When playing no limit Texas hold’em for the first time on Full Tilt or even just as a novice, going all in can be a very frightening proposition. The thought of having all of your chips at risk on one hand can be a hard pill to swallow but it is often the right thing to do. In fact, the number of opportunities where going all in is the correct play is actually much higher than many players initially think. While you might think that players would push all in more often than they should because they can get away with it, the truth is actually the opposite. New no limit players are often extremely hesitant to get all of their chips in the middle. The fear of losing all of their chips interferes with making the correct play.

When you get into a situation where you want to have all your chips in the middle, get all of your chips in the middle. The number of situations where you are going to want to be all in varies but there are a few situations where you always want all of your chips in the middle. Pocket aces is the perfect example of a hand where you want to be all in, particularly before the flop. That is not to say you should push all of your chips in right away but there should be no hesitation at all with going all in pre flop with aces, or even kings. These hands are the two best possible hands pre-flop and, as such, trying to get the most out of your chips and getting them in the center during the pre-flop round of betting is the goal. Each additional card that comes up, the possibility of your hand being beaten increases so if you can get all your chips into the middle in this situation; do it.

Another situation which may not be obvious to some people on FullTiltPoker.com where you would want to go all in is protecting a winning hand. When you are playing against a drawing hand but have already made your hand, by moving all in you can price your opponents out of the pot. For example, if you are holding two pair with a straight draw and flush draw on the table, it is probably a very good idea to protect your hand by moving all in. What this does to the opponent is makes the price for calling and drawing into a hand not worth it mathematically and makes folding their hand the correct play. Even if you lose the hand, making that same play every time will result in a positive return over the long run.

Regardless of whether you are a novice or an advanced player, going all in can be a difficult pill to swallow. Unfortunately, it is something that all poker players have to do repeatedly. While it may be uncomfortable, by going all in at the right times, you will increase your performance over the long run and improve your skills as a poker player as well.