by J.C. Vogen

Created on: November 14, 2008

As you are flipping through the channels one evening you notice ESPN is having a marathon on the World Series of Poker, and you decide to see what the hype is about. Several hours later you find yourself watching two players battling back and forth, the tension in your living room is so tight that you do not realize the family dog has become your footstool. Finally, the moment you have been waiting for, one player has decided to go 'all in'. As the other player calls, the hands are revealed and you see the bluff exposed. "How could he make that play!?" you exclaim as you kick what you believe to be your footstool in disbelief.

The art of poker is not easily classified. To be successful in the game, one must be knowledgeable in a vast amount of areas, literally a jack of all trades. A player must be able to calculate the probability they will catch a card which they need, and decide if the cost associated with seeing the next card is justified by the probability. Being able to 'read' your opponents is also essential to being successful. To truly master the art of reading players, one must develop their skills of observation and be able to detect any of the slightest signs a player may unknowingly give away which signals a strong or weak hand. Along the same lines, as a poker player you must be able to control your own tells which you give off by strictly disciplining yourself to be fully aware of every tiny movement or gesture you make. You can also use tells to your advantage by mixing up which movements or gestures you make for various hands, while making sure no patterns develop which other players may pick up on. Lastly but definitely not least, always pay tribute to lady luck, for when she turns on you, no strategy will save you. Let these guidelines serve as a rough method to determine the proper time an all in play may be justified.

How should you know when the proper time to go all in is? By using the discussed guidelines, you may be able to derive the proper time to push your entire stack into the pot. Here are a few examples of what a poker player may consider before going all in:

1: Did his hand just twitch when he made that raise?

a) You recall an earlier raise by the same player which his hand also twitched, and he folded to your all in move.

- Consider the strength of your hand, and your odds, if they seem decent, go all in.

b) You recall an earlier raise by the same player where his hand also twitched, and another player pushed all in. When the players

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