1. Understanding the terms used
| Term |
Abbreviation |
Definition |
| Minraise |
MR |
The minraise is a raise where the amount is double the big blind. It allows you to take the initiative right from the start of the action. |
| Small Blind |
SB |
La small blind est une mise forcée placée par le joueur immédiatement à gauche du bouton. Elle contribue à la constitution du pot et lance l’action pré-flop. |
| Big Blind |
BB |
The small blind is a forced bet placed by the player immediately to the left of the button. It contributes to the pot and initiates the pre-flop action. |
| Button |
BTN |
The button indicates the dealer's position, which is the most advantageous because it allows you to act last post-flop. This position offers better visibility on the actions of your opponents. |
| Average chips won per hand |
CEV |
CEV measures the average number of chips won or lost per game in the long term. It helps assess the performance and effectiveness of a playing strategy |
| Non All-in |
NA |
The term non all-in means that a player does not commit all of their chips in a hand. |
| All-in |
A |
All-in means that a player bets all their chips on a hand. |
| Open Shove |
OS |
An open shove is when a player pushes all their chips in right from the start without raising. This strategy is often used in short stack situations, like in Spin. |
| In Position |
IP |
Being in position means acting after your opponents during the betting phases. This provides a strategic advantage, allowing you to better read your opponents' plays. |
| Out Of Position |
OOP |
Being out of position means acting before your opponents, which can make decision-making more difficult. Out-of-position players often need to adopt a more cautious approach to compensate for this disadvantage. |
| Isolation raise |
ISO |
ISO is a raise aimed at isolating an opponent and excluding other players from the hand. This term is commonly used in Spin when raising against a limp. |
2. Why play Exploitative rather than GTO?
GTO is a perfect theoretical armor, but it's suboptimal against recreational players who don't use it.
The exploitative approach, on the other hand, acts like a scalpel: it identifies your opponents' weaknesses (e.g., too many folds post-flop) and maximizes profit from them.
Concrete example
If an opponent folds 80% of their hands to a 3-bet (while they should only be folding 30% of the time in theory), it becomes profitable to bluff them even more.
📊 Key takeaway:
| Strategy |
Strength |
Weakness |
| GTO |
Perfect against pro players |
Suboptimal against recreational players |
| Exploitative |
Exploits the mistakes of opposing players |
Can sometimes be difficult to calibrate |
3. When to move away from GTO?
On Spin Preflop Pro, you'll find both GTO ranges and exploitative ranges. But how do you know when to use an exploitative approach instead of a GTO strategy? There are two main reasons to identify this:
If the opponent makes obvious mistakes
Example 1: They call too often --> You should bluff less and value-bet more.
Example 2: They fold too much --> You should bluff more and bet even with weak hands.
Against a recreational ("weak") player
By definition, a recreational player doesn't play in a balanced way. They have tendencies that are optimal to exploit by moving away from GTO.
In short:
GTO is a good foundation, and it’s worth understanding and applying it in a human way, but adapt!
Recreational players --> Often, keep it simple: value, value, value.
4. Why minimize variance?
In many situations where GTO suggests going all-in, our recommendations may sometimes favor actions like limping or min-raising to reduce variance against recreational players. This is a recurring concept that is essential to understand.
Variance: ally and enemy
- Low variance = More control over postflop play = Optimized edge.
- Hidden risk : High variance reduces the number of hands you play in a session (too many all-ins = more variance = risk of elimination for marginal gains).
🎯 Anti-variance strategy:
- Prioritize limps/checks over open shoves/iso when the EV is similar.
- Avoid coinflips, especially if the effective stack is large (>10bb).
5. Do opponent ranges differ across sites?
Overall similar trends
Recreational players make the same structural mistakes everywhere:
- Overdefending blinds
- Calling too frequently against shoves/MR/3-bets (up to 20% more than GTO suggests)
- Predictable patterns (e.g., no check-raise bluffs)
Simple adaptation margin
Even though certain rooms have specific features, our strategy remains profitable because:
- It targets universally exploitable leaks.
- The necessary adjustments are minimal.
The key: Understand the "why"
Instead of memorizing specific ranges, focus on:
- The logic behind each decision
Example: Open-shoving with 87s at 15 BB is not a "magic rule"—it’s based on a high fold equity against players who defend their BB poorly. - The unchanging principles
- Exploit excessive folds = bluff more
- Punish loose calls = value your strong hands
6. How were the ranges built?
Analysis of 1 million real hands
- Database: We retrieved 1 million hands played on PokerStars, Winamax, and Betclic ($0.25 to $20).
- Focus on "fish": Identification of recurring trends (e.g., calling too often in the BB vs MR 18bb deep, excessive folding from SB 6bb...).
- Tools: HRC (Holdem Resources Calculator) and GTO Wizard to model exploitable leaks and calculate the appropriate ranges to adjust to.
Adaptation to exploitable behaviors
- Priority #1: Maximize short-term EV against recreational players. Example: At 12bb HU, "fish" don't adapt to open sizing from the BB → increase open sizing with the best hands.
- Priority #2: Preserve future EV by avoiding spots with excessive variance. Example: Sacrifice +0.5bb of immediate EV to avoid an all-in flip 20bb deep, where your edge postflop and on future hands more than compensates.
Simplification without compromise
- Memorization > Complexity: Grouping hands into visual categories and eliminating marginal hands (-3% EV max) for quick and error-free memorization.
- Validation: The simplified ranges generate almost 100% of the EV of the complex ranges.
Stack dynamics and metagame
- Adaptive balance: The smaller the stack, the less EV is sacrificed for future spots, as there will be fewer of them.
- Opponent reactions: Some adjustments are not considered if the opponent, even a recreational player, naturally adapts.
Example: A nearly 100% MR in HU is highly profitable in theory but not in practice because the BB adapts quickly.
