link for alex "bugs articles"

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link for alex "bugs articles"

preflop gto
http://en.donkr.com/Forum/optimal-3-bet-4-bet-5-bet-strategies-in-nlhe-6-max---part-1-533561

postflop gto
http://en.donkr.com/forum/optimal-postflop-play-in-nlhe-6-max---part-1-533568

39 Comments

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thedoors 12 years, 2 months ago
thanks for links, what s gthe quality of the articles? in a video thread i understood there were problems with it
vanity02 12 years, 2 months ago
There was no problem with it, poster just thought it was not complete since bugs did not include flatting ranges in his theory. But he left it out mainly to reduce variables to simplify things so that it would be understandable. If you combine everything together you will have a better idea of how to incorporate a flatting range. I'm not a huge fan of GTO, I think they are good guidelines to setting your style.
One of my coaches once told me that he plays a GTO style only when facing a tough opponent hu and switches to exploitative once he finds an area of weakness. Which makes sense. Gluck probably going to take a while to absorb, it's about as thick as a book lol
Aleksandra ZenFish 12 years, 2 months ago
problem is there are few strategies on how to do 3-4-5 betting and that one is one of the strategies and in that particular one there is no flat range and is aplicable in specific situation when usual balance and order is disturbed, the one of normal 3-4-5 betting, and that happens when u have a player who starts 3 betting and 4 betting not top 5 or 10 procent of the range but way widersuggested startegy is defensive or attack strategy in given play situation and that one excludes flatting range, that you may use as well as an option, but out of other strategies that involve 3-4-5 betting and include ofcourse flatting
Aleksandra ZenFish 12 years, 2 months ago
so problem accured when i said strategy excluded flatting range , but way i said it was maybe a little ununderstandable, flatting is viable option but out of the other strategies and not that particular one, and misunderstanding goes as well as there is no one strategy on how to 3-4-5 bet but more , so when i said excluded flatting range ....made some argument because i failed to be quiet exact
Mike87 12 years, 1 month ago
I have a question regarding the first part of optimal 3b/4b/5b and I didn't want to start a new thread for that. In the article he says that optimal play is sure to never lose, being a defensive strategy.

But let's say we 4bet QQ+ AK for value planning to always call a 5bet (which is supposed to be optimal based on the 3bet sizing of villain that makes us obligated to defend a certain % of the time to not being exploited) and that villain only 3bets AA and KK. I don't get how our play is optimal in that scenario.

Any help would be appreciated, thanks
Aleksandra ZenFish 12 years, 1 month ago
The scenario assumes both players are playing optimally, and that means that villains 3-4-5 bet range is wider then AA and KK and is containing some bluffs as well so he dont get to exploited as well, because basicly if he 3 bets AA KK only you can successfully steal a lot by many 3 bets, and optimal strategy for villain wouldnt allow him to value 3 bet as narrow range because he would be prone to attacking alot including any 2 cards and yes defense strategy says he must bet certain ammount of times that that doesnt happen and that includes more then AA KK
If the villain 3 bets AA KK only you can safely fold any times he calls or 4 bets and keep 3 betting him any 2 cards which wouldnt be optimal
You always 3 bet 4 bet 5 bet allin or flat QQ+Ak for value, and villain should defend certain ammount of times so you dont get to do that with any 2 cards you are dealt
In case you are called you need to have some bluff 4 bets included in your range so he dont get to defend versus you with any 2 cards, and 5 bet is same though for 5 bet allin you are suppose to have mostly value hands range and some lil percentage off bluffs that would cover lower range of villains allin in 5 bet with certain equity
All that is simulation of perfect conditions not reality, try to understand it from article and reread it, because you will know how to use 3-4 betting succesfully against various players depending on their style and stats, using perfect condicions simulation and adjusting it to specific opponent ( 3 betting much more or less depending opponent, doing it more if he is tight and less 4 betting 5 betting such opponent, and versus loose wide range opponent you can widen your 4=5 bet range )
tozzy 12 years, 1 month ago
Knowing that villain only 3-b AA or KK is an exploitable read. In this case we obv have to step back from gto and adapt an exploitative strategy.
vanity02 12 years, 1 month ago
I don't think you can apply GTO to that situation since villain has no three bet bluffs in his range if say villain is also three betting 22-66 as bluffs we would be able to construct a GTO strategy. But as is, it's best to play exploitative. Which is to just fold to his three bets unless you have AA.
Mike87 12 years, 1 month ago
Thank you guys for the comments. I understand fully what you're saying and I appreciate the feedback. I once thought that playing optimal was a strategy you could use against anyone that would win, unless the other player is playing optimally where you'd break even.

I know see that you need to play exploitative instead to avoid being exploited in some cases. I don't think that's true in every aspects of the game but I might be wrong (let's say you vbet river with a polarized range against a bluff catching range with the right frequency based on your bet sizing).

