Many No-Limit Texas Holdem poker tournament analysts have called the all-in bet
“The Great Equalizer”. Pro players hate going all-in before the flop because it prevents them
from using any of their poker skills. Even the rankest amateur can give a pro fits if they are
not afraid to move all-in before the flop.

This idea is what gave rise to the Sklansky All-In System. A casino owner who wanted to let his
daughter enjoy the excitement of the main event of the World Series of Poker approached noted
poker author and theorist David Sklansky with a proposition. Unfortunately, the casino owner’s
daughter had never played poker before, not a situation anyone wants to be in before entering
the biggest poker tournament in the world. The casino owner tasked Sklansky to find the solution.

Sklansky had realized the power of the all in as an equalizer for some time, so he developed a
Texas Hold em system where the player would move all-in or fold before the flop according to
pre-determined guidelines. What made this system so ideal was that the player did not even have
to know the rules of poker to implement the system, and would allow them to hold their own with
any pro, even if they knew what the player was doing.

The original system was simple: If someone raises in front of you, move in with aces,
kings or ace king suited, otherwise fold. If no one has raised, move in with any pair,
any suited ace, ace king or suited connectors (except those including a 3), otherwise check-fold.

While the system was not a sure fire way to win a tournament, it did enable someone with no
knowledge of the game to hold her own. Sklansky later fine-tuned this poker strategy for
players who have a little experience by including a “key number”, determined by your stack
size relative to the blinds and the number of players. Sklansky has a chart that a player
can compare the key number to in order to determine whether to move all-in or fold.

Since Sklansky has put forth his idea, two other poker authors, Lee Jones and Blair Rodman,
have introduced the “Kill Phil” system, which implements some of the same basic ideas as
Sklansky’s system and expands upon them.

The all-in or fold system won’t make you a better poker player. In fact, many say it is not
playing poker at all. However, if your current style of play isn’t cashing you in at any
tournaments, or you have to play a tournament on short notice and have no experience,
you may want to give an all-in or nothing strategy a try. Even if you don’t win, you can be
sure you’ll give your opponents plenty to think about.

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