26 Aug 2024 EV value bet In today’s topic we’ll explain how to optimize your poker study, so that you can learn poker strategy quicker than everyone else! If you're serious about poker, chances are you already use a solver. However, it's possible you're wasting time studying because your approach isn't as efficient as it could be. In most fields, this wouldn't be a big deal, but in poker, every minute spent working on the wrong thing puts you at a disadvantage relative to your competition. I've personally spent a lot of time studying inefficiently, which is why I've dedicated time to refining how I use solvers. Even now, I have plenty to improve, just like everyone else, but I've learned a lot along the way. I believe I can teach you how to use solvers more effectively. Let's dive in and learn together. Most of our poker study time is spent analyzing solver simulations, and it's no secret among poker students that this approach has its benefits. In a study I conducted on the study habits of mid-stakes players, the majority reported that they dedicate most of their study time to solver work and rated it as having the highest expected value (EV) among all study methods. However, they often focus on studying Nash equilibrium strategies, even though they rate a different approach, node locking, as more beneficial. These findings highlight a few important points. First, students tend to prefer studying material that more directly translates to real-life play. In poker, we aim to exploit our opponents' mistakes, so learning how to do that is a more practical way to study solvers. Secondly, players recognize the limitations of Nash strategies. Some players prefer to focus on simple strategies that consistently make money. A common approach is to start by studying a bit of Nash to develop a solid baseline strategy and then learn how to deviate from that strategy to exploit opponents in creative and profitable ways. This is what we're aiming to accomplish, so let's dive deeper into each step. Nash Baseline Strategy When studying poker, one of the first challenges we face is developing a baseline strategy that's the right level of complexity. Let's consider an example: playing a button versus big blind scenario in a single raised pot. You're on the button, and the flop comes down 10-8-7, all the same suit. When you first started learning poker, you might've been taught to bet your strongest hands, check your medium-strength hands, and bluff a lot when continuation betting. At Nash equilibrium, the optimal strategy for this board looks like this: But if you're following that beginner strategy, your approach would look more like this: Notice how different these strategies are. The main mistake you're making is checking way too many medium-strength hands, like second pairs, which lets the big blind run you over every time you check. This beginner's strategy is just too oversimplified, and even opponents with basic solver knowledge can exploit it easily because the mistake is huge. On the contrary, if we spend just one hour studying the Nash strategy on a specific flop and similar ones, we might end up making our baseline strategy far too complex, wasting a lot of time in the process. The truth is, our baseline strategy doesn’t need to be overly detailed — after all, it's just a starting point. When we’re actually playing, we should always be looking for reasons to deviate from Nash. So, there's no need to master it to perfection. It’s much more effective to learn a little bit about a lot of spots rather than spending all your time mastering just a few and missing out on the bigger picture. This is where many poker players stumble. Our main goal is to grasp just enough to get by, simplifying things to the right level. This means developing a rough outline of Nash strategies. We should be able to look at any flop, turn, or sometimes river and answer a few key questions: What are the common bet sizes used at Nash? What’s the approximate overall betting frequency here? Which hand classes should bet frequently? What’s our opponent’s calling threshold? These questions might seem straightforward, but don’t be deceived — it takes a lot of time to develop a solid outline for most common poker situations. And to answer these questions, we need to do solver work. Whether we’re drilling or reviewing hands, we need to look at the Nash solution for spots we’re not familiar with. To sum it up, when you’re studying poker, focus on answering just one or two questions for each spot you examine. These questions can range from simple to complex, but the key is to choose questions that are applicable across many different boards, not just the one you’re currently analyzing. For example, if you’re looking at a button vs. cutoff strategy on a 1087 monotone board, you might ask: "On which monotone boards does the button's continuation bet frequency decrease the most?" or "On which boards does it increase the most?" The only way to effectively answer broad questions like these, which are crucial for keeping up with your competition, is by examining a variety of boards where the question is relevant. When I study, I often use GTO Wizard to quickly flip through different spots, allowing me to form that general outline we talked about. By reviewing a few different spots, you can quickly identify trends — for instance, that we tend to check more often on high boards and c-bet more on low boards. This method is efficient because, as I go through these spots, I get to see the Nash betting range, which helps build my baseline strategy. Additionally, using the software, you can zoom out and examine the overall betting strategy across many boards simultaneously, thanks to the Flop or Turn aggregate reports. This is a powerful tool for constructing your rough baseline strategy, and I use this technique frequently in my studies. Another approach I use to refine my Nash framework starts with the GTO Wizard’s drill feature. I select the formation I want to focus on and pause after each action. When I encounter an interesting spot, I write down a question and immediately review multiple solutions to answer it. This straightforward method works much better than some of the more complicated study techniques I’ve tried. But I take it a step further, incorporating an additional strategy that I’ll discuss later in the video. Let’s move on to the second half of our general approach to poker and explore how to study effectively to adapt our baseline strategy. Exploitation To exploit your opponents effectively in poker, one of the most exciting parts is developing strategies that allow you to capitalize on their mistakes. A powerful method to do this is by using node locking. Simply put, node locking involves altering one player's strategy in a solver to see how the other player's strategy changes from the Nash equilibrium. Node locking is incredibly valuable because it helps you understand how to exploit specific mistakes your opponents make. For instance, let’s say you’re in a button versus big blind scenario and want to explore how your value threshold should change when your opponent doesn’t value bet thin enough in a check-call, check-bet situation. By node locking the big blind to not value bet thin enough, you can see how your strategy as the button should adjust — like betting stronger hands more frequently. This kind of targeted study allows you to develop practical strategies that are directly applicable to real-life play, rather than just memorizing Nash strategies that might not translate as well. The beauty of node locking is that it reveals general trends that apply across many situations, making your study sessions more efficient and broadly applicable. Interestingly, while mid-stakes players recognize that studying solvers through node locking is the most valuable form of study (in terms of expected value), they tend to spend less time on it compared to studying Nash strategies. This suggests that there’s room for improvement in how players optimize their study time, and by focusing more on node locking, you can gain an edge over your opponents who might not be using their study time as effectively. It's crucial to learn the Nash Baseline, but you can gain a significant edge over your opponents by studying both Nash and node locking simultaneously. The best way to do this is by slightly extending your study sessions with practical follow-up questions based on what you've just learned. For example, if you've just understood the rough outline of button continuation bet (c-bet) strategy on monotone flops, you should ask yourself a follow-up question like, "If our opponent's check-raises are too strong, how does our c-bet strategy change?". Once you've tackled that question, ask another one, and keep going. This approach allows you to deepen your understanding and create more practical strategies. In my own study routine, I often use drills to ask a series of questions like these. For example, I’d explore big-picture concepts like, "What is the root difference between in-position and out-of-position play that causes so many strategic differences?" By using node locking and experimenting with solvers, I could answer these questions and tie them back to my Nash Baseline. Many regular players know that this approach (combining Nash study with node locking) is the highest EV approach to study. However, they don’t do it as often as they should. One major reason is that it takes a lot of time, especially if you're building and running simulations on your own computer. In poker, time is everything, and wasting it can be costly in such a competitive environment. By optimizing your study time with this method, you can stay ahead of the competition. I was able to quickly rise in stakes because I analyzed 1,000 spots per month in-depth using the method I described. And no, I didn’t build all those Sims myself — I used GTO Wizard AI, which allows you to node lock any spot you want in a matter of seconds. It’s like having access to a poker supercomputer, and it’s definitely worth every penny. Now, you know exactly what you need to do to improve. You understand that you should simplify your Nash study and spend just as much time on node locking. I hope this topic has helped you learn how to use solvers to benefit your game.
