Is it really worth going all in? Short answer: no

[reww]

I'd like to discuss this topic because I'm a big poker enthusiast, and every now and then I find myself preflop with a pair of aces or a suited broadway in position or out, fighting for the initiative, and we end up all in...

I'm bringing this up because I lose a lot of preflop all-ins and win more post-flop with pot control, trying to figure out which strategy to use based on the board and the best way to exploit my opponent.

My short answer, after spending this month playing cash games with bad all-in streaks, is that a preflop all-in is a flip, so if you're skilled, it's better to see the flop and upcoming streets to see what to do, because if things aren't going your way, folding will be easy.

Thanks! What do you think? Do you prefer going all in? Calling a 4-bet? Or continuing to push? If you think I'm making a rookie mistake, please correct me. I love this and I love learning from you all. Greetings from Argentina!

 

[diegovasques90]

It makes sense, though, if you live all in with the broadways, I think it will still be more lucrative than waiting to see every hand.

The amount of bad beats we take as we take us to the river is staggering.

At all in, you can get most of these guys out of the game.

 

[MK_]

A flip is a 50/50 hand...., AA v any other pair is an 80% hand so not a coinflip,

if you're scared to play 80% hands you've already lost, so there are times to go allin

... playing postflop def tends to benefit the more experienced player though👍

 

[Poker Orifice]

It sounds like you're 'trying not to lose' vs. 'trying to win the max.'

 

[tihomir_kula]

I can`t answer the question correctly. All in is easier. Raising bring doubts. May be it depends on the tournament. freerolls and starting micro -all in. Bubble of low money and high money - raising and analyzing.

 

[SpanRmonka]

If you feel you win more playing pots post flop, then of course this is the best way to play poker for you.

However, adding AA and KK into the same strategy question as suited broadway, is crazy. I don't care how many big blinds you have, you wanna get all in with AA every time! This is basic. Then with KK its slightly trickier, you wanna get it all in 99% of the time. Especially live I've had so many times when guys betting screams AA, its mental. Things like having a massive dwell up, then min raising, min raising after limpers, etc etc.....but mostly I'm all in with KK.

Beyond that do what makes you happy, but do it for a good poker based reason, not just 'I lose a lot of pre flop all ins' you have to look at why, with what cards, against which villains etc

 

[enno]

It may depend on whether you are playing in tournaments or cash games.
if you push all-in and lose:
In freerolls you haven’t lost any money, so why not go for it If you think you have the best hand.
In tournaments with an entry fee, can you stand the loss and being out of the tournament.
It also depends on what stage of the tournament you are in (eg. early or on the bubble).
In cash games, if you lose, you can always recoup the loss if you have the funds.

However, if you call an all-in the results may be the same, but you have to be more aware of your opponent and his tendencies.

 

[Kasztor007]

I think the key point isn’t “all-in bad or good”, but why the all-in happens.
AA/KK preflop all-ins aren’t flips in terms of EV — they just feel like flips when variance hits hard. Avoiding them because of recent results can quietly turn into playing scared.

That said, I get your point: if you clearly have an edge post-flop, pot control and letting opponents make mistakes can be more profitable for you. Just be careful not to mix premium pairs and suited broadways into the same rule — they play very differently.

For me it’s situational:
Sometimes I want folds and protection → shove.
Sometimes I want mistakes → play post-flop.
But results shouldn’t decide that — ranges and opponents should.

 

[Station_Master]

Of course you need to go allin and call off shoves pre flop sometimes, thats just good poker

 

[Flyer35]

Interesting all-in pre-flop odds:

AA = 61.3%
76s = 24.57%
KK = 9.5%
AKo = 4.6%

You know AA, KK & AKo are playing no matter what, so if I'm desperate I'm letting it all ride with 76s all-in pre-flop every time. 1 in 4 odds vs 1 in 10 odds for KK, and 1 in 20 for AKo.

 

[Station_Master]

Interesting all-in pre-flop odds:

AA = 61.3%
76s = 24.57%
KK = 9.5%
AKo = 4.6%

You know AA, KK & AKo are playing no matter what, so if I'm desperate I'm letting it all ride with 76s all-in pre-flop every time. 1 in 4 odds vs 1 in 10 odds for KK, and 1 in 20 for AKo.

Thats only for a 4 way all in with those specific hands. Not exactly common in 100bb cash games

 

[Flyer35]

Thats only for a 4 way all in with those specific hands. Not exactly common in 100bb cash games

Good point. My bad - I thought this was a tournament thread.

 

[Mario7]

Short answer is: it depends
Puting suited brodways in the same bag as AA/KK is a mistake.
AA/KK are almost always worth going all in (in mathematical, EV sense), so no reason to avoid it.
The rest depends on how deep your effective stack is and on reads about your opponents of course...

 

[fundiver199]

It sounds like, you are fairly new to the game, so here is a starting point: With 100BB in a cash game you always put in the extra raise and call an all-in with AA and KK. All other hands are situational. If you are much deeper than 100BB, it can be ok to not have a 5-betting or 6-betting range but just call everything including AA and KK. If you want more detailed advice, its best to share some actual hands in the hand history section. Best of luck with your game

 

[thedarkman]

Going all-in pre-flop with aces you are big favourite if you have only one caller. With Omaha - straight or ho-lo, not so good.

Last night I missed out on cashing at hi lo because I could have but didn't fold aces pre-flop. I've been playing like muppet for the past few days and freerolls aside I have only three tournament sessions left to my bankroll.

 

[TCeNTuRioN]

Well let's cut it short here... hands that are worth going all in pre-flop even though we know that 30% of the time we will lose... AA KK AKs... it's too good to take the nature of the game with them... gl!

 

[LUKADONCICMVP]

I lose all in a lot, but nothing u can do about it.