The 'float'

Marcus Bateman / Marcus Bateman / 10 November 2008 / Leave a Comment

The term 'floating' simply refers to calling an opponents bet, either in or out of position, with a weak hand with the intention of bluffing them on a later street.

Floating has become a much more effective play in recent years, as the new hyper aggressive style employed by many young players can be taken advantage of through calling an early bet with the intention of moving them off later in the hand.

This play has a few key advantages. Firstly, it adds a level of deception to your game that makes you much harder to read. If your calls indicate both strength (as in the case with just calling with a set or two pair), semi-strength (as in the case of calling with draws), as well as a means to set up later bluffs, it makes your opponents life much harder when trying to predict your game.

It also enables you to use finer poker skills by getting to see the board develop. Is your opponent slowing right down with four to a flush out? Has a card on the board paired on the turn? Is the board a bad one for an over pair? These are all areas that weak players can be taken advantage on, and floating enables you to allow the board to develop into something where your bluff has a much higher percentage chance of working than it would on the flop.

The key disadvantage of floating is that it is potentially extremely dangerous. Against players who are playing overly loose it is definitely profitable, but against players with a balanced game it can start to resemble a leak more than a good play. This is especially true if floating out of position - where you are effectively building a big pot, with no hand, against a player indicating strength, and all out of position - not good. Against these types of players floating should only really be added to add a level of deception to your game.

The other main problem with floating is it can start to become addictive. As with all advanced poker plays, if it can be pulled off successfully a couple of times, it can start to make you believe that it should be used much more than is optimal. Although it is a great feeling setting up a successful complex bluff, these are plays that only work when done occasionally. Don't get hooked on the egotistical buzz of these plays - focus on when the situation is right to make the most money, not on making yourself feel clever.

Get a grip on the player types at your table, watch to see if they are betting too much, then force them to slow down by throwing in a few floats.

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