How to Float a Good Player
Dipping into the archives to bring you some poker content…
Villain and I were starting a game. He’s pretty solid and not someone I’d ordinarily go out of my way to play heads up, especially not at 2/4 where there’s easier competition available.
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em, $4 BB (2 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerSavvyPlus.com
Hero ($402)
BB ($400)
Preflop: Hero is Button with Qd, Kd.
Hero raises to $12, BB raises to $44, Hero calls $32.
Flop: ($88) 5s, 2h, Jd (2 players)
BB bets $52, Hero calls $52.
Turn: ($192) Td (2 players)
BB bets $162, Hero raises to $306, BB folds.
Final Pot: $660
Results in white below:
No showdown. Hero wins $660.
The key to floating successfully against a good player is having a lot of turn cards that improve your hand (or that you’ll be comfortable continuing on, anyway). I happen to get a particularly good one, but here that could be any A, K, Q, T, 9, or diamond.
I specify “against a good player”, because it’s much easier against someone who will just bet the flop and then give up if he has nothing. In those cases it doesn’t matter terribly much what you have, but against a good player who will fire second barrels with a good frequency, you need to have a hand that plays well on a lot of turns.