How To Play Gto Poker
‘GTO’ is an abbreviation used in poker that stands for ‘Game Theory Optimal’, and this is a style of play that most advanced players tend to use. As you may be aware of already, poker is a game of strategy where luck plays a role and skill guides the course. Although the theory of GTO has been discussed for many years, its popularity within poker is peaking right now. A common way to explain how GTO works is based on the game Rock, Paper, Scissors. If you were going to play Rock, Paper, Scissors the optimal GTO percentage to throw each option would be 33%.
- Poker has evolved immensely over the last years. One of the theories that most changed the landscape is game theory optimal poker (GTO). Nowadays, at least in high stakes poker, some GTO knowledge is necessary to become a winning player.
- This fast-paced casino card game is easy to learn and fun to play online. Spend a few minutes learning blackjack rules, and new Learn Gto Poker players can easily progress to making smart blackjack bets quickly. Practice using one of our 50 free blackjack games now before playing blackjack Learn Gto Poker for real money.
- The power of GTO poker solvers. Well firstly, there are still certain takeaways from observing a GTO solver work its magic and plot an equilibrium solution. And secondly, solvers do allow you to set parameters so you can calculate an optimal strategy when playing a non-perfect player. Benefits from eyeballing equilibrium play.
WPT GTO Trainer: Get Started
There have been many poker “trainers” in the past that allowed you to play poker hands for practice. However, these have been powered by people’s opinions of what is good play and not true Game Theory Optimal (GTO) strategy.
What makesWPT’s GTO Trainer different?
- The WPT GTO Trainer allows you to play through true Nash equilibrium solutions to various No-Limit Hold'em poker Scenarios (over 4 BILLION solved spots and counting!)
- Get instant feedback on the precise EV (Expected Value) Loss of every move you make
- Rapidly plug leaks and learn the GTO strategies that have dominated the highest stakes games in the world
OK, time to get started...
To play the WPT GTO Trainer without the need for screen adjustment between hands, simply add LearnWPT.com as a shortcut to your iOS and Android mobile device.
Click below for a few simple steps to train optimally using the GTO Trainer from a mobile device:
- Trainer Instructions for Android Devices
Using the WPT GTO Trainer is fast and easy! Members can click TRAINER in the top navigation bar or mobile menu.
Members must be logged in to yourLearnWPT.com Membership to start Training.
1) Select the Specific Spot you want to train from the available list of Scenarios(ex: MP2 Open vs Button Call).
- Spots will be either a Cash Game or Tournament Scenario (labeled as Cash, MTT - Tournament, FT - Final Table, SMALL - Small Stakes, or HU - Heads Up)
- Click the drop down box to select what game type or strategy you would like to train
- Note: You can select multiple options in the drop down menu to narrow your search
2) When selecting the Spot to train, take note of the Effective Stack size in Big Blinds and Pot Size information to consider when making your decision (see image below for example). These factors will remain constant at the start of each new hand based on the specific Scenario you’ve selected.
Here are some additional tips for choosing which spot to train:
- Your Position and Action (Hero) is always listed first in the Scenario name
- Each Scenario will have you training from either In Position or Out of Position (noted in the description of Scenario action)
- Cash Game Scenarios use a green table
- Tournament Scenarios use a blue table
- Final Table Scenarios use a purple table
- Small Stakes Scenarios use an orange table
- Heads Up Scenarios use a burgundy table
3) The description of Scenario explains the Preflop action.
- Example - MP2 Open vs Button Call Scenario:
- The Hero (you) are the MP2 player and Open to 2.5 BB preflop
- The Button player (Villain) calls and everyone else folds
- Action starts with the flop and 7.5 BB in the pot
4) View the Hand Range Charts per Position for this Scenario.
- The hand range charts for Hero and Villain show respective ranges going to the flop(after their last preflop action)
- Percentages listed in specific hand combos indicate the frequency with which those specific hands are in the range
- Lighter or darker shades of each color also visually indicate the frequency for these hands.
- The LAST preflop aggressor's hand range is shown in red
- The preflop caller's hand range is shown in green
Hint:Select the image of the hand range charts per position (ie MP2 or Button) to expand to a larger view
After selecting the Scenario you wish to train, simply click or tap on the START NEW SESSION button to start!
Click START NEW SESSION and you will instantly be faced with a postflop decision based on the Scenario you chose after.
1) Customize the WPT GTO Trainer to change how you get instant feedback on your play while training!
