At a glance
- On the HUD
- Flop Stab·Turn Stab·River Stab
- Formula
bets / times the player with the lead checked to them, they were in position and nobody had bet- Typical range
30–60% on every street
- Where it shows
- Badge: players in position once the player with the lead checks; the stabber after betting. Panel on your turn: under “If you check”, when you have the lead.
- Read hint
- Above: Stabs when checked to: check-raise more.
- Trust it after
- 12 chances. Below that the number is faded; reads need 12 chances and a number at least one standard error outside the typical range.
What it measures
A stab is a bet into a player who had the lead and didn’t use it. On the flop, the preflop raiser checks instead of c-betting, and a player in position to them bets. On the turn and river, the lead belongs to whoever kept c-betting: they check, and a player behind them bets.
The turn version has its own name. When a player calls a c-bet in position and then bets after the raiser checks the turn, that’s a float bet: the flop call was made with the plan of taking the pot on the next street.
Stab gets mixed up with three other bets:
- A probe bet is a lead from out of position on the turn or river, after the raiser checked back the street before.
- A donk bet is a lead into the raiser before the raiser has acted.
- Bet when checked to counts any bet after everyone in front checked, with or without a raiser, limped pots included.
A stab needs both conditions: the player with the lead checked, and the stabber sits behind them.
How it’s calculated
The rule, per street:
- The lead: the preflop raiser on the flop; on the turn, the player who c-bet the flop without being raised; on the river, the player who c-bet both the flop and the turn.
- Chance: the player with the lead checked as their first action with no bet in front, the player is in position to them, and the player’s next action still has no bet in front.
- Event: they bet.
- Excluded: streets where fewer than two players could still bet.
Formula: bets ÷ times the lead checked to them in position with no bet yet. There are no narrower versions: one number per street.
Two quirks follow from the rule. First, flop chances only come up when the raiser is out of position to the player: you flatted an open in position, you’re in the big blind against a small-blind raise, or you called a 3-bet made from the blinds. A big blind defending against a button open never gets a flop stab chance, because the big blind acts first. Second, in multiway pots, “in position” means acting after the raiser, not acting last, and if someone between you bets first, you don’t get a chance.
Example: Kai saw the raiser check to him 20 times on the flop and bet 11: 11 / 20 = 55%. On the turn, after Kai called a flop c-bet, the raiser checked to him 8 times and he bet 6: 6 / 8 = 75%, faded because 8 chances is under 12.
Why it matters
Stab tells you what happens when you, as the raiser, check. Against a player who stabs a lot, your check isn’t the end of the betting; it’s an invitation, and you can check strong hands expecting to face a bet. Against a player who rarely stabs, a check usually buys a free card or a free showdown.
That changes how you build your checking range out of position. If the players behind you stab often, check some strong hands to check-raise, and check-call wider with medium pairs, because their bets carry a lot of air. If they rarely stab, bet your value hands yourself, since nobody will bet them for you, and check your weak hands knowing you’ll usually see the next card for free.
From the other seat, it shows who takes advantage of a raiser’s weak checks. A stab wins a small pot, but the spot comes up again and again. On the turn and river the pot has already grown: after a called 66% pot c-bet it’s 2.32 times its flop size, so a turn stab that works is worth far more than a flop one.
Too low, about right, too high
Too low: under 30%
What it says
The player checks back most of the time when the raiser checks. They take free cards with draws, check medium pairs to showdown and bet only when they have a hand worth betting for value. That’s passive play, common in Station, Rock and Fish types, or a careful player who expects the raiser to be trapping.
When they do stab, it’s value more often than not. A low number shows blue, with no read attached.
How to exploit it
- As the raiser out of position, bet your value hands instead of checking to trap. They won’t bet for you.
- Check your weak hands and medium pairs freely. You’ll usually get a free card or a cheap showdown.
- When they stab, fold your weakest pairs and skip check-raise bluffs: their stabbing range is strong.
- Their check-back range is wide and weak. When they check back the flop, bet the turn as the raiser: a delayed c-bet takes the pot from the hands that didn’t want to bet.
About right: 30–60%
What it says
The player bets a fair share of the spots where the raiser gives up, with a mix of value and bluffs, and checks back hands that want a free card or a cheap showdown. Most solid players are here. The range is 30 points wide, though, so a player at 35% and one at 58% play quite differently: note which end they sit at.
How to exploit it
- Compare the streets. Many players stab the flop at a normal rate but float-bet the turn far more: if their turn number is high, check-call or check-raise the turn more often.
- Pair it with their fold to check-raise. A normal stab with a high fold to check-raise means your check-raise bluffs work.
- Adjust your checks to where they sit. Near 60%, keep a few strong hands in your out-of-position checks; near 30%, bet those hands yourself.
- Use the panel: under “If you check” it shows who behind you is likely to bet, before you decide whether to c-bet or check.
Too high: over 60%
What it says
The player bets almost every time the raiser checks, with value, draws and plenty of air. That’s an aggressive player (LAG or Maniac types), or someone who assumes a check from the raiser always means weakness. In many home games that assumption is right often enough to keep the habit going.
