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

Product Information

Players who play GTO will balance their range in this situation by adding some of their weakest holdings into their 4-bet bluff range as well as adding some of their premium hands in their calling range.

Requirements for continuing with made hands may be lower because loose players may also be playing lower value hands. Poker is a popular card game that combines elements of chance and strategy. There are various styles of poker, all of which share an objective of presenting the least probable or highest-scoring hand. A poker hand is usually a configuration of five cards depending on the variant, either held entirely by a player or drawn partly from a number of shared, community cards. Players bet on their hands in a number of rounds as cards are drawn, employing various mathematical and intuitive strategies in an attempt to better opponents. Striving for a perfect GTO strategy might seem like the logical conclusion, but the truth is nobody plays an entirely game theory optimal strategy. Poker has yet to be solved by man or machine, but we still highly recommend using game theory to influence your strategy as much as possible. As always, this means working on your game both on and off the felt. How do you start getting involved in more hands versus the recreational players? You start by raising them every time they limp. This is also called an "isolation raise." You want to keep your foot firmly on the gas pedal against weaker players, because this gives off the vibe to them that you are a wild and crazy player. It helps build a "dynamic" between you and this player — that is, what each of you think of each other based on previous hands.The gap concept states that a player needs a better hand to play against someone who has already opened (or raised) the betting than he would need to open himself. [5] The gap concept reflects that players prefer to avoid confrontations with other players who have already indicated strength, and that calling only has one way to win (by having the best hand), whereas opening may also win immediately if your opponent(s) fold. By observing the tendencies and patterns of one's opponents, one can make more educated guesses about others' potential holdings. For example, if a player has been playing extremely tightly (playing very few hands), then when he/she finally enters a pot, one may surmise that he/she has stronger than average cards. One's table image is the perception by one's opponents of one's own pattern of play. A player can leverage their table image by playing out of character, and thereby inducing his/her opponents to misjudge his/her hand and make a mistake. Poker has evolved rapidly in recent years. So much so that many strategy resources including some books, videos and digital content have become out-dated. The most obvious change is that old-school players made their millions from exploitative play, whereas almost all players making millions now depend on poker game theory — with exploitative play mixed in — to take their game to the next level. Why is theory important when it comes to making badass adjustments in your strategy? To find out let’s play a little game.

The major problem is the amount of errors in grammar (there is some leniency here given that English isn't the authors first language) and data tables (no leniency here, this is egregious for a book based on theory). I'm sure experienced players and astute readers will notice these when digesting the information, but a newer player might not and can therefore create a fundamentally unsound baseline. Perhaps its not as detrimental as I think it is but regardless, a math book should not have math errors. Period. With a balanced, GTO-based strategy, you will win money in the long run regardless of how skillful your opponents are.Modern Poker Theory is a comprehensive, rigorous guide to the most important aspects of No-Limit Hold’em. Even if you lose 10 times in a row you will call the 11 th time. Why? Because you know that is the right play. Making the same moves again different opponents is rarely the best play and you should always have this in mind. To drive out opponents when a player has the best hand: If a player has a made hand, raising may protect their hand by driving out opponents with drawing hands who may otherwise improve to a better hand.

Modern Poker Theory is great for both MTT and cash game players. The book may lean more toward assisting with tournament play, but the principles can be applied to cash games as well. The book truly is comprehensive. It even covers exploitative play, as Michael points out how to take advantage of your opponents in different scenarios where the villain may not be using a balanced GTO strategy. If you think that you need to learn GTO to win in the games you play you are probably playing in bad games

In live poker, as opposed to internet, stereotypes are often used for initial 'reads'. For instance, people of retirement age are often witnessed to play tight. Players will often project this image on unknown people of retirement age. Young people wearing headphones and hoodies are often witnessed to play more aggressively and mathematically if they played a lot of winning internet poker. These stereotypes can often be good bases to start a profile. The fundamental theorem of poker, introduced by David Sklansky, states: Every time you play your hand the way you would if you could see your opponents' cards, you gain, and every time your opponents play their cards differently from the way they would play them if they could see your cards, you gain. [1] This theorem is the foundation for many poker strategy topics. For example, bluffing and slow-playing (explained below) are examples of using deception to induce your opponents to play differently from how they would if they could see your cards. There are some exceptions to the fundamental theorem in certain multi-way pot situations, as described in Morton's theorem.

For simplicity, assume that we always win when our value bets are called, and always lose when our bluffs are called.)By trying to play perfectly in each spot, players can stop making too many assumptions. Most players start making assumptions about their opponents after playing only a few hands. a b c d e f David Sklansky (1987). The Theory of Poker. Two Plus Two Publications. ISBN 1-880685-00-0.