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    GTO Poker – Best Strategy Guide to Game Theory Optimal

    GTO in poker stands for “Ideal Game Theory” or “exploitable”. It is a strategy that will prevent your opponent from exploiting you. But it does have one feature: there is no specific definition of what exactly GTO should be, but this strategy will defeat anyone who doesn’t follow it. The GTO does not adapt to the opponent’s game. This implies the following: you must create a strategy that prevents your opponent from exploiting you.

    Knowledge of GTO poker concepts will allow you to find workable strategies. It will help you to deal with your opponents and protect you from situations where you can be exploited by other players.

    In this article, we will consider three simple game techniques of the GTO strategy, and also the problems related to the game based on this strategy.

    3 simple techniques

    GTO poker is a scenario where both players play perfectly, but no one can improve their strategy in the future.

    You’ll rarely play against opponents who play perfectly, but if you’re not careful, they might pick a GTO poker strategy that beats yours! You must select the strategy that will prevent your opponent from exploiting you. Let’s assume you’re playing against a good opponent, and let’s consider an example.

    A simple GTO example

    A simple GTO example

    You raise pre-flop and only the player on the button makes a call. Let’s consider two possible variants:

    • “A” strategy – you bet only in case you have a top pair or better.
    • “B” strategy – you bet only in case you don’t hit the score.

    If you always use the “A” strategy, what will your opponent do? In case you make a bet only in case you have good cards, most of the time he will “fold” (run from your bets) your bet and wait for good hands.

    If you always use the “B” strategy, then what will your opponent do? He will bluff every time you place a bet!

    The best option is to take an intermediate path. GTO in poker encourages using the perfect combination of strong hands and bluffs. This can be a daunting task to deal with, which is why you should familiarize yourself with the various practical tips that will help you move in the direction of GTO:

    Too many bluffs on the flop

    Many players don’t bluff enough on the flop against other good players. Let’s assume you are using bet sizes between 60 and 75% of the pot. You should bet around 60/40 with a bluff to extract value on the flop.

    To achieve this goal, you must check medium-strength hands. These are hands like a second pair or top pair with a weak kicker. You won’t fold – you check or check/call if you’re out of a specific position, or you’ll check back if you’re in a specific position. Either way, it’s hard to get value on three streets with these hands.

    Small stakes with a strong range

    Let’s say you calculate your range using the technique mentioned above and find that you have many more valuable hands than bluffs. This can happen if your pre-flop range is very strong, as well as in 3-bet pots. Therefore, to move towards the GTO, you must place smaller bets. You can get closer to 50% of the pot, and in extreme cases, it makes sense to bet in the range of 30-40% of the pot.

    Big bets and raises for a win

    In the math of poker, two really smart men decided to use the best three-way strategy post-flop when you have the guts. What was the strategy? Invest all your money in the river by making three bets of equal size into the pot.

    For example, if you have the guts to make a bet three times the size of the pot and then go all-in, then that should be it. If you are in the pot with a raise, as a rule, over-bets are made in all ways to invest all the money.

    Advantages and disadvantages of the GTO strategy

    Advantages and disadvantages of the GTO strategy

    The GTO strategy has several practical advantages.

    • It is difficult to exploit the game based on the GTO strategy.
    • A game based on GTO strategy is victorious against any opponent.
    • The game method based on the GTO strategy is a perfect strategy by default.

    However, this strategy has a drawback: the play will not always be the most profitable one, because the GTO does not consider the tendencies of its opponents.

    Conclusion

    Today, GTO is a hot topic, but most people don’t understand the meaning of this strategy and also don’t understand why they should learn it. But you must learn GTO! Knowledge of concepts will allow you to find the right strategies that can help you exploit opponents and become winners.

    Also Read: Standard Poker Chip Values, Colors, And Stack Distribution For Home Games

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