It means that a player is adjusting his or her approach based on the situation and the opponent rather than trying to play perfect poker in every situation. By approaching each poker hand in this way they don’t need to think about how good is their opponent (leveling wars) because no matter how good they are, by making the correct GTO play they are making money in the long run. For example, it isn’t wise to say things like, “this is NEVER a bluff,” or, “he ALWAYS has it here.” Similarly, you shouldn’t assume an unknown opponent cannot have a certain hand in their range, or that they open very wide or very tight.

I would get this entire video series for the aggregated reports alone, not to mention every file with every range Michael used in his MPT book! Overall Grade: A+ How do you start getting involved in more hands versus the recreational players? You start by raising them every time they limp. This is also called an "isolation raise." Having position is important, because as you'll soon find out they are going to call you a fair amount of the time when you raise preflop. If you are in position after the flop, though, then this gives you so many more options to win the pot.In No-Limit Texas Hold'em, GTO has become increasingly more popular in the last 10 years and the majority of professional poker players have adjusted their playstyles to be as close to GTO as possible. To understand how the modern theory of poker helps players with their confidence and deal with downswings you can think about it this way. Once you’ve worked out what the correct GTO strategy was in a certain spot, apply it to your post session analysis to see if you made the long-term profitable play with your range, not just your 2 hole cards.

This type of situation comes up most often in tournament style play. In a cash game, the adjustments are very similar, but not quite as drastic as the table can ask for what is known as a 'rake break.' A rake break occurs when the floor-man, who represents the casino, agrees to take a smaller portion than usual for the hand. For example, a random casino might normally receive 10% of the pot up to 5 dollars for a 'rake.' In this case the table would only owe 10% up to 3 dollars until there are a sufficient number of players again. In online poker rake breaks are determined automatically. GTO will not only help you learn how not to get exploited but also teach you what are the correct moves in which situation and this will help you recognize when your opponents are making mistakes. The Disadvantages of Playing GTO Poker In my opinion, the book does not fully disclose the GTO in modern poker, especially from the point of view of poker software. For example, the book does not mention the most advanced gto solver that currently exists - Simple 3-Way https://simplepoker.com/en/Solutions/... , as well as other solvers developed by Simple Poker company, the market leader of the gto tools development. Then, before watching the videos, I remember wondering how the video series could possibly really teach me anything else, as his book Modern Poker Theory literally covered it all. Then, BAM, he goes and does it again!Related to the gap effect, the sandwich effect states that a player needs a stronger hand to stay in a pot when there are opponents yet to act behind him. [4] Because the player does not know how many opponents will be involved in the pot or whether he will have to call a re-raise, he does not know what his effective pot odds actually are. Therefore, a stronger hand is desired as compensation for this uncertainty. A squeeze play exploits this principle. Whilst opponents were taking their turn, the expert players opened up another table or watched replays of hands they had played poorly to improve.

Finally, take a look at these 4 general benefits that result from using solid GTO strategy. 1. Avoid Circular Thinking Michael Acevedo is a mythical figure to me now. Before reading his book, I remember thinking to myself that nobody could really find anything more to teach on the subject of poker. It has all been done before. Then, BAM, he does it! I also learned how to better defend against a c-bet in the BB against UTG and BTN when they c-bet with various sizes and different boards. I've been reading Modern Poker Theory (still in the elements of game theory section) and I can't help but feel that the quality of the mathematics is quite shoddy. Don't get me wrong, I've learned a lot, especially as a (relative) poker beginner, but as someone who is mathematically inclined, it's very hard to read the equations. A lot of the calculations are made a lot more complicated than they need to be, and a lot of quantities are defined/worded ambiguously so that it's difficult to tell what he actually means. The amateur players had less control over their emotions, and were prone to allowing negative emotions, such as frustration, to distract them.A relic of poker training from the 90’s is trying to understand what “level” players are playing at. Suppose you just forgot everything you know about poker strategy, except the rudimentary knowledge of the game, and you are just about to play your first hand ever. In 2014, Bwin conducted a study to see what makes a professional poker player. The brain activity of poker players, of varying degrees, was monitored using EEG headsets and visualised into brain maps. [7] Leading sports psychologist, James Hazlett, then interpreted the findings: Learning a correct GTO approach will help you learn what the right play in more complex situations is. Playing GTO Poker Makes Adjustments Easier Players that play GTO essentially try to play perfect poker and make a profit when their opponents make mistakes.