Floating in Online Poker
A concept that has leaped into the mainstream world of Texas Hold’em and online poker is the term “float”. A float is when you call a bet with no hand or a marginal hand in the hope of taking the pot away from the bettor in the latter part of the hand.
Floating gives you a defence against the now standard continuation bet. Every aggressive player opens the pot on the cut-off, you call on the button, and the blinds fold. When the flop comes along, you expect him to bet no matter the texture. If you take the pot away from your opponent on the turn or river, he is less likely going to fire continuation bets knowing that you are calling his bets.
Rules and situations in Floating
Before you add the float to your poker repertoire, there are some standard rules and situations that you need to be aware of. For starters, floating is effective in heads-up pots with position. Without the power of position, you are forced to guess if your opponent has any part of the flop/turn and lead out blindly. It is vital that when you’re floating, you are always in position.
You are also on the lookout for aggressive players as they’re good for floating, especially those that continuation bet on a frequent basis. A lot of aggressive players tend to lead out on the flop, then abandon the pot if called on the flop. These are the type of players that are most exploitable with the float.
If you can learn to master the float play and understand poker situations more successfully, then you have a very powerful took in your poker arsenal.