GTO doesn't make sense!? A thorough explanation of the common misconceptions and true meaning of the GTO!
The term ”GTO” is often heard in the poker world. However, few people understand what it really means.There are also opinions that “GTO is meaningless in actual play”, leaving many wondering about its real significance. This time, we will delve into what GTO really is all about.
Table of Contents
Is There a Point in Learning GTO?
What is GTO?
GTO (Game Theory Optimal) refers to the optimal strategy based on game theory.
Poker is a game where you minimize losses and maximize profits by exploiting (exploiting) the weaknesses of your opponents.
Players continuously capture each other’s playing tendencies and counteract (exploit) them. After countless iterations of this process, the game reaches a point of equilibrium where no further exploitation is possible. This state is considered the optimal state in game theory, and the strategy based on this is called GTO strategy.
Is GTO Meaningless?
The typical reasons cited for the irrelevance of GTO include:
- Opponents do not follow GTO strategies
- Inability to memorize GTO strategies
- Ultimately, exploit strategies are more important
While these seem to be valid reasons not to learn GTO at first glance, let’s delve deeper to see if this is really the case.
The Significance of Learning GTO
What significance does GTO hold in improving one’s poker skills?
It lies in knowing the ’standard‘.
GTO is the most balanced strategy in game theory, similar to throwing rock, paper, scissors at a 33% frequency in a game of rock-paper-scissors.
Knowing the most balanced strategy in poker means having a benchmark to gauge where and how your opponents are deviating from balance, and what kind of tendencies they have.
Thus, having this ’standard’ allows for a theoretical approach to exploit strategies.
By learning GTO, you can objectively observe any tendencies your opponents might have based on this ’standard’, leading to stable and reliable decision-making that doesn’t solely rely on intuition.
Naturally, no one can perfectly replicate GTO in actual play, but deepening your understanding of GTO can enhance the accuracy of this ’standard‘.
On the other hand, without this ’standard’, you end up relying on your own unstable, intuition-based play, which is unlikely to sustain a stable win rate in the long run.
GTO in Practice
The Difficulty of Replication
Playing according to GTO strategies is sometimes crucial, but in real poker games, it is nearly impossible to perfectly replicate GTO.
This is because GTO takes into account countless different scenarios and provides optimal play lines for each, but it requires extensive calculations, and it is unrealistic for humans to remember and apply all these scenarios in real-time.
Knowing about GTO is not just about improving the replicability of GTO-based strategies, but also about having the theoretical knowledge to make appropriate decisions in the moment.
F*** GTO
There’s a famous video by Charlie Carrel titled ’F* GTO’. His argument is “Don’t get too hung up on GTO”, emphasizing that poker is a game between people, not against computers.
He discusses the importance of observing the table atmosphere, the psychological state of opponents, what they think about you, and whether they are even the kind of player who balances their play. He states that the real thrill of poker lies in honing these observational skills and making holistic decisions.
A common misconception is thinking he says there is no need to learn GTO. His point is that GTO is just a part of the game of poker, and focusing blindly only on that is not advisable.
However, he also mentions adopting balanced, optimized strategies in high stakes, highlighting the importance of GTO.
Conclusion
Whether GTO is truly important or worth learning should now be evident after reading this far.
In the larger framework of poker, the role of GTO is often misinterpreted, leading to misconceptions about GTO itself.
Learning about GTO is a long journey and may sometimes feel tedious. However, it is precisely this journey that paves the fastest shortcut to improving your poker skills.