Poker strategy to try at home: The Float

Float: To call a bet in position on the op (and/or less commonly, the turn) with the intention of winning the pot on a later street.

It’s an excellent measure against players who are a little too indulgent with their continuations bets. in essence, it goes like this: a player raises pre op, you call. He bets into you on the op, you call. On the turn, the villain checks and you bet three-quarters of the pot and he folds.

It works on the premise that you set off an initial alarm bell in your opponent’s head with the call on the op and then are able to convince him there really is a re in the building and he’d better get out!

What makes oating particularly effective is that the strength of your hand is largely inconsequential. primarily you want to look at the texture of the op and the effect of the turn card on the board. Are there any scare cards? Did any draws complete on the turn?

One of the crucial aspects of the oat is that it’s not really a move you can plan to make before the op – it arises out of speci c situations. First and foremost you should be in position and heads-up. Although the oat can theoretically work if you’re out of position, it really is far more challenging. the key is to keep it as simple as possible.

The set-up

• Any two cards
• Heads-up pot
• In position
• Villain should be an ABC tAG who is capable of folding
• You should have a solid tAG image

In action

• Identify which players have a high c-bet percentage, but shut down on the turn and river
• Call villain’s raise in position
• Board should not be likely to have hit villain’s hand, e.g. 3-t-5 rainbow
• If the villain checks on the turn, bet about three-quarters of the pot
• If the villain bets out on the turn, you should generally fold unless you’ve improved

Fighting the Float

If you find yourself up against a habitual oater, try check- raising on the turn or double- barrelling more.