Is there a general rule of thumb when to float and not float scenarios ?

Example 4 players see the Flop you hold JT hearts
the Flop comes 4s 7d 9h (28 in pot before flop) ALL stacks cash game about 250
player A bets 10 your turn to act with 2 players behind....you call fold ?

another example
you hold Ac Qd unsuited
Flop 6h 9h Js say the action is same as above..

Last question Unrelated to above. 1/2 cash game all stacked at 300
You hold QQ mid position. Action goes fold to you you make it 12
fold to sb who makes it 24 IF you make it 55 and they re raise your 55 to 120 do you fold/call or shove ? Was it better to just call the 24 at that point ?

Don't float light multiway when you're not closing the action.
You usually only want to float when you're heads up and expect to have a good opportunity to steal the pot on the turn or river. (You're unlikely to be able to steal a pot from 3 or 4 players once they've got past the flop, because they probably have a hand). Floating is best when you are in position and actually have some connection to the board. Hands like straight draws (even gutshots) usually also block top pair, and they will at least have some outs if your turn bluff gets called.

P.S. That JThh would be a decent float in position on 9h 7x 4x if it was heads up, as a gutter + BDFD has pretty good equity, and it's really hard for villain to have many strong hands on that kind of board, and it's quite easy for you to represent something when the turn is any card between 3 and J.

Not sure if you really understand the concept of floating?

Your hand examples are multi-way action with players behind you left to act. That’s not a situation where you can float. If you want to call or not is a totally different issue that depends on the two players behind you.

@arty and madlex ok fine point taken and what about the QQ Example ?

QQ depends on your opponent and his range and specifically on what you think the (almost) minraises mean.

It’s easy to construct ranges where flatting the 3bet would be best, where 4bet/fold is best and where 4bet/call or 4bet/all-in is best. That’s something you need to know or at least be able to approximate, worst case through a population read.

Example 1: J10* Gutshot/overs BD Flush draw.

This is not a float - this would just be a call. You obv have some solid equity here. Nothing is clear in your post though ie pot size/pf action etc, so its just a general question and the general answer is this is not a float at all. Floating (at least to this old goat) means calling with little to no equity with the intention of taking it away on a later street.

i.e You raise on button with J9, get 3 bet by BB, flop comes A26. You float his c-bet, hoping he slows down.

However, in this particular hand, calling isn't going to be the worse thing in the world.

Example 2: Just fold it. Lot of bad things can happen here, not that many good things.

Question 3: This is going to be player dependent. If you're going to fold to a 5bet then literally at that exact point, then, of course, it woulda been better just to call. But you don't know he is going to 5 bet before he does it. Best thing to do is just have a plan in mind when 4 betting based around what you know about the guy. Maybe you think he is never ever 5 betting anything but AA/KK here, then you can feel comfortable folding or run odds and decide to set mine.

A lot of people here will be of the opinion a 5 bet is basically always AA/KK, maybe the fact he makes it so small is more indicative of a stronger hand and you can take out the AKs/random unlikely bluffs because of it. Live 1-2 has some ridiculous plays though, so best just to try and work out what your opponents are doing and make exploitative plays based around your read on the individuals.

I would not make it 55 though, I would go bigger on the 4 bet. Actually, I would probably just call and fold when I don't hit a Q, but my 'strategy' is not for the faint of heart.

Ignoring the bait of actually defining what a 'float' consists of I'm going to speak in general ... I think. Are you floating or semi-bluffing? (can of worms comment)

When making decisions in poker you should have a plan for what may happen next. What can you potentially gain (or lose) by taking this path and how likely will I get paid if things 'work out'.

JTs ... I like this spot, and I dislike this spot! I like that you are floating to a nutted hand (8). You can also 'improve' (maintain equity) to a flush/Broadway draw as well. But I agree that having Players behind may prevent you from even seeing the Turn and you could have a pretty bloated pot where the Turn bet might be a little steep to 're-float' ... You could be drawing to 3 pure outs if someone else is in there with AQh and do you really want to hit a T or J that can improve other Players more than it helps you? We also don't know anything about your opponents. Do any of these Players pay you off with multiple straights out there (56/6T/JT) and you 'needing' to bet into them to get value unless they have a smaller straight themselves?

AQo ... Do you really want to hit a Queen? As above it connects to the Board and multi-way you never know.

Another consideration when floating is your ability to steal the pot should action fizzle on the Turn. You really need to cross your fingers (and have the right range in your opponents minds) when you try an OOP steal here on Turn or River.

I do more than my fair share of floating, but I think my image lends itself to getting paid (or stealing) pots more often than an average 1/2 live Player. So a little kettle/black here on my part!


QQ ... Typically an EP (UTGish-blinds) min-raise is very strong. We don't know the image of your opponent here. If you aren't ready to GII, then why raise $31 into a $50 pot? If you are going to fold, then why not set mine for $12 when stacks are still deep enough to do so?

Your opponent has pretty much let you know that stacks are in play. What is their range here? If there isn't enough AK/AQ/99-JJ to offset the obvious AA/KK potential then your stuck getting it in bad here. You can flat and hope for a free Turn or just get it in now and see all 5 cards. Folding here is also an option against a few opponents as well. Is this Player capable of 'poker' right now or is it always 'cards' in this spot. If there's even a chance that they are playing into your tendencies then that widens their range that you can comfortably call/shove against. GL

I think this is a mistake because this is BQ and is very important that poker terms are correctly understood, otherwise confusion for noobs is a certainty.

"Floating" is one of several terms that are very frequently badly misused in BQ.

eg The fish villain floated me...

What's wrong with that. It's oxymoronic...a fish cannot float anybody, because fish do not know what is to "float". They can call and they can "station", but they sure as s**t cannot "float".

Which neatly leads me to my main point...whilst it is always nice to have equity, the main component of a successful flop float is villain tendencies (or population tendencies if you are a zoomer).

If you know villain/population over cbets flop and overfolds turn, you should floating any flop that is hard to hit, with a plan to bet turn, raise turn, or check raise turn to steal the pot. Your cards and equity are often irrelevant (although to repeat, it is always nice to have equity).

In sum

Calling is to do with equity, pot odds, implied odds or pot control or slow play (in a heads up or multiway pot)

Floating is mostly to do with villain/population tendencies and board texture in a heads up pot.

It is absolutely essential to know the difference.

In very simple terms if I "float" flop, nearly always IP and villain checks turn to me I am betting almost 100% of the time.

If I "call" flop, IP or OP, my play on the term is dictated by a myriad of variables.

That's why you need to know the difference. Floating is very + EV against the right villains on the right boards, often with ATC.

From the Hold 'em Teaching Glossary

Floating - calling a flop continuation bet with a marginal hand in position against one opponent and planning to bluff or semi-bluff the turn. Relies on the fact that many c-bets are made with poor or marginal hands and your call sends up a warning flag.
Example: A fairly loose villain makes a continuation bet on a flop of T 6 4, rainbow. His c-bet is half the pot. You call with AJo on the button intending to bet or raise any turn bet. Your AJ holding may or may not be the best hand but you recognize that villain often c-bets with very little so you hope your flop call and turn bet will make him fold or perhaps the turn card gives you good winning chances.

thanks to all for the input