Game Theory Optimal (GTO) is a popular poker strategy that aims to make a poker player's decisions unexploitable by opponents.
GTO treats the game of poker as a mathematical equation that needs solving based on players' actions with each hand.
Whether you are a cash game or tournament poker player, your sole aim is to collect chips, and GTO is a poker strategy that aims to aid that.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
WHAT IS POKER GTO?
HISTORY OF GTO
HOW TO LEARN GTO?
USE OF BLOCKERS IN GTO
TIPS FROM A CHAMPION
WHAT IS POKER GTO?
In straightforward terms, the poker strategy of Game Theory Optimal (GTO) is a mathematical way of playing to maximize the chips gained or reduce the loss of chips in every poker hand played.
Whether your best action in a specific spot is to check, bet, call, raise or fold; GTO is a strategy with a mathematical best outcome.
Most poker players will be familiar with hand ranges in poker. A simple understanding of poker hand ranges would be to know the hand combinations a player can open-raise from each position at the table. For example, the hand range for an Under-the-gun player will be significantly smaller than that of other positions. Hand combinations must be stronger to combat the fact that the player is raising into another 6, 7, or 8 players, increasing the likelihood of being called or even reraised.
You can learn more about poker hand ranges here.
When you play poker, especially online, you will face many different types of opponents, such as Tight-aggressive, Loose-aggressive, Tight-passive, Loose-passive. A GTO strategy helps you stay consistent against all types of players, reducing the chances that opponents can figure out your weaknesses and exploit them.
HISTORY OF GTO
Players of all games will always be looking for ways to win. Studying a game's dynamics and understanding existing strategies while trying to create new strategies is all part of the fun.
As the world advanced, moving from books to computer software, all games became more accessible to study and analyze. It can be said that early publications dating back to 1940, such as "Theory of Games and Economic Behavior" by John von Neumann and economist Oskar Morgenstern, helped people to further open their eyes to studying optimal strategy.
NASH EQUILIBRIUM
In the 1980s, American mathematician John Nash created a decision-making theorem within game theory, suggesting players should stick to their initial game strategy and not deviate from it.
In poker, the Nash Equilibrium demonstrates the mathematics behind certain actions. For example, all-in and calling ranges. If all players in a hand show their understanding of Nash Equilibrium and how it creates +EV shoving and calling ranges, then both players must adhere to the strategy. However, if one player demonstrates their strategy is different, for example, always folding to a Small Blind all-in when in the Big Blind position, then the Small Blind player can adjust their strategy by going all in with a wider hand range than expected.
POKER BOOM & DATABASES
When Chris Moneymaker won the $10,000 buy-in 2003 World Series of Poker, having qualified online for less than $100, a 'poker boom' occurred, with a new wave of poker players joining online poker sites hoping to replicate Moneymaker's success. These events lead to more people trying to break down and understand poker strategies.
In 2006, 'The Mathematics of Poker' by Bill Chen and Jerrod Ankenman was published, which further explored applying game theory to poker and discussed the concept of equilibrium strategies, laying the groundwork for GTO thinking in poker.
Technology become more present in society's daily lives, and online poker players created hand history databases for analysis. By 2015, more poker software had been launched, such as PioSolver and Holdem Manager, which allowed poker players to dive even deeper into hand analysis and be provided with new poker strategies to maximize their Expected Value (EV). Poker players also took to forums to discuss poker strategies like never before.
LIBRATUS
In 2017, a poker experiment became global news when an artificial intelligence computer system developed by Carnegie Mellon University defeated four poker professionals in a 20-day competition named "Brains vs. Artificial Intelligence: Upping the Ante".
120,000 hands of heads-up No-Limit Texas Hold'em was played at the Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh and live-streamed on Twitch. The event was described as "historic" by the creators and demonstrated the beginning of AI advancements, which are now daily features of life in 2024.
CURRENT DAY & CONTROVERSY
GTO strategies have become an integral part of high-level poker. Professional poker players blend GTO with exploitative strategies to maximize their edge, while continuous improvements in solver technology and AI have further refined GTO applications.
Poker training sites giving players of all abilities a way to study GTO poker strategies in a simple and cost-effective way have further advanced the game.
