When you are playing the most popular version of poker which is the No Limit Texas Hold Em then you will come across the term all in all too often. This is a term that means that you are betting all the chips that you have on the hand that is being played at the time.

Most people perform this call if they are either trying to take a player out or they are low on money and it is a risk to try and build up some much needed chips on your behalf. Of course if you lose the hand then you can go out of the game so this is a very risky strategy to play which can be greatly effective of extremely disastrous.

It is for these reasons that the all in call is such a strong tactic in the game of Hold Em but it can also be your worst enemy at the same time as your fate could be decided on the turn of the last card in the hand. The problem with players is that sometimes they use the all in tactic before thinking it through when they could have quite easily played a very well placed bet instead.

So here I have compiled ten tips that I think should help you decide when the time is right to go all in and risk it all and I hope they help.

The first tip is to not wait until you have a killer hand and then play a hand and go all in as this will make your own game very easy to read and most of the opposition will fold every time.

The second of these pearls of wisdom is to know that it is a lot simpler to make an all in play than to call one, so in this instance you should bet if you think that your opponent will fold.

The third is a bully tactic which is great to play if you are the chip leader as you will rarely be called out of the game and you have a good chance of taking other players with fewer chips out of the game while if you lose you will still be in the game.

Fourth is do not go all in if you are bluffing and know you will not win, as you should always make sure that you have a chance to win.

The fifth is simple; if you do not have many chips left beware as if you lose then you will be out of the tournament unless you know you have a winning hand.

Number six is that if you have a really good hand and not many chips then it is a good chance to increase your own chip stack as more often than not players with a lot of chips will call and you can make a good amount off the one hand.

Seven is that you should never bluff if you do not have a lot of chips to back it up as if you have a poor hand then they will probably take you out of the game.

Eight is if you are low on chips call an all in even if you just win the blinds to bolster your chips stack more.

Nine is if a low all in is played it is better for you to call an all in as it will put off the other high chip holders off the hand and they will fold.

At ten, if a player goes all in against you then you should look at the reasons that I have discussed and make your own mind up as to why this player has done this. If you are smart then you will make a good call but beware you could lose it all.