Game Theory Optimal
Which hands to play from each seat? Opening ranges by position, and the hands to 3-bet for value or as a bluff.
PRO cheatsheet
Example filled in: under the gun, nobody has raised. Change anything.
Step 1: Where do you sit?
Each seat shows how many hands this sheet opens from it; the gold-er the seat, the more. The big blind never opens: it already has a bet in. A seat with a lock is in the full sheet.
Step 2: Has anyone raised before you?
Raise with these 22 hands (130 combos) from under the gun: 10% of the hands you are dealt. Fold the other 90%.
Exact · ranges from our range library, not a solver: 130 of the 1,326 two-card combos
- Raise first in
- Empty: fold
Why
Under the gun is first to act before the flop. This sheet plays 10% of hands here, against 13% from middle position: the later you act, the more you see before you choose, so the more hands you can play.
GTO means ranges built so an opponent cannot exploit them. To open is to raise when nobody has (RFI, raise first in); a 3-bet re-raises a raise. Widths count each combo, one exact pair of cards: a pair has 6, a suited hand 4 and an hand 12. A blocker is a card you hold that the raiser then cannot.
Expert style. GTO is about balance: ranges built so that opponents can't exploit them. It requires a deep understanding of frequencies.
GTO principles: position, raise sizes, suited hands, blockers
GTO principles
Open wider in later positions. UTG 10%, BTN 40%.
2.5x from EP, 2.2x from LP. Add 1BB per limper.
EP is the early seats (UTG, MP), LP the late ones (CO, BTN); a limper only called the big blind.
Suited hands have ~3% more equity. Always prefer suited.
A5s blocks AA/AK, making it a great 3-bet bluff.