Their stabbing range is wide and, on average, weak.
How to exploit it
Check-raise more.
- Check strong hands (sets, two pair, strong top pairs) and raise their stab. Their range is wide, so draws and bluffs pay you.
- Add check-raise bluffs with draws: flush draws, open-enders, and gutshots with overcards.
- Check-call wider with medium pairs. You’re bluff-catching against a range full of air.
- Stop c-betting medium hands for thin value or protection. Check them and let the stabber bet.
- Save the biggest adjustments for heads-up pots. Multiway, a stab has to get past more players, so it’s more often a real hand.
On the flop, turn and river
Flop: bet vs missed c-bet
Flop stabs happen when the raiser is out of position and checks. Heads-up, that means the raiser opened from the small blind or got flatted by someone in position, or 3-bet from the blinds and got called. Multiway, any player behind the raiser gets a chance if everyone in between checked.
What the raiser’s check means depends on the raiser. A fit-or-fold raiser with a low c-bet checks mostly misses, so stabs work. A raiser who c-bets a lot checks rarely, and a check from them can be a trap. The best stabbers pick their target: compare the raiser’s c-bet with their fold to stab before betting.
Flop exploit: if you raise preflop, check out of position, and the player behind you has a high flop stab, your check doesn’t have to be a give-up. Check sets and top pairs on dry boards and raise their bet. The check-raise wins their stab from hands that would have folded to a c-bet, and builds a bigger pot when they have something.
Turn: bet vs missed c-bet
The turn stab is the float bet. The player called a flop c-bet in position, the raiser checks the turn, and they bet. Many raisers give up after one barrel, so in most games this is a bet that wins often, and good players plan for it when they call the flop.
Read it with the raiser’s double barrel. A raiser who c-bets 75% of flops but double barrels only 35% checks most turns after being called, which hands the floater a steady stream of chances. A high turn stab from a player who calls many flop c-bets means those flop calls were often floats, not made hands.
Turn exploit: against a high turn stab, double barrel less with medium hands. Check the turn with top pair and some strong draws, then call or check-raise their bet, instead of betting and getting called only by better hands while their floats fold.
River: bet vs missed c-bet
A river stab comes after the player called two barrels and the raiser finally checked. The raiser’s river check holds mostly missed draws and medium pairs that want a showdown. The stabber holds whatever called twice, plus their own missed draws.
So river stabs are a mix of thin value with medium pairs and bluffs with busted draws. A high river stab means they bet both; a low one means they check back pairs for showdown and only bet strong hands.
River exploit: against a high river stab, check-call with your bluff-catchers rather than betting thin. A half-pot stab needs folds only 33.3% of the time to profit as a bluff, so they can bluff with many missed draws, and your one pair is often good. Against a low river stab, fold weak pairs when they bet: there’s little air in that range. River chances are rare, so check the sample in the tooltip before acting on it.
When it’s your own number
If you stab a lot, your own badge shows the read others can use: check-raise your stabs more. Observant raisers will start checking strong hands to you, and your small stabs with air will run into check-raises.
If you rarely stab, the HUD makes no read, but you give away a pot every time a raiser checks with nothing. Check your number per street. Healthy stabbing means betting where the raiser’s check is weak: low connected flops that missed their range, turns after a one-and-done c-bettor checks, rivers after the obvious draws missed. Check back medium pairs that want a showdown, and keep a few strong hands in your check-backs so your bets aren’t easy to read.
Using it on the HUD
The badge shows stab for players in position once the player with the lead checks; after someone stabs, the stabber’s badge shows it. On your turn, when you have the lead, the panel shows how often each player behind you stabs under “If you check”, so you can see who will bet if you give up.
Gold means over 60%, blue under 30%. Stab has no narrower versions, so the number is the street total. Under 12 chances it’s faded. Only a high number makes a read: “Stabs when checked to: check-raise more.”
Chances arrive slowly, because the raiser has to check to the player first. A 50% number is ±9 points over 30 chances and ±5 over 100. The typical range is 30 points wide, so 30 chances is enough to tell a 25% player from a 70% one. Read it with check-raise, which tells you whether your own check-raises will meet a folder or a fighter.
Questions
What is a stab in poker?
A stab is a bet made after the player with the lead checks, by a player sitting behind them. On the flop it’s a bet when the preflop raiser checks instead of c-betting; on the turn, it’s the float bet after calling a c-bet. The HUD calls it bet vs missed c-bet and counts it per street.
What is a good stab percentage?
Between 30% and 60% is typical on every street. Good players stab more against raisers who check weak hands and give up, and less against raisers who check strong hands to trap. Over 60% usually means betting too many weak hands into possible check-raises; under 30% means leaving pots behind.
Stab vs probe bet: what’s the difference?
A stab comes from a player in position after the raiser checks on the current street. A probe bet comes from a player out of position on the turn or river, after the raiser checked back the previous street. Both attack a raiser who showed weakness, from opposite seats.
What is a float bet?
A float bet is the turn stab: you call a c-bet in position with a hand that may not be best, the raiser checks the turn, and you bet to take the pot. The HUD counts it in the turn version of stab. It works best against raisers whose double barrel is low.