What is All-in Insurance and How Does It Work

Things don’t always go as planned sometimes. Any regular poker player can tell you that they’ve had their pocket Aces mowed down on the turn or river. That’s where All-in Insurance comes in. The All-in Insurance provides protection when you go All-in and are outdrawn.

What is All-in Insurance

The All-In Insurance is a feature which protects the player who is the favourite to win the pot against bad beats when all-in. When you decide to go All-in you will be given a choice to purchase insurance for the chips that you put into the pot when you go All-in.

How Does All-in Insurance Work

Players will be offered the choice of purchasing All-in Insurance if they go all-in and are the favourite to win against other players. If you are eligible, a window will pop up which provides information such as the number of outs your opponent has, the odds that your opponent could hit those outs, the payout and the premium amount. The All-in Insurance only offers protection against the next card drawn/street. For example, if you opt in for All-in insurance after the flop, you’ll only be protecting yourself from your opponent’s outs on the Turn.

The diagram below explains the mechanics of the All-in Insurance.

1. Main Pot: The total amount of the pot to which the insurance will apply
2. Investment: The amount that you (ie. the favorite in the hand opting for insurance), have invested in the main pot
3. Time Clock: Click the clock to use extra time to make your decision, just like the game clock at the tables
4. Favorite’s hole cards: The hole cards held by the favorite in the hand
5. Community Cards: These are the current community cards that have been dealt, in this case the flop and the turn
6. Underdog’s Hole Cards: The hole cards held by the underdog in the hand
7. Favourite’s Hand Ranking: States the current best hand held by the favorite
8. Underdog’s Hand Ranking: States the current best hand held by the underdog
9. Outs: All the cards in the deck that can improve the underdog’s hand at that time
10. Outs Count: The total number of cards in the deck that can improve the underdog’s hand at that time
11. Odds: The odds that the underdog’s outs will be dealt
12. Premium: The premium is the cost of taking the insurance. The premium is calculated by dividing the amount you stand to be paid (the ‘Claim’) divided by the odds. In this case, that’s $27.66 / 6 = $4.61
13. Claim: The insurance claim is the amount you will be paid if one of the underdog’s outs appear on the board on the next street
14. Premium Slider: Move the slider to adjust the premium amount and subsequent compensation payout
15. Minimum: One of three shortcut options. Sets the premium to the lowest possible claim amount.
16. Break Even: One of three shortcut options. Sets the premium to a claim amount equal to the favourite’s investment in the hand
17. Retain Profit: One of three shortcut options. Sets the claim amount equal to the full amount of the main pot
18. No Need: Select this option to decline All-In Insurance
19. Purchase: Select this option to confirm and purchase All-In Insurance

What Happens If I Win The Hand

If you have purchased All-in Insurance and you win the pot, the premium will be deducted from your winnings when the hand is over. For example, if there was $100 in the pot and the premium was purchased at $10 then the total pot won for this hand is $100 - $10 = $90. Do take note that there may be other deductions such as Rake and the contributions to the Jackpot Fund.

What Happens If I Lose The Hand

If you have purchased All-in Insurance and one of your opponent’s outs is dealt on the next street, you will be able to claim the payout. For example, if the premium was $10 and the payout was $50, then your total received would $50 - $10 = $40.

Important Things To Note

Exclude Outs: It is possible to exclude certain outs from coverage. If in the case any of the excluded outs is dealt on the next street then you will not receive a payout as those outs have been excluded.

Mandatory Insurance:  If you remain as the pot favourite after taking out insurance on the turn, mandatory insurance will be automatically be purchased on the river. The calculation for the mandatory insurance will remain as Premium = Payout / Odds.

Scenario 1: You’re holding J♦-J♠ and the flop is J♥-8♠-5♣. You go all in with a set and another player calls your all-in with 6♠-7♣. Because you are the favourite to win you will be eligible for All-in Insurance. You take out insurance at a premium of $10 with a payout of $50. You selected to include the following outs 4♠-9♠-4♥-9♥-4♣-9♣-4♦-9♦. The turn is dealt and it was Q♣. You’ve survived the turn and you’re still the favourite to win. What happens now is that the insurance that you took out at the turn is now completed and mandatory insurance on the river will kick in. Another All-in Insurance window will pop up and you may adjust the premium slider once again but you will not be able to exclude outs this time. Bear in mind that this is a mandatory insurance and if you allow the countdown timer to run out it the insurance premium will take effect without any changes. Now it’s time for the river and 2♦ is dealt. You’ve survived the hand and your take from the hand will be

Total Pot – All-in Insurance Premium for the turn – All-in Insurance Premium for the river = Winnings

Scenario 2: You’re holding J♦-J♠ and the flop is J♥-8♠-5♣. You go all in with a set and another player calls your all-in with 6♠-7♣. Because you are the favourite to win you will be eligible for All-in Insurance. You take out insurance at a premium of $10 with a payout of $50. You selected to include the following outs 4♠-9♠-4♥-9♥-4♣-9♣-4♦-9♦. The turn is dealt, and it was 9♣. Your opponent has hit one of the selected outs. You will be eligible to claim the payout of $50 - $10 = $40. Bear in mind that the hand isn’t over yet. Because you are now not the favourite to win, you will not be eligible for the All-in Insurance and the game will proceed as usual. If in the case the river shows 5♦ which gives you a full house then you’ll win the hand.

Scenario 3: You’re holding J♦-J♠ and the flop is J♥-8♠-5♣. You go all in with a set and another player calls your all-in with 6-7. Because you are the favourite to win you will be eligible for All-in Insurance. You take out insurance at a premium of $10 with a payout of $50. You selected to include the following outs 4♠-9♠-4♥-9♥-4♣-9♣-4♦-9♦. The turn is dealt, and it was Q♣. You’ve survived the turn and you’re still the favourite to win. What happens now is that the insurance that you took out at the turn is now completed and mandatory insurance on the river will kick in. Another All-in Insurance window will pop up and you may adjust the premium slider once again to adjust the value of the premium and the payout. Take note that you may not be able to exclude outs during this time. You opt to pay a premium of $10 with a payout of $60 now. Bear in mind that this is a mandatory insurance and if you allow the countdown timer to run out it the insurance premium will take effect without any changes. Now it’s time for the river and 9♦ is dealt. Your opponent has hit one of the selected outs. You will only be eligible to claim the payout for the insurance that was taken out for the river (not the turn) which is $60 - $10 (premium on the turn) = $50.

Learn more about hand rankings by checking out our guide for Poker Hand Rankings

How Are Odds Calculated

The odds are calculated based on the number of available outs. The table below illustrates the odds calculations for Hold’em, Rush & Cash and Omaha.

Now that you’re familiar with the mechanics of All-in Insurance, check out this video to find out how to use it in practise.