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Basics of floating in NLHE cash games

Floating is calling a bet on the flop without odds to make a perceived winning hand. This article will discuss the float, but before we get started, I feel a few words on fold equity are necessary:

The most dangerous term in poker for a new player is “fold equity”. Fold equity is the improved equity you gain by being the aggressor in a pot. Since you don’t have to have the best hand when your opponent folds, your equity goes to 100% when you can win without showdown. Estimating this equity is FAR more difficult than estimating your odds to win on showdown, and trying to add this into an already very complicated equation to determine if a bet is correct can lead players down a path to maniacal play.

Without any kind of odds, including perceived implied odds, calling bets seems wrong to most profitable players. Why on earth would you call a bet without even perceived implied odds? Surely folding or raising would be better since you want to win the pot without going to showdown. After all, those donkey calls your opponents make are why you’re profitable… You make this call to take the pot away on a later street. Why wait till a later street?

1) Turn raises, or bets are scarier to most opponents than flop bets.

2) Pot control: if your opponent has a draw, they might be willing to make a 3 bet on the flop as a re-steal, but once you advance to the turn their odds of improving on showdown (when they miss the turn) go down dramatically.

Floating is an excellent way to maximize “fold equity”, therefore it is also a very dangerous tool. Use it with caution. Before planning to execute a float go through this check list:

1) Am I heads up? Floating is a play to be used only when you can go to the turn heads up. It is not necessary that you are heads up on the flop, but rather that every other opponent besides you and the bettor are out before you call.

2) Am I in position? 99% of the time floating out of position is a mistake. If you can’t identify the 1% right now, don’t try. Floating is a dangerous enough tool that position is a must.

3) Is my opponent predictable? Know your opponent well! Will I know better where he is at on the turn? If your opponent routinely continuation bets the flop and gives up on the turn when he doesn’t like his hand, then this could be a good spot.

4) If you don’t have any form of draw, does he? If you hold complete trash, the board must be very uncoordinated. If he even believes you are on a draw
then it might be harder for you to take the pot away from him if he’s not stone cold bluffing.

5) Do you believe your opponent is likely to be bluffing at this flop? It is important both that your opponent is likely to have missed the flop, and that he is wiling to fold his hand on the turn for the play to work. Don’t float a donkey.

Some other thoughts:

Sometimes an ace or king on the board are good for floating, sometimes they aren’t. That ace might scare your opponent into playing predictably on later streets, or it might make it more likely he hit his hand.

Once you get caught floating, your image will change dramatically. Many beginner players don’t know this play even exists, so executing it will likely confuse them. When many beginner players get confused at your play they label you as a certain type of fish, use this to your advantage.

The next article will deal with “semi floating”, or “floating with outs”, this is an even more dangerous tool, but I believe it is far superior in the right spots.

Read Part 2 of this article

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