mercy bet

can someone please explain to me what a mercy bet is in texas holdem

I've never heard of it.

Mercy is not a winning mindset in poker. I'd avoid it.

The best players are called sharks for a reason; they are merciless.


Not that this has any bearing on a mercy bet, since I have 0 clue what a mercy bet is.

I've never heard that term.

I've fucked about in 5c MTTs on stars and made river bets where it leaves villain with 1 chip, I guess that could be seen as a mercy bet. I'm giving villain a ridiculously low probability of recovery (assuming he calls and loses), when it's clear that if he calls the bet, he would've obviously called all in.

I don't really get how the term "mercy bet" can make any sense in poker, other than to show mercy by not betting as much as you think villain will call, and that is moving into soft play territory, which is a form of cheating. So I don't think such a bet has practical use in poker.

Maybe I'm just completely unaware of the term and it does mean something practical, I stand to be corrected.