Nash Equilibrium, named after the renowned mathematician John Nash, is a fundamental concept in game theory. Both of the GTO charts below are ideally applicable for heads-up play, but sometimes, using an exploitable strategies for HU shortstack strategy could lead to more +EV decisions against certain opponents. GTO poker solvers (downloadable online software – something that will be talked upon in a later section of this article) often will give solutions for how to play as optimally as possible in any given spot, and often, they recommend using a mixed strategies based on select frequencies. In every situation when facing a bet, you should consider the overall number of combos you have, figure out your MDF, and then reduce the number of outs accordingly. When playing GTO, you will be bluffing and value betting on every street of every hand with various holdings, and you will not care about what your opponent does.

Defining and defending GTO play is one of the tasks that O’Kearney, the book’s strategy wonk, charges into head-on. This is assuming that if your opponent is ALSO applying GTO solutions, then the end result of many hands played with this same person would be a net EV (expected value) of zero. GTO Poker Simplified dispels the myth that you need to be a genius to understand game theory in poker. Expected value (EV): Expected value is a measure of the potential profit or loss from a given decision, taking into account all possible outcomes and their respective probabilities. We have explained that the GTO poker strategy ensures you are not getting exploited in any way, but it also does not do anything to exploit the mistakes of your opponents.By having a strong GTO baseline, you will be sure that no one in the world can crush your soul and see where others are making mistakes. Like a human player, a solver will take into account pot odds, implied odds, reverse implied odds, and more.

This advantage allows them to control the pot size, apply pressure on their opponents, and extract value from strong hands. This book covers everything you need to know to play optimal poker whatever stakes and level you are at.Break these areas down into smaller, achievable objectives, and create a timeline for accomplishing them.