Modern Poker Theory: Building an Unbeatable Strategy Based on GTO Principles

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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! Because GTO focuses on protecting your actions in each situation rather than exploiting your opponents' actions it is considered a defensive strategy. Knowing the correct GTO lines and tendencies helps players recognize when their opponents’ make mistakes and allows them to adjust much easier. In this situation if you only 4-bet with premium hands (such as AA, KK, QQ, or AK), call your medium hands (TT, JJ, AQ), and fold the rest of your range, you become extremely easy to play against. When playing short-handed (at a table with 3-6 players), players must loosen up their play (play more hands) for several reasons: [1]

But if you know that you made the right decision because your decision is part of a correct GTO strategy, losing the hand will not discourage you from making that correct decision next time. Modern Poker Theoryis a comprehensive, rigorous guide to the most important aspects of No-Limit Hold’em. It is based around an in-depth examination of what is meant by game theory optimal play (GTO) and how it can be applied at the table. Understanding GTO is fundamental to being able to make accurate poker decisions and being able to exploit players who don’t. To conceal the strength of a player's hand: If a player has a very strong hand, they might smooth call on an early betting round to avoid giving away the strength of their hand on the hope of getting more money into the pot in later betting rounds.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.

The reason why this strategy is so effective is because early on when you first encounter a new player, that's the time they are going to give you the most credit when you bet. They will often fold the first several times when you bet or raise them if they have nothing. Now while you want to be highly active against the recs and even bluff them a little bit, you don't want to take this too far, because the number one thing these players love to do is call. In fact, there is no bigger thrill in the game for them than putting on their sheriff's hat and catching you in a big bluff!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. GTO prevents your opponents from exploiting you even when they know your strategy, but the reality is that in most cases your opponents won’t know your exact strategy, which makes playing GTO overkill. Implied odds is a more complicated concept, though related to pot odds. The implied odds on a hand are based not on the money currently in the pot, but on the expected size of the pot at the end of the hand. When facing an even money situation (like the one described in the previous paragraph) and holding a strong drawing hand (say a Four flush) a skilled player will consider calling a bet or even opening based on their implied odds. This is particularly true in multi-way pots, where it is likely that one or more opponents will call all the way to showdown.

If you think that you need to learn GTO to win in the games you play you are probably playing in bad games Here are the specific adjustments we can make to crush this player’s aggressive thin value betting strategy:

Make sure that you do everything possible to get on the left of the weaker players. This will make isolating them and winning more pots against them so much easier. 3. Keep Your Foot on the Gas Pedal 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. While you don't want to run any large multi-street bluffs against these players, my final tip ironically involves using plenty of small-scale bluffs early on when you first start playing against them. Furthermore, you want to let them know exactly what you are doing as well. By that I mean actually showing them the bluff. You simply can't bluff a calling station. It is important to play aggressively against the weaker players, but also remember that you can't force them to fold.

This is why it is important to understand that GTO is a strategy that players implement so they wouldn’t get exploited. This books has significant negative sides, but the positives more than make up for it, and that's why I decided to rate it 5 stars instead of 4. By actually showing the recreational player your bluffs, this also helps create that narrative that you are a wild maniac who is trying to bluff every single hand. This will ensure that when you finally do make that big hand against them (an overpair, two pair, trips, etc.), you will get paid off in full. Final Thoughts 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. Very often, understanding the theoretically optimal way to play a hand makes exploiting your opponents’ easier because you know exactly how they are deviating from optimal. When you don’t know what is right, it’s nearly impossible understand what is wrong? ConclusionAll of the aforementioned is just a tiny fraction of what I learned from these amazing videos, my game will never be the same! Leveling or multiple level thinking is accounting for what the other opponents think about the hands. This information can then be used to the player's advantage. Some players might be able to make educated guesses about opponents' hands; this could be seen as the first level. The second level could be thought of as the combination of the first level and deducing what the opponents think the player's hand may be. Skilled players can adjust their game play to be on a higher level than that of less skilled opponents. To semi-bluff A player with a drawing hand may raise both to bluff and for value. While technically still a bluff, as the player may not end up with a made hand and is primarily trying to drive out players, the player still has the opportunity to make his or her hand and win the pot if the bluff is called.