Float

In poker, the term float is used to describe a situation where a player calls a bet without a strong hand with plans of bluffing on later streets with the intention of winning the pot.

This is a fairly new poker term that has become commonplace among poker professionals and coaches, and you’ll encounter it quite often in training materials.

Here’s an example. After calling a UTG raise before the flop, a player on the dealer button proceeds to call a continuation bet on the flop of Kh5s9h. The player in the dealer position has AhTs, so they don’t have any immediate draws, but they’re floating the flop bet with hopes of taking the betting initiative on later streets and representing a strong hand on scare cards.

So, if any heart comes on the turn and the initial raiser checks, the player can start betting and representing the nut flush, even though their actual hand is just ace-high.

Sometimes, a player can float even when they don’t hold any of the key cards, with the idea of seizing the initiative the moment the other player slows down.

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