Stab bet
Also: stabbing, take a stab
A bet taken at a pot simply because nobody else wants it. It is not based on the strength of the hand but on the weakness the other players have shown by checking, and it is the main way small pots change hands.
When a flop or turn goes checked through, the pot is sitting unclaimed and every player has announced something about their range by not betting. A stab is the bet that takes it, usually small, usually out of position or from a player who was not the aggressor, and usually with a hand that could not call a bet.
The line is profitable against passive opposition for the arithmetic rather than the cards: a bet of a third of the pot needs to work one time in four to break even, and a table that checks twice will fold far more often than that. It is also where a great deal of a loose-passive player's money ends up.
Two cautions. Stabbing is habit-forming and becomes readable - a player who bets every checked-through pot gets check-raised by opponents who have noticed. And a stab into two or more opponents is a different proposition from a stab into one, because the chance that somebody has something rises with every player still in the hand.
The probe bet and the delayed continuation bet are the structured versions of the same impulse: one is out of position after the raiser declines the flop, the other is the raiser's own return to aggression.
Related terms
Full glossaryFrequently asked questions
What is a stab bet in poker?
A bet at a pot that has been checked through, made because the other players have shown weakness rather than because the bettor holds a strong hand.
Why do stab bets work?
Because of the price. A bet of a third of the pot needs to succeed about one time in four to break even, and opponents who have checked twice fold far more often than that.
When should I not stab?
Against observant opponents who have seen you do it before, and into multiple players at once - the more players still in the hand, the likelier someone holds something worth calling with.