The float in no limit holdem, Part 3: Balancing opponent’s reactions and some afterthoughts

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The final part of this article spawned from a discussion about Sammy Farha calling an all in with a flush draw without outs on ‘High Stakes Poker’. His results aside, after this call, his opponents became easier to play.

The first two parts of this article discussed some of the benefits of floating with outs. The primary benefit being that you will get paid huge then you make your hand. The side effect to this is that when you go to showdown it will massively change your image. Not only were you drawing without odds, but the equity you have will be so incredibly well hidden from your opponents that it is unlikely anyone will understand why you called. Most players will access your play based off these extreme situations, and they are likely to change the range of hands they will put you on when calling, as well as their ability to bluff you. This can be very good for you if used properly.

1- Players that routinely continuation bets the flop, may pass on their continuation bet against you when they miss.

2- Players that raise draws may reconsider raising their draw against you.

3- Players that “bet to find out where they are” may feel that their bets do not buy information against you.

This all leads to one extremely beneficial conclusion, players will be more likely to play less deceptively against you. The power of your position is far greater when your opponents play predictably.

I do not suggest trying to obtain the donkey image to setup a better game for yourself later, just as i don’t recommend stealing when you don’t expect it to work just to get action later. Pick your spots carefully, do your best to not get caught stealing (or semi floating) but when you do, kick in a little extra effort to figure out exactly who noticed, and how their play has changed vs. you.

Finally spots to watch out for after getting caught:

1- against an aggressive maniac, a donkey image is likely to not work. They are maniacs because they don’t chose their opponents or spots carefully. They are used to people making bad calls against them, and they are far more likely to fire an extra barrel or two in later streets. Your image will likely shutdown only the marginally creative/aggressive players, not the nuts.

2- True donkeys don’t know their own kind. They aren’t likely to change their play against you at all. They are there to gamble, so your play looks natural to them.

3- Some players will overvalue top pair against you because they may believe you are calling with trash, and will fire a second barrel when they otherwise would not, so just calling on the flop will not be scary to the observant player. Define more hands with flop raises than normal (draws included) after you get caught semi floating.

4- After a particularly nasty suck out, some players tilt. Some seek vengeance sickouts. Proceed against your victim with caution.

5- Some players will get the “fear any two” syndrome against you. These players will often make themselves apparent with body language, chat, or play. “God he sucked out again.” Is a good indicator. When drawing with a legitimate hand such as a flush-draw, you will have a lot more spots to represent straights or two pair against these players. They will pride themselves on making “good lay downs”. Abuse them.

Read Part 1 of this article
Read Part 2 of this article

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