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- What is a Float?
- When and How to Float in Poker?
- Am I in Position?
- Do I have a Strong Draw?
- Is this Board Good for Villain’s Range?
- Which Hands are good for Floating?
- Which Turn Cards allow me to Bluff?
- How would I Play Nutted Hands in this Spot?
- Turn Betting and Raising + Double Floating
- Start Implementing Floating into your Game
Playing a fundamentally sound strategy is the key to success in poker, and mastering basic skills like preflop play and c-bet strategies should be your first step. However, it is more complex techniques like floating that make the difference between fine and top players. Mastering floating in poker can be an important step up in your poker career. In this guide, we will explain how floating in poker works, when to use it, and how it can improve your results by making you a much tougher opponent to play against.
What is a Float?
As with everything, it’s important to start at the beginning and understand what floating in poker is and what defines it. At a basic level, a float is calling with a hand that has little or no showdown value with the idea of bluffing later.
For example, imagine you have K♠T♠ in a single-raised pot, in position against one opponent on a board of 8♣7♠4♦. What you have here is basically air. You only have overcards and backdoor draws.
However, you can still hit a top pair on the turn or improve to a draw and bluff.
Additionally, scary cards like 6 or 5 that change the board texture allow you to put pressure on A-high combos in villain’s range or even some one-pair hands, depending on your opponent’s playing style. In short, any time you call a flop with an unmade hand that also does not have a draw you are floating.
By implementing floating into your game, you give yourself a chance to steal pots that most players just skip and make your ranges harder to read on later streets.
When and How to Float in Poker?
Now you are probably wondering when you should float and how can you make floating profitable? From a beginner’s perspective, many floats may seem like a waste of money, since floating involves calling without a strong holding.
However, if used correctly, floating can be a very powerful tool. To find good spots to float, pay attention to the following factors:
- Am I in position?
- Do I have a strong draw?
- Is this board good for villain’s range?
- Which hands are good for floating?
- Which turn cards allow me to bluff?
- How would I play nutted hands in this spot?
The answers to each of these questions are key when deciding whether to float versus a c-bet. Let’s break down what answers we’re looking for to create a good floating opportunity.
Am I in Position?
Position plays a key role in deciding whether to float. While it is possible to float out of position, it is much more effective when you are in position. The reason is simple, being in position allows you to see what your opponent will do on the turn and adjust accordingly.
In most cases, look for opportunities to use a floating strategy when you are facing a bet in position
Do I have a Strong Draw?
This is another important question to ask yourself before floating. And if you do have a strong draw, then calling is not floating. Your hand has enough equity against your opponent’s range to profitably call or even raise. Thus, the floating concept will not be applicable here.
The ideal hands to float are those with some backdoor potential, but with little equity against the strongest parts of your opponent’s range.
Is this Board Good for Villain’s Range?
Another important aspect of floating in poker is understanding how well your opponent’s range interacts with the flop. The worst thing you can do is float in situations where your opponent is likely to have a lot of strong hands.
For example, a board of A♠K♥T♦ is not a good board to float, since the initial raiser, and especially the 3-bettor, will have all the strong hands here, such as AA, KK, TT, QJ, AK, AT, and KT.
If the villain’s range smashes the flop and your actual hand has missed completely, your best move is to just fold. Floating is best reserved for boards that favor your range.
Use floats wisely, assessing the likelihood of your opponent having strong hands on the flop. For example, fold A♠K♥T♦ and pick boards that fit your range better to gain a strategic advantage.
Which Hands are good for Floating?
Many players can get carried away and start floating too much on boards that seem to fit their range. However, you should not float hands that have little chance of improving on the turn. Bluffing without equity is not how real pros do it.
Instead, pick hands with great backdoor potential. Backdoor flush draws, straight draws, and overcards are great candidates for floating.
It is ideal if you have at least one overcard and at least one backdoor draw to continue the play after the flop. For example, on a T♥8♠6♦ board, hands like A♠J♠, K♥7♥, or even A♦5♦ are good candidates for floating, while K♣4♣ is not a good choice.
Which Turn Cards allow me to Bluff?
Another important question when considering floating in poker is which turn cards will allow you to bluff if your opponent checks. Dynamic low- and mid-card boards often provide a lot of potential scary cards on the turn that your opponent won’t want to see if his range is mostly strong made hands.
As the aggressor, your opponent will likely have hands like AK, AQ, AJ, and AA-TT, so you should choose to float lower boards where you can have a lot of straights, two pairs, and sets.
Consider all possible “scary” turn cards, and choose to float in cases where it is likely that your opponent will have a hard time continuing on the turn.
How would I Play Nutted Hands in this Spot?
After all, ask yourself: “What would I do if I had the nuts here?”, “What if I flopped a straight or a set? How would I play this hand?”
In most cases, the answer is that you would call the flop, allowing your opponent to either improve his hand on the turn or continue bluffing.
This way, when you float the flop, your bets and raises on the turn will look like you might have one of the strongest possible hands on the board. This is another reason why floating works so well in many situations.
Turn Betting and Raising + Double Floating
As we discussed, floating is just the first part of a sequence of actions that continues on subsequent streets. When you float a bet on the flop, the idea is to take down the pot on the turn or river, turning your hand into a bluff when a good card comes or your opponent slows down and shows weakness.
Let’s look at some floating examples. The first situation we have is when after you have floated villain checks on the turn, allowing you to bet and possibly take down the pot right away. Often, players will c-bet a hand like AQ on a mid-range board, and then check and fold on the turn if another “bad” card comes.
For example, on an 8♠7♥4♥ board, your opponent might c- bet AK or AQ. If the turn is a 5♣, most players will check/fold. In these situations, your turn bet doesn’t have to be big to put a lot of pressure on the villain, which is another benefit of floating.
If your opponent decides to continue betting the turn, you have the option to raise if you have gained some extra equity or if the turn card is particularly good for your range. In these cases, your actual hand is not that important, although it’s preferable to have a hand that can improve on the river.
This is why straight draws and flush draws made on the turn are ideal candidates for raising. They can improve to nuts on the river if your opponent decides to call.
Finally, there are some spots where you can double float, where you call a turn bet and then represent a strong hand by betting the river if the villain checks.
When double floating in Texas Hold’em, it is important for you to have at least some equity so that you can make the nuts or close to it on certain cards. On the other hand, you will also often be bluffing the river if your opponent checks, making your line look very convincing.
By alternating between betting the turn, raising the turn, and occasionally double floating, you will make your game incredibly unpredictable and become a tough player to beat. This is what you should strive for when playing against experienced players.
Start Implementing Floating into your Game
Floating is a skill that every successful poker player should have, and it must be applied correctly when the right opportunities arise. Although the concept of floating may seem exciting, do not overdo it at first, as it can backfire.
It is best to only float with hands that are suitable for it, and against players who are not too inclined to continue betting without a strong holding. As you gain experience with floating, you can begin to widen your range and float more, but for now, start implementing this technique slowly and learn as you go. It is also worth noting that using our HisHands service can greatly help in analyzing opponents and finding perfect floating spots. Here you can purchase ready-made hand histories, with detailed statistics and analytics on games, which will allow you to accurately determine when your opponents are inclined to continue betting turns and rivers. With the help of data obtained from HisHands, you will be able to better evaluate the ranges of your opponents’ and find the most profitable moments for floating. Good luck!
