GTO in Poker: The Science of Winning Poker
GTO poker strategy explained: game theory, solvers, and Nash equilibrium to become an unexploitable player and maximize your profits.
The beginning of your adventure in the world of GTO...
The GTO, or "Game Theory Optimal strategy", is an unexploitable way of playing. This means that, even if others know this strategy, they cannot profit from it in the long run.
GTO in a Nutshell
Imagine a game of rock-paper-scissors. If a player always repeats the same choice, they become predictable and lose easily. By mixing options unpredictably, it becomes impossible for the opponent to guess the next move. In GTO, the principle is similar: even if an opponent knows how their opponent plays, they cannot exploit it.
Applying this strategy is complex, but it helps to be less vulnerable and to make better decisions in the long run.
What is GTO in Poker?
Game Theory
Game theory is a branch of applied mathematics that analyzes strategic situations where the choices of each participant depend on the actions of others.
This theory is used to study various fields such as economics, politics, biology, and of course, games like poker.
The objective is to predict player behavior by assuming they act rationally to maximize their gains or minimize their losses, according to the rules and objectives of the game.
Game Theory and Poker
In poker, game theory helps understand the interactions between players, their decisions, and the strategies they can choose to get the best results. This is essential because each player also seeks to maximize their gains. A key concept is the Nash equilibrium, named after mathematician John Forbes Nash.
A Nash equilibrium occurs when no player can improve their gains by changing strategy, as long as the others keep theirs. In other words, each player adopts an optimal strategy that makes any adjustment useless for the others.
Nash Equilibrium and the Ice Cream Vendor Example
To better understand, imagine two ice cream vendors on a beach.
Our assumption: customers on the beach will always go to the nearest ice cream vendor.
At first, both vendors share the beach to cover as many customers as possible. The red vendor attracts as many customers as the blue vendor, since each covers the same area.
But this is not a Nash equilibrium, because each vendor can still move to gain more customers.
If one moves closer to the center of the beach, they cover more area and therefore attract more customers.
The blue vendor realizes that by moving a little to the left, they could cover even more customers. This would bring them more sales.
To compensate, the red vendor also moves, but to the right.
This movement repeats until both vendors reach the center.
Although this strategy limits their overall sales, as customers at the ends of the beach may give up walking to the center, it remains a Nash equilibrium. Neither vendor can improve their position without a different and coordinated strategy.
In poker, GTO (Game Theory Optimal) aims for this same Nash equilibrium. It consists of playing in a way that no opponent can exploit your decisions for a consistent profit, just like the vendors on the beach.
GTO is therefore an unexploitable strategy. By following this strategy, like the blue vendor who stays at the center, no one can do better than you in the long run, whatever their strategy.
Nash Tables (Push or Fold)
The Push or Fold charts come from GTO. This name is well known to poker players, often even by beginners.
These charts are designed to be unexploitable in a theoretical situation where two players would only have two possible choices: push or fold.
The charts cover stacks from 0 to 20 big blinds or more, but in poker, this strategy is mainly applied in situations where the effective stack is 7 bb or less.
Indeed, with a higher stack, a strategy with only push or fold as options (i.e., no call or raise) becomes less profitable because it's often more advantageous to limp or minraise.
Note on variations of 63s, 53s and 43s
Note that these variations are very precise and are not a priority for beginners.
- The hand 63s is optimally pushed between 7.1 and 5.1 bb, then only below 2.3 bb.
- The hand 53s is profitable between 3.8 and 12.9 bb, then again below 2.4 bb.
- The hand 43s pushes well between 4.9 and 10 bb, then again below 2.2 bb.
These variations exist because when the big blind (BB) calls with many hands containing 3, 4, 5, or 6, our hand is often dominated, making the push EV-. When our stack is very low, under 2.4 bb, these hands become good to push again, despite the risk of domination.
How is GTO Strategy Determined?
Solvers and Their Role in Developing GTO Strategies
GTO in poker is determined through computer programs called "solvers". These solvers test thousands, even millions of situations to find the most effective actions in each case. They calculate these actions to maximize gains or reduce losses, without considering the opponent's choices.
Can Solvers Play GTO?
It's difficult to answer this question simply. GTO strategy is very complex and cannot be fully solved by current computers. In practice, solvers only approximate GTO.
For example, most solvers use bet sizes set by the user, a constraint that can vary from one solver to another. Despite these limitations, the solutions proposed by solvers are very accurate.
For poker players, solvers thus offer a strategy close to GTO, making them a valuable tool for playing in a quasi-unexploitable way.
Basics of Applying GTO in Poker
How to Play GTO in Poker?
As explained previously:
Playing GTO means adopting a playing approach where, even by revealing your strategy in advance to other players, no one can take advantage of it to beat you in the long run.
In practice, this means making strategic choices that perfectly balance bets and bluffs to remain indifferent to opponents' actions.
For example, if during a hand you decide to raise with a certain hand and simply call with the same hand in other situations, you create a mixed strategy that makes it difficult for your opponents to predict your actions and exploit them.
To know how to make these good frequency and action decisions, substantial off-table work is necessary using a GTO solver (like GTO Wizard).
The Importance of Frequencies
In GTO poker, mastering the right frequencies for raising, calling, or folding is essential. These frequencies indicate how to play certain hands to remain unpredictable and effective.
Example: deciding to bluff with a hand 20% of the time and play for value the rest optimizes your gains and limits your losses. It also makes your choices difficult to read and exploit for your opponents.
Should You Play GTO?
Following a GTO strategy is not always necessary and is not always the best choice. This is especially true against players who make predictable mistakes. In these cases, an exploitative approach, which takes advantage of their weaknesses, can be more profitable. This approach is often better for players who play at small stakes where mistakes are frequent.
But understanding the basics of GTO remains useful for building a solid strategy and improving your overall game.
Can You Play GTO?
Playing GTO perfectly remains out of reach for human players. It requires an enormous amount of calculations and scenarios impossible to manage. As explained, even poker solvers can only approximate GTO strategies. For players, aiming for a strategy close to GTO is a good goal, but achieving perfect GTO is not feasible.
If You Play Spins
If you play Spins (Expresso, Spin & Go, Spin and Rush, etc.), mastering GTO concepts is even more important in this fast format where every decision counts.
That's exactly why we created Poker Sciences. We offer a library of GTO and exploitative ranges tailored to every Spin game situation, a trainer to memorize and practice them in real conditions, detailed strategy guides by position and situation, and a bankroll challenge to structure your progression.
Feel free to check it out!