I think understanding these articles clearly will help me to know the optimal play and adjust to any villain based on what I know is optimal in order to change my strategy to better exploit him.
ZenFish 12 years, 1 month ago
Tipton's recent book is the way to go if if you want to apply GTO these days:

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/33/books-publications/expert-heads-up-no-limit-holdem-v-1-optimal-exploitive-strategies-will-tipton-1281938/

Rigorous, but accessible. He does some simulations that aren't found anywhere else (he wrote his own software for that).
Ace 12 years, 1 month ago
Right, been doing some work on my preflop ranges. I think I might be being retarded here, but if I'm playing a balanced preflop range as described in these articles, and I play against someone who never 3bet bluffs then am I not -EV? If not can someone explain how?
StuZero 12 years, 1 month ago
Ace GTO is a purely theoretical concept. You can only play GTO against an opponent who is also playing GTO. Two perfect players playing an optimal GTO statagy have a winrate of ZERO.

If you are 4 bet bluffing against a guy who never bluffs, then he isnt playing GTO so that means you cant either.

The whole point of GTO is to understand where the balance point is. If you know what your opponent "should" be doing and what his range "should be" then you can adjust from GTO to be explotive, because you know he never 3bet bluffs and only 3bets AA and KK, you can then fold KK to a 3bet.

If a guy dosent 3bet bluff but 3bets a wider range for value, and stacks off with most of that range, you can then 4bet a slightly wider value range than is GTO, but you cant bluff because he wont fold the required amount for your bluff to work.

GTO, in practice, is pointless. If you were in a game so tough that you had to play GTO, run away as fast as you can because both players will, in the long run, do no more than break even.

If you know what your opponent should do from a GTO point of view, then you are in a better position to exploit them. If your opponent 3bets too many bluffs and you notice this over time, then you can counter that by putting in more 4 bet bluffs. GTO just gives you an idea of where the theoretical balance point is and anyone who isnt playing close to GTO can be exploited.. the trick is figuring out how, but if you compare a GTO range to your opponents actual range, then you can more easily see what it is he is doing wrong and what you should do to gain from that.

I think a lot of people think that its a cookie cutter strategy that can be applied to anyone, when infact its more of a theoretical concept. That said, as opponents get better they get closer and closer to GTO, because they are preventing their opponents from exploting them and at the same time their opponents are making adjustments to prevent them from being exploited. Which is why winrates drop the higher the stakes you play.

So really you have to turn this on its head, rather than trying to play GTO, try and figure how far off GTO your opponents are playing and then make adjustments.
Ace 12 years, 1 month ago
Nice post Stu. However, I think you misunderstood a few things. Basically, GTO means game theory optimal (obv). Which means it is the optimal approach based on an opponent playing game theory optimal too, which you seem to have said tbf. But basically, if I play perfect GTO (which obv I can't nor can anyone), no matter how you play you cannot beat me. It will no longer be the optimal strategy, because I will be leaking money in certain spots, but it will make me money overall, and probably significantly more than I would make by playing my own (suboptimal) exploitative strategy.
So basically I can play GTO and print of someone playing non GTO, eg if I protect my opening range with proper 4bet frequencies then everytime they try and exploit me by 3bet bluffing a hand that wouldn't fall in their GTO range, I am printing money, as they are trying to exploit the unexploitable.

My question was that if I am defending my opening range with GTO 4bet frequencies then it seems to me that I can be exploited, by someone who just doesn't 3bet bluff. But that seems counterintuitve, because the whole point of playing GTO frequencies is that they can't be exploited. So would appreciate someone clearing it up.
Ace 12 years, 1 month ago
I expect that is something to do with the fact that opening frequencies and 4bets are part of an overall GTO gameplan and if he is not 3bet bluffing he will probably be leaking money in some other area that makes up for the times that we leak some money to him preflop.


But I am still confused, because lets simplify it, to us playing GTO, and not adjusting to anything, and him playing GTO in all spots, apart from never 3bet bluffing the CO. We lose money to him everytime we 4bet bluff him after he 3bets us from the CO, but in all other spots we breakeven (I don't think him never 3bet bluffing the CO affects his other frequencies). So we are losing money. But with GTO we can't lose money. Sorry I am confused and would appreciate someone clearing this up, thanks. also semi drunk so sorry for typos
StuZero 12 years, 1 month ago
@Ace. You cannot play GTO on your own. GTO shows how your opponent should play, and if he dosent p[lay that way then he is exploitable.. but you then have to deviate away from GTO to do that. So if a guy isnt 3bet bluffing you cannot use a GTO range against him.

GTO is a bit like this. You write down exactly how you play poker, then you hand me that piece of paper, I read it and then write down exactly how I intend to play against you. I hand you the paper pack, you read my strategy and then write down all the adjustments that you intend to make based on how I play. You then hand the paper back to me I re-read your new strategy and make adjustments to mine, write then down and hand it back. At some point we will end up with a strategy that neither of us can improve upon. That is GTO. Our winrates are zero because you wont let me use a strategy that causes you to loose and vise versa.

A GTO strategy is a strategy pair, it takes two people to do it, if I deviate from GTO then I can exploit you but at the same time I create a weakness somewhere else that you can also exploit... but you have to spot the weakness. If you dont spot it then GTO wont spot it for you.

