What is the float? The float is a somewhat advanced play used to take someone off a hand. Generally you call someone's preflop raise and then call the continuation bet on the flop. That is technically the float (i.e., you float the flop bet to the turn), but the float play continues on to the turn. On the turn, if the player now checks, you fire out a bet and take the pot away, assuming the player folds. Let's look at this play in a bit more detail.
You don't need to have a hand to make this play, which is why it is usually a bluff. As with all bluffs, you need the right situation and the right player to have a good chance of making the play successful. You must always have position to make this play. You cannot check-call on the flop and then fire a bet on the turn after the other player checks, since that will just take you to the river. The float play relies on superior position, where you can pounce on any weakness displayed on the turn.
In addition, you need to be heads-up. You cannot run the float against two players. If the third player calls the flop bet, you can expect him/her to have some piece of this flop. You can try and blow this player off the hand, but trying to push people off of decent hands is a tricky business, and at least at the lower stakes, usually it's a good way of spewing chips and hurting your bankroll. You can call preflop behind another caller, since the player will either be folding, calling, or raising the flop continuation bet. Assuming the third player mucks, you can then try to float.
The type of player you are looking for is one who folds to resistance. There's a particular phrase I listen for at the table when I play, "Man, I hate A-K!" That's music to my ears. These are the perfect players to float. They will raise preflop, continuation bet the flop, and check-fold on the turn unimproved. You could also just raise them on the flop, but then you wouldn't be making the float play, and that's what this is about, so let's just focus on that. Aside from that musical phrase, I also watch for players who raise preflop, continuation bet the flop, then shut down. If you see that happen twice, you have a very good candidate for the float play, since this player has demonstrated an unwillingness to fire two barrels and seems to give up after the continuation bet is called. The continuation bet is basically this person's last attempt to win the pot.
Let's test your understanding. You have 
and are the only caller of a raise to $3 in a 50c/$1 NL hold'em game. The flop is 
. Your opponent, who plays a straightforward game and has previously stated in the chat that he hates A-K, bets $4.50 on the flop. He has $100 left and you have him covered. How many outs do you have, and should you call? If you answered four outs, reread the article from the beginning. Players who hate A-K also hate flushes and straights. Again, how many outs do you have? Any spade puts a flush out there. This opponent will likely fold to a bet unless he happens to have an A or K of spades. Even then a call will require another spade to call a river bet.
If a J, T, 9, 8, 7 or 6 hits the turn, this opponent will also be wary. If the opponent has A-K or A-Q, then you have 41 outs. You can't be certain of how many outs you have to steal the pot, but against this particular opponent, it is somewhere between four and 41.
If you are up against a set of tens, then you have four outs for sure, but may have more, depending on how pessimistic your opponent is, when a flush hits. The chances of your opponent having a set of tens, however, is not all that high (only 5%). The chances of A-K, A-Q, or a bigger pair are much higher, and you have a lot of scare cards that can force a fold from these hands.
Should you call this $4.50 bet? The pot is now $12, so your pot odds are a little worse than three to one. Pot odds-wise, you need roughly 12 outs. So the question is whether you have them?
Let's assume that aside from this player being a tight player who dislikes A-K, you have no read on the betting pattern. A preflop raise indicates a big pair or A-K, A-Q as the overwhelmingly likely holdings. As a matter of card distribution, there are six ways to have each pair from tens up to aces. There are 16 ways to have A-K and A-Q each. So let's break this down: against 30 of the 32 unpaired aces you have 41 outs (that's 54% of the time, by the way). Two of those combinations are suited in spades. Those combinations are dangerous, since they can cost you a lot of chips when you try the float when the flush hits. Nevertheless, you have plenty of other outs. I would put it at 32. Against the 18 aces, kings, and queens, you have probably 20 outs (tens, flush, and straights), though you could reduce this by one out if you think the opponent will not fold against the flush if it also makes him a set.
Against the six possible jacks i.e., six possible J-J pairs, you can probably reduce your outs to the flush, low end of the T-7 straight, and your gutshot (14 outs). Against the three possible tens (one ten is on the board), let's say you only have the four gutshot outs, but should you hit that hand, you will likely win this player's stack, so your implied odds are huge ($4.50 to win $12 + $95.50, or about 24 to 1 odds). Where does this leave us? Every possibility aside from a set of tens has more than the required twelve outs you need from the pot odds, and against the set, you have more than enough in implied odds. This is a mandatory call. It is not a mandatory call against anyone, but it is against this type of opponent.
Okay, so we make the call and float the continuation bet, now what? Now, we hope for a good turn card. If your opponent checks then you bet. How much should you bet? This depends a bit on what card it is. If a flush hits, then you need to bet at least three-quarters of the pot, but I would lean more towards a full pot bet, as this puts more pressure on a lone 
. If the opponent bets any decent amount, then you should strongly consider folding, even if the flush hits. Raising in this situation will cost too many chips to find out if you are up against the unlikely nut flush or to try and push him off a big pair with a spade. The float play is a small-ball strategy, or at least, a medium-ball strategy. There's little reason to risk half your stack with six high. It can be done, of course, but that's a much higher variance play than the basic float. I would strongly recommend just incorporating the basic float before moving on to advanced play. It's pretty simple on the turn: opponent bets, you fold; opponent checks, you bet.
Moving on, we bet $12 on the turn card and the opponent calls, now what? It depends on what the turn card is, but most of the time you just need to give up. Let's consider some scenarios. If it's a flush card on the turn, then you should fire again on the river if the opponent checks a non-spade. You still want to keep the pressure on here, so something in the $25 to $30 range. If you get check-raised, then of course, you must fold to the almost certain nut flush. Just tip your hat and move on. When this happens, you lose big ($44.50-$49.50), but fortunately it will happen very rarely at only 1.25% of the time that you try to float. The vast majority of the time, you will just win that small $12 pot that we started with on the flop, and you only need to win four of those pots to make up for this one big loser. If a non-spade hit the turn and your opponent check-called your bet, you can be pretty sure you are up against a big hand. If you give up, then you cost yourself $19.50, but again, you will be making $12 each time the float works, and if you have carefully selected your opponent, you should be taking down the pot the vast majority of the time.
The float is highly profitable against the weak-tight opponent, but what about other opponents? Let's say you have seen a player raise preflop, then continuation bet the flop, and then check fold the turn two or more times. This is a good candidate even if the player is not technically weak-tight. A lot of players who are not weak-tight will check-fold when a flush hits or if the top card pairs the turn with pairs like J-J or Q-Q. In the flop scenario from above, you would have the nine flush outs, your three non-spade gutters, and three tens. 15 outs is plenty good, so you can still call and expect to steal a decent amount of the time on the turn to show a profit, although it won't be quite as nice as what you can show against a weak-tight opponent.
The float is profitable, but you must use it selectively. Ideally, you would like an opponent who has exhibited some weak-tight tendencies, but a flush draw possibility can usually be counted on to get a fold even from a top pair/top kicker type hand. If the opponent shows weakness on the turn, then it is time to pounce and steal that pot. Just remember to listen for the players who hate A-K and you'll have found yourself a good mark. When deciding whether to float, take into account the size of the flop continuation bet and whether the pot is laying you enough odds to play for the turn steal. If you can hit a sneaky hand (e.g., gutshot straights or sets), then you can fudge a bit with the implied odds.
Log on to your favorite online poker room or sign up to a new one and give the float a try. I play at Bodog and UltimateBet.
Be sure to read 'Defending Against the Float' .