During the 2024 WSOP Main Event Final Table, Jonathan Tamayo was heads-up, playing for $10,000,000 and the greatest honor in poker. During the match, Tamayo chatted with his friends and fellow poker pros on the rail in-between hands, such as former Main Event champion Joe McKeehan and DTO poker software creator Dominic Nitsche. Armed with a laptop, Tamayo was accused of checking solvers to make in-game adjustments to his strategy and using Real-Time Assistance (RTA). Although the use of this technology, while not in a hand, is not against the rules, many poker pros and enthusiasts discussed whether this was against the spirit of the game and questioned if poker officials should introduce new rules for live poker.
As technology advances, KKPoker is determined to ensure we provide a safe and fair online playing environment. The dedicated KKPoker Anti-Cheating Team consistently creates new ways to ensure players who go against our terms of service cannot continue playing on our platform.
HOW TO LEARN GTO?
Balanced Play: Being a successful poker player can depend on a lot of how your opponent perceives your actions. In live poker especially, you may be playing against the same opponents for several hours, in many hands, and observations will be made.
For example, if you decide to only raise on the river with a strong hand and never a bluff, your opponent may read this, act correctly, and reduce the amount of chips you can win. GTO teaches players to have a balanced approach so their strategy can not become exploitable.
Studying GTO principles can help you understand a basic poker strategy for betting with both strong and weak holdings, making you a more unpredictable poker player. Are you betting for value or as a bluff? This is what you want your opponent to think.
Of course, it can be as easy as deciding that for every other hand you play under the gun, you will three-barrel bet, no matter a strong or weak holding. However, GTO teaches you to recognize when to make certain decisions based on the player positions, previous betting action, and, most notably, the board cards.
A basic example is choosing to bet or raise as a bluff when you have incremental equity in the form of a strong draw, such as a straight or flush draw. This means that although you are risking chips with a weak or medium strength hand, intending to win the pot immediately, if your opponent does call, you still have a good chance to improve your hand and the potential to win the pot at showdown.
USE OF BLOCKERS IN GTO
The term 'Blockers' has become vocabulary when poker players discuss strategy and GTO principles.
It can be applied when discussing hand ranges, for example:
Hero: Ac Kh
Flop: Jc 9c 8c
Hero's hand is only Ace high, although they have a flush draw. More importantly, they hold the Ac and the nut flush draw. The Ac card 'blocks' the Hero's opponent from holding the strongest possible flush draw, allowing the Hero to continue betting or even raising with the confidence they hold the higgest flush draw.
Furthermore, having the Kh also means that they block straight draw combinations. Making it less likely that their opponent holds a hand, such as an AK, KQ, KJ, or K10.
Same for when facing bets, calling with hands that have incremental equity, holding cards that reduce the possibility of opponent bluffing, such as blockers to flush or straight
Play passively with strong hands too, such as checking on the flop with top set or better. This is known as slow playing / trapping.
Suitable hands to slow play are ones that don't need much protection, such as a set on a dry board, with no flush or straight draws.
Another example would be the need to bet with JJ on a 10 high flop, as this overpair needs more proection due to over-cards appearing on the turn/river. However, you can check AA because it needs much less protection, and our hand is much more likely to remain ahead on a dry board.
These are the scenarios that studying GTO poker will teach you.
"GTO MAXIMISES CHIPS BY BALANCING POSSIBLE HANDS, WHICH DISGUISES OUR STRATEGIES THROUGH HAND COMBINATION SELECTION BASED ON PROBABILITIES."
DAVID KO'S TOP GTO TIPS
KKPoker ambassador and WPT Main Event champion David Ko gives his top GTO strategy tips!
PRE-FLOP IS THE KEY
In GTO strategy, no other street is more crucial than the pre-flop. Playing the correct hands pre-flop ensures your range is strong and balanced, which is the most important factor in making post-flop decisions. The mechanics of pre-flop GTO strategy are extremely complex, but more resources are now available to learn the concept. The easiest way to start is with pre-flop charts, which mostly cover RFI (raise first in) strategies. You can delve deeper using solvers and detailed charts to master advanced strategies, such as LJ vs. CO 3-bet.
It is challenging to practice GTO strategy post-flop if your pre-flop range is not constructed correctly. Although we enjoy watching 'maniac' players 4-bet with incorrect ranges on TV, as competitive players, we need to learn and practice optimal strategy, especially pre-flop, as that is where it all begins.
