[derick]

Thanks for bringing this point up.
I thought about all in when I first saw this problem too.
But after reading more I changed my mind.

For the 2 new people on this board that haven't memorized the book yet:

The first idea that Dan was trying to point out is that you should pay attention to how much people fold for so that you will know the amount that will discourage action on the table. On this table it is $600 so he says that you should bet $600.

In the text the player AdQd bets too little (400) and the big blind calls for 200.

Flop comes 944, one diamond.
BB goes all in.
Dan gives some wise advice about pot odds. (You’ve got odds to call)
Hero calls and gets running diamonds for a flush.
Dan gives some wise advice about playing a flop with a small pair (it's a good time to bluff but both of you know that)

The BB in this example gets outplayed.


The OP raises a valid point but I would consider this:

If you're Dan 600 is a better bet.

1. You can outplay them postflop.
2. You have position so you can play the hand a little slower taking advantage of the position.
3. The fold equity between 600 and all in is not very much so you are only giving up a tiny bit of FE.

I'd try to alternate between 3bb and all in to try to vary my play.

If your post flop play sucks then an all is the right play.

Again, I think the OP's point is valid but I agree with Dan.
Ed Miller type short stack systems would have you pushing here but to progress you want to start playing post flop to increase your edge.

I used to go all in a lot with AK/AQ since you get to look at all 5 cards (Mason talks about this).

But now I've changed my play.
If I have position I play it slower sometimes and outplay my opponent postflop. If I don't have position then I would go all in here.

It's made a huge difference to my game.
It's really improving my postflop play.

I don't want to give the impression that I'm an expert but just state Dan's case for him. For the record I should mention I suck at poker but I'm getting a ton of help from you guys.