Been reading hand discussions now for a few weeks and still can't figure out what is meant by 'punt' or 'punting'. Does it mean an aggressive play without giving the play any thought?
Would be grateful for a definition as I have been unable to find one.
It would be synonymous with "blunder", so typically a large mistake. While I think it is mostly used for actions of aggression, it could also be referred to calling mistakes.
Yes, your 'definition' above is really good .. 'An aggressive play without giving it (enough) thought'
To be fair, polarized bets are a very large part of poker right now. Sometimes they work and sometimes they don't. I don't think it's fair to call it a Punt just because a Player gets called down and it's a bad result. It's more about the timing and execution of the play IMO before we label it a punt.
If you 4-bet/shove into a Player who 'never' 3-bets holding 78s .. that's a punt. You're never going to get a fold and you have a holding that's crushed.
Shoving into a blank River with a SPR of .33 with 9-high is a punt.
I'm a bit of a word nit, so I don't like to see words get over-used and lose their intended statement impact. GL
PS .. Just to prove my word 'status' .. I don't like it when a Player takes down a Bomb Pot before Showdown and everyone says "Scoop". No, that's a Surrender and we should save 'Scoop' for when a Player wins both Boards at Showdown.