ACTUAL HANDS vs. RANGES
The biggest concept in GTO, and the most confusing one, is that "your exact hand doesn't really matter." What does that mean?
As previously mentioned, GTO strategy is based on the hand ranges of the players and focuses on the overall strategy and the range of hands rather than the specific cards you hold in a given hand.
For example, in 100bb UTG vs BB single raised pot, GTO suggests UTG to c-bet (continue betting) on As Kc 7d flop very frequently with almost their entire range, including hands like 22 or T8s, which have little to no equity when called.
This is because on the rainbow A K 7 flop, UTG's range is much stronger than the BB defend range overall, and UTG will make strong hands frequently if pre-flop was played correctly. Therefore, GTO strategy wants to bet more often with our entire range, even with underpairs or 9 highs. This ignorance to our range happens most frequently on the flop and its c-bet strategy. The main advantage of this play is that our c-bet strategy will be balanced and unexploitable, meaning we can bet more often with AK for value and bluff with low-equity hands like Q9s.
Your opponent will not be able to exploit your strategy: their loose calls will profit you when you value bet, and their tight folds will be profitable for you when you are bluffing. Conversely, on boards like 7d 6c 3c, UTG should take a more cautious approach and check more often.
Again, with little consideration for specific hands, UTG should check back more frequently, even with strong hands like AA. This balanced approach will make your c-bet strategy unexploitable and make your turn/river decision easier while putting your opponents in a difficult spot. You gain a new insight into the hand by thinking of every spot as a range vs. range instead of focusing on specific hands. This is the beauty of the GTO strategy!
GTO vs. EXPLOITS
Sometimes, we face an opponent who deviates from the standard strategy, especially pre-flop. Once we identify strong tendencies from our opponents, we should consider deviating from a perfectly balanced GTO strategy to maximize our profit.
If we face 3-bets from the opponent identified as extremely tight, then we should start folding a bit tighter than the equilibrium.
If we recognize our opponent is not defending their BB wide enough, our BTN RFI strategy should be wider than the equilibrium.
If we notice that a player's RFI is too wide, we should consider 3-betting more frequently, preferably with good blockers.
This topic is frequently discussed among poker pros. Adapting to our opponents' deviations while maintaining a balanced, unexploitable strategy is key to maximizing our profitability in modern poker. Deviating our strategy to exploit our opponents' tendencies might leave our strategy itself exploitable. This is the key reason we need to study GTO. A fundamentally strong GTO strategy will show you how much to deviate in different scenarios, and understanding balanced ranges will protect your plays from being exploited. You can make adjustments without overexposing your strategy by having a solid understanding of GTO principles. This balance between exploiting opponents and maintaining your own unexploitable balanced strategy is crucial for long-term success in poker, and it separates the average and great players.
SHOULD WE STUDY GTO?
In the modern poker community, GTO is perhaps the most overused and misunderstood term.
This might be natural because, as someone once said, "If you say you understand GTO, you do not know GTO."
If you are endeavoring to be a successful poker player, learning GTO has become essential. The more you study GTO, the more you will be able to make your strategy balanced and aggressive and capable of making more exploitative and creative plays.
If you have never studied GTO strategy, it might be because those terms sound complicated or because solvers are intimidating. However, the concept of GTO is rather simple, and the resources available now are very comprehensive. By putting time and effort into studying GTO, you will find yourself growing as a stronger and more well-rounded poker player. Start with the foundational pre-flop charts, even though they might initially seem a bit boring. Soon, you will find yourself making astonishing river overbets with blockers and executing elegant flop c-bets with 9-high!
JOIN KKPOKER
KKPoker offers our player community amazing opportunities to bank some epic rewards!
Since the launch of our fast and fun 3-handed SNG multiplier game SPINUP, we've seen players turn $2 into a share of $20,000, $5 into a share of $50,000, and in May 2024, our biggest jackpot of $1,000,000 was hit for the very first time.
Three lucky players instantly guaranteed themselves an amazing $100,000 prize, with more to play for! The runner-up was awarded $200,000; the ultimate winner, Yong, banked a life-changing $700,000! You can read his exclusive interview here.
KKPoker continually boosts our guaranteed tournament prize pools, featuring series such as MARCH MILLIONS and MICRO MASTER and the upcoming 4th ANNIVERSARY celebration.
Join KKPoker today and earn up to 50% INSTANT rakeback and be part of our growing poker community!