- Click the SHOW STATS % button and switch between specific EV Loss and % Played Percentage Stats for each action (green) to a simplified response that indicates if the action you chose is correct or not recommended (orange).
- This feature is perfect for players who are just starting to study Game Theory Optimal Strategy
2) You'll immediately be faced with your first decision.
- Choose Fold, Call, Check, Bet, or Raise by clicking the button
- Bet sizing options are those commonly recommended by GTO Play
- Villain’s responses to your decisions are GTO - you’ll often face multiple decisions in a hand
3) After each decision, you'll see the EV Loss and Played % for your action directly on the table.
- EV (Expected Value) Loss - This shows the number of big blinds you would lose against a GTO player if you took this action
- Played %- This shows how often a GTO Player would take the same action you took
Remember - EV Loss of 0.00 does not mean the GTO Player would take that action 100% of the time (the difference is due to balancing hand ranges through mixed strategies and maximizing EV for your overall range)
4) Your goal is to select the action for each individual hand that is as close to 0.00 EV as possible.
- EV Loss of 0.00 is the same action a GTO Player would take
- 0.00 EV Loss means you broke even against a GTO Player
5) The Ideal GTO Action is noted in the top center of the table.
- A green check-mark next to your action means it is GTO
- Next is the action a GTO Player would take and how often they would take that specific action
- Ideal Action and Frequency are displayed so you know the GTO play for each action immediately
6) Multiple actions in a given spot are often 'correct' according to GTO Play.
- GTO Play has many mixed strategies, where plays are made a specific percentage of the time
- You will often see actions with a very low EV Loss (e.g. -0.01) and a reasonable Played % (e.g. 35%)
- These actions are not 'wrong' and are part of a balanced overall GTO strategy.
- However, if a play results in high EV Loss (color coded in red), you should generally avoid that play unless you have compelling exploitative reasons to make it against a specific opponent
- If the Percentage Played for an action is 1% or less, then that action is rarely taken by a GTO Player and you should generally avoid that play
- If you do take an action with a Played % of 1% or less, all subsequent decisions will display 'N/A' in red, since that entire line should be avoided.
EV Loss Color Coding Hint:Green = Near GTO Play, Orange = Take Caution, Red = Probable Leak in Your Game
- Toggle the AUTO ADVANCE button to advance to the next hand decision automatically (green - default) or manually (red)
- Click the FULL SCREEN button for a large view
- Review these instructions anytime by clicking the HOW TO PLAY button
- Toggle the SHOW STATS% button switch between specific EV Loss and % Played Percentage Stats for each action (green) to a simplified response that indicates if the action you chose is correct or not recommended (orange)
- Click the EXIT SESSION button to complete your Training Session and review your stats on the Session Summary Page
- View the hand ranges during a session by clicking the green ℹ️ information icon button to review the charts during play
- The hand range charts are labeled by position name
View the charts when facing a difficult spot and examine the possible hand combinations to help train your decisions closer to 0.0 EV Loss.
You’ve put in the work, now you can start to see where your specific leaks are for each Scenario. Your Session Summary will break down your hand compared to GTO Play.
KEY STATS:
1) Overall EV Loss in big blinds Per 100 hands played.
- Goal is to get as close to 0.00 as you can
- 0.00 EV Loss is impossible for humans to attain in the long run
- Do your best and focus on strategic spots giving you the most trouble
- Do not be discouraged by a high EV Loss in the beginning. When new to GTO Trainer, it's very common for players to have an EV Loss of -50.00 BBs/100 or more
2) Number of Hands Played in your Session
- Sample size is important when considering relevant statistics
- A minimum of 200 hands is the recommended sample size to start seeing stats for your play
- Schedule a set number of hands each day to practice a specific Scenario and keep track of your progress
AGGRESSION:
3) AGGRESSION gives an instant snapshot of the key actions You (shown in Red) are taking across all hands played vs what actions a GTO Player (shown in Blue) would take
- Don't Worry, if you initially have a huge gap in one direction vs GTO - this is not uncommon
Hint:Hover over the bar graph to see the number of hands in that session each action was taken by you vs a GTO Player
1) HAND TYPES compare your play to GTO Play divided by the different categories of hands(i.e. pairs, flushes, trips, etc).
