was the underdog. Yet A won the hand with a Full House (Queens over Jacks).
However, if A just called, what would happen then is that B would also call, so next it will be a three-way pot.? On a FLOP of Jc-Jd-6c, C would have position over A, whose Queens are weakened because the Board is paired, so if one of B or C bluffs, A will have difficulty playing.
Plus if A decides to play on strong he may make B and C believe he is on a J and they may both fold. Or later on the hand, if A, who hit his Full House on the turn, suddenly played strongly, the remaining player/s may fold because their hands are not so strong enough. So A will win less than what he won when he moved all-in and won the hand.
So one reason for moving all-in preflop is: Your chip stack is so low that any decent hand you have will be sufficient for an all-in (on the above, Q-Q should be played cautiously with two more players and a reraise on the Flop), and it pays to win more chips than less if you are to get back in the tournament.
HAND #2 - Following on from hand action
A has 8s-8h moves all-in 387k
B has 7d-7c, calls 307k (Pot 819k)
Both could have played safely. However A decides to take a gamble with what we term a common all in hand. Common all-in hands include Pairs, A-x and any two face cards (preferably suited). So another reason is: If you don’t have A-A or K-K but a common all-in hand, you will be called also with a common all-in hand.
With Pairs vs. two overcards, it doesn't much matter what you have, because you’re both even-money. With Pairs vs. Pairs, you may be the underdog but you can also become the favourite if you get lucky.. With any other cards, you either have two live cards or at worst, say A-K vs A-Q, if you have the A-Q, you still have a 25% possibility.
How did the hand turn out?
It ended with 5s-9s-6h-2c-8d. So A hit a Set, B hit a Straight. B knocked out A. It doesn’t matter; we can also imagine a situation that B was the one who moved all-in and A called. B hit his Straight still. But if B just decided to see a Flop, what could happen? A can push B out by representing a Nine on the Flop and the Turn so that B will fold (unless B has the courage to move all-in).
Also, if B hit the river Straight, A will be reluctant to play the Set he has. B will win a lesser amount of chips than he would (similar to HAND #1). But this example gives us another good reason.
You move all-in so that no one can push you away later if your marginal hand beats a more marginal hand later, and so your marginal hand will evolve into a strong hand uncontested, unpushed. Here is a clearer case: Suppose it’s A-10 vs 7-7.
The board might finish 10-K-K-Q-5, with overcards there's a Straight chance, and on a paired board the 7-7 can pressure the A-10 at some point. Or it may be 10-K-Q-4-J and the one with the A-10 will be out of the pot before the river if the one with 7-7 plays aggressively.
This article is by NoPayPOKER, the perfect online poker site for beginners to learn to play poker online without risking money. For experienced poker players the attraction is practice, the ability to fine tune their game and test out new techniques in a totally no risk zone while grinding away to accumulate free texas holdem online poker cash.
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