The band's inception took place in San Francisco in February of 1997 when Sammy (vocals), Jake (drums), Andrew (guitar) and Forrest (bass) adopted the name "All Bets Off" and began writing original material. Andrew and Jake had been playing together for two years and were looking for a serious full-time bassist when they met Forrest in November of 1996. Sammy had made a name for himself in the local hard-core scene as a promoter and was looking to start his own band when he heard that a group of musicians were seeking a vocalist.

The vibe on stage at their first gig at the Alameda Saloon on 4-4-97 was good so they took the next step of making a demo. Their first demo tape, "Everyone is Suspect" was released around August '97 and the band's second self-titled demo tape was released that December. The band began playing larger venues like Slim's in SF and going on short tours with bands like AFI. The band released their first 7" record in November '98 and began popping up on various CD compilations and split 7" records.

Founding member Jake bid the band farwell in June of '99 which brought upon the drumming services of Noah, who then quit the band after two shows. Another quick line-up change saw the enlistment of Andrew's brother and long-time roadie "Metal" Steve on bass, while Forrest moved to drums for their first California tour with Comin' Correct and Dysphoria.

Leighton joined the group in September 1999 as their new full time drummer and the band quickly began writing new songs and strengthing their sound. The band then went into the studio with veteran producer Andy Earnst and recorded their first CD entitled "Friendly Fire" which was released July 2000.

After Leighton left the band in May of 2001, Ryan joined to keep the beat alive. ABO played some of their biggest shows in late 2001 and then started work on their next CD for release in 2002. ABO shall endeavor to play shows until the inevitable apocalypse ensues.