All in
All in is the state that occurs when a player wants to call but the current bet amount is much more than his or her remaining stake. Then the player bets his entire remaining stake, and thus declaring himself all in. What this results in is that now the player gets to hold onto his cards till the entire duration of the deal, at par with players who have called every bet.
But a player who has gone all in cannot win more money than his own bet. Basically the player caps the main pot, but cannot win an amount more than his or her entire stack. Now in case there is only one other player still in the hand, then the player can match the all-in, following which the hand is dealt to completion.
In case there is more than one player, and the bet so far has already risen over the all in, then the excess amount, known as overage is put into a side pot. Now this side pot can only be won by the players who have contributed to it, by betting over the all in amount. In games where multiple all in bets have been placed, there can be multiple side pots, with players being eligible for multiple pot wins.
The biggest advantage for a player who has gone all in is that s/he cannot be bluffed by other players, as they can hold onto their cards during the showdown, without any risk of losing any more money. This means that the players cannot be forced to fold and will witness the showdown in its entirety. But during this time, the players can bluff each other, and any players folding during this period will only improve the chances of the all in player.
It is important to remember that when a player goes all in, s/he is not allowed to bluff any players, nor can they win any more money than the limit set by their entire stake. During the remaining game the player cannot call any bets, or make any wagers after going all in. Overall going all in is not suited for players who are looking maximize their gains, as their winning amount is limited.
Most players go all in for games with a short stack, where they can go all in after a slump, after which they will not need to make anymore decisions.
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