StuZero 12 years, 1 month ago
I just thought, that you try and use a GTO style against me and I adjust to exploit you then the weakness that I create in my own play may be bigger than the gain I get from exploiting you... but if you dont spot the weakness and adjust then Im winning!
StuZero 12 years, 1 month ago
I wish I could edit these posts because I keep thinking of stuff after I hot the post button.

GTO isnt something that you necessarily want to do, its just something that you want to understand.

If you have a good understanding of GTO then you can compare your opponents strategy to GTO and that will show you where all his leaks are.. and then you deviate away from GTO to exploit it.

The reason top players play close to a GTO style is that if you are playing against someone like Durrr or Mr Galfond, then if you have leaks, they will spot them and adjust so you sacrifice your winrate and play close to GTO just to be in the game. I dont know how Phil Galfond compares to Durrr, but I would guess that there is very little profit to be had by either of them in a game. In theory, if they both play perfectly then their winrates are both zero against each other. In a 6 max game, Phil isnt making money off Durrr or vise versa the money is coming from the other people at the table.

Durrr is obviously a famous example and a player known for his manic moves at the table, but I have heard stories about him where he plays Nits in tournaments and instead of 3betting 4 betting and shoving rivers and so on, he is just sat there folding because thats the way to exploit someone who is overly tight, he isnt sat there thinking, "this guy only ever 3bets AA / KK , I have A5s so Id better 4 bet to put some bluffs in my range otherwise he wont call if I raise."
Ace 12 years, 1 month ago
Yeah I get what you are saying about the strategy pairs etc, but my overall understanding of GTO is different to yours. My understanding is that it is not always the optimal strategy, but that regardless of your opponents strategy, it cannot lose.
EG, In a basic game of Rock paper scissiors, the GTO strat is clearly choose 33% of each at random. No matter what my opponent does, this strategy cannot result in me losing EV wise. At worst I can break even.
I don't think this is a fluke of the way rock paper scissors is set up. I am pretty certain when i say that GTO strategy cannot lose no matter what counter strategy our opponent tries to enact.
StuZero 12 years, 1 month ago
I think whats happening is this. GTO is really just showing you what the 5 bet game looks like, then for the 5 bet game to exist the 4 bet game must already be in place, for the 4 bet game to work,, the 3 bet game must be there. If someone isnt playing the 3bet game and is just 3betting AA/KK then you exploit that by folding and the 4 bet and 5 bet game cant be played..
vanity02 12 years, 1 month ago
You can play GTO as long as villain has a bluff range, If villain is only 3betting/5betting AA KK AK for value and lets just sayAx Kx Qx Broadways as a bluff and we play a GTO range according to his range we make money because he is folding to too many 4bets since our 4bet/call 4bet/fold ranges are balanced and consists of a balanced value/bluff ratio. Now if villain is 3/5betting AA KK AK for value and only has say AQ AJ as bluffs then he is value heavy our gto range would be alot tighter something like AA KK for value and AK as a bluff.

GTO plays are constructed based on ranges and not "oh if I play this this set pattern I'm never exploitable".

So the best questions to ask yourself is, What is his 3bet range? Does he fold to 4bets?(if he is then he has bluffs in his 3betting range) Guestimate his 5betting value range and does he ever 5bet bluff? Is villain a tough player or easy player? Now you ask yourself the most important question, is playing GTO better or exploiting him based on what I know about his 3/4/5 betting ranges?

Just remember as long as you know his value range and that he has bluffs, you can construct a GTO strategy vs that opponent. If he doesn't have any bluffs, taking the exploitative approach is probably best.
vanity02 12 years, 1 month ago
The two example I gave is not accurate btw, its just a rough explanation off the top of my head to convey the meaning of playing GTO.
Ace 12 years, 1 month ago
okay guys I asked this question on 2+2 and the answers I got there made more sense; http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showpost.php?p=37160034&postcount=11 explains it.

I think a lot of people in this thread seem to be under the misconception that you can exploit a true GTO gameplan, and by it's very definition, you can't.
Ace 12 years, 1 month ago
Just to make it clear, playing GTO is only technically the BEST option, if villain is playing GTO too. Otherwise he is going to be unbalanced and exploitable in certain spots. But regardless of how he plays, if you play GTO your overall gameplan is going to be +EV.

Unfortunately, noone will play true GTO for a long time if ever.
Aleksandra ZenFish 12 years, 1 month ago
there is 6 articles or 7 ~ in that bugs link
first creates optimum attack defence preflop 3-4-5 betting with no calling in playing pair, in later articles it makes calling range as well ~ that includes QQ AK, read, is good articles
StuZero 12 years, 1 month ago
could you please post a link to actual articles that deal with preflop calling ranges because Im looking at the descriptions and they all look like 3 betting preflop or postflop plat where as I am looking for preflop calling ranges. Thanks
Aleksandra ZenFish 12 years, 1 month ago
flating is calling an open im not sure what you meant by calling ranges? flat call open from person opening with a raise ( which is normal ppl rarely limp )
flating in position u can see in ~ on a glance i see it here,
http://en.donkr.com/forum/optimal-3-bet-4-bet-5-bet-strategies-in-nlhe-6-max---part-7-533567

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