All-in - When's the right time to push all-in?

I always know when I am at a table playing with a fish. He's the guy that keeps going all-in. Sure he steals a few pots and maybe even gets called sucks out and doubles up. Playing like this in known as loose - aggressive and is generally not the way to go. There is a time and place fore everything loose - aggressive plays well short handed or heads - up. The rest of the time you should be playing tight - aggressive. When the other players spot a loose guy they sit back and let him win a few blinds then take all his chips when he goes all-in with a crap hand. When making a big bet wile playing Texas holdem timing and table image has a lot to do with wining or losing.

The tight part of tight - aggressive means only playing strong or premium hands to begin with. If for instance you are playing loose with an A-8 starting hand. You stay in and see the flop, it comes up A-4-7 . Ye-haw you just hit top pair the problem is you don't know where you stand because of the low valued kicker (8). You will have to bet to see if anybody else has an ace, and if they do you are probably beat. Its better to be the guy with the big kicker raising the loose guys bet and wining. To be able to make an all - in bet with confidence you need to know that you have the best hand, and this begins with the starting hands that you choose to play.

In poker the ability to judge the value of other players hands is as important as knowing the value of yours. Your position at the table can either help you or hinder you. In early position you have to act first and everyone reacts to what you do. Its easy to fall into a trap in earl position so its best to slow play your big hands. However when in late position you have the advantage of seeing how the other players bet and can better judge who you will be up against and what they have. You should only go all-in when in late position and its always best to be the aggressor.

Table image is another thing that can work for or against you. If you bluff to much it will work against you. After I win a hand with a big bet I like to show the other players that they were smart to fold by showing my cards. Later in the game if I feel the need to bluff the other players will fold because of my tight table image my bets get respect. If you find yourself with a loose image at a table don't bluff because you will be called. You will have to wait for the nuts then go all-in and get your call.

Although these concepts are considered basic poker strategy you will find that a lot of players ignore them, especially online. Play tight - aggressive, also pay attention to your table position and table image and you will win big pots and only lose the little ones. When's the time to push all-in? The answer is simple when you know you are going to win!

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