- Your Action is on the top bar and GTO Play is the bottom bar
How To Beat Gto Poker
Hint: Green (aggressive action) = Bet or Raise, Yellow (passive action) = Check or Call, Red = Fold. A color key to be implemented shortly!
2) How to read your results - in this example from the dashboard image for the PAIR hand category shown above:
- You chose to either Bet/Raise 17% of the time, Check or Call 72% of the time, and Fold 10% of the time when you had a 1-Pair hand in this given scenario (top line of the bar graph)
- GTO Strategy is to Bet/Raise 24% of the time, Check/Call 62% of the time, and Fold 14% of the time (bottom line of the bar graph)
3) If the top line results are very different from bottom line results (after a large number of hands played) then you know you are playing those hand types differently than how a GTO Player would play them. These are the spots you want to study first.
Don’t get intimidated by the many stats listed or if there are big differences between your play and GTO Play. Keep training the same Scenario and focus on your biggest leak before you play each Session. Before you know it you’ll be closer to 0.00 EV Loss (and GTO Play!).
1) HAND BREAKDOWN displays all of the hands you've played in a session listed by hand type, position, board summary, and EV Loss.
- Click the REPLAYER button next to a specific hand played to show the action unfold and review for study later
- Have questions about that hand? After replaying the hand click the ASK A PRO button to send your hand the LearnWPT Pros for analysis using the Ask a Pro Feature
2) Select a specific hand played to see these details:
- BOARD - Shows the specific rank and suit for each street dealt (flop, turn, river)
- ACTION - The action Hero (you) chose on that street (bet/raise, call/check, fold)
- GTO PLAY % - Percentage of time a GTO Player would take a specific action if faced with the same decision
- EV LOSS - The number of big blinds your action would lose against a GTO player
- Evaluate EV Loss in Proportion to Pot size
- An EV Loss of -1.00 is significant in a 6.5 BB pot. It is far less significant in a 100 BB pot
- The color coding of EV Loss on the Trainer table takes into account pot size
3) Each street of action is broken down with a color coded bar graph noting the specific actions a GTO player would take if faced with the same decision as HERO, including the percentage of time a GTO player would take those specific actions.
- In the above example our decision to bet 2.50 on the flop you will see that a GTO Player:
- Checks 56% of the time
- Bets small 15% of the time
- Bets large 28% of the time
- Green = Bet or Raise, Yellow = Check or Call, Red = Fold
4) In some instances you will see gradient shading (lightest to darkest moving left to right) representing the bet-sizing that a GTO Player would choose in a given spot.
- In the example above:
- Bet/Raise small amount (lightest green)
- Bet/Raise larger amount (darker green)
- Bet/Raise largest amount (darkest green)
Review any previous Sessions from the mainGTO Trainer Dashboard!
1) Select the Spot you would like to review from the list of available Scenarios.
- The total number of hands played as well as your total EV Loss overall for the specific Scenario are listed for quick reference
2) Click the REVIEW SESSIONS button.
3) Select a Session you played from the list.
- Overall EV Loss, Session Date, and Total Hands played are listed for each Session within that specific Scenario
- For best results and rapid improvement start by studying your largest EV Loss Spots
4) Click the Blue REVIEW SESSIONS button to get the specific statistics for the individual Session within a Scenario. A session review window will open.
Now that you’ve had a chance to walk through the WPT GTO Trainer it’s time to Play!
Whether you need practice postflop after defending your Big Blind in a Tournament, or you want to drill 3-bet defense from middle position with deep stacks in a Cash Game, it’s just one click away.
Train as often as you like! Get real time feedback on trouble Spots and Ask the LearnWPT Pros with one click.
Play Real GTO Hands Online!
Now Part of Your LearnWPT.com Membership
For a detailed video walk through of what’s covered here make sure you’re logged in to your LearnWPT Membership and watchNick introduce the WPT GTO Trainer here and guide you through using the Trainer here.
Need help interpreting the results and strategy on adjusting your game?
Use the LearnWPT Ask a Pro Feature and the Community Forums to get answers and guidance from Nick, Eric, and Chewy. We know you’ll have a lot of questions about GTO Strategy and we’re here to help!
Nick and the LearnWPT Instructors will be showing you plenty of specific ways to use the WPT GTO Trainer to improve your poker game in future Strategy Episodes.
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Until then, what are you waiting for...
How To Play Gto Poker
We Want Your Feedback! While using the WPT GTO Trainer you can click the blue feedback widget or email [email protected] with any questions or suggestions.