Game Theory Optimal (GTO) vs Exploitative play

[Davidvictorson]

Today, I read this interesting article about poker tips and tricks that are beneficial to poker players. Although I am not too familiar with Poker, however, from what I have read Poker unlike other casino games depends on smart strategies rather than luck. So it is safe to say that the odds are in the favour of the player.

What is Game Theory Optimal (GTO)?

The Game Theory Optimal is a strategy that leaves you unexploitable by other players. This makes you almost impossible to beat as it lets you refrain from using a specific play too often or rarely. To execute it properly you have to balance your use of bluffs and the value of your hands.

Additionally, this strategy guarantees to make money out of your opponents or at the very least break even or win back your initial wager. However, this technique is more than that and to achieve this, you need to have a deeper understanding of the game of poker itself.

Unlike the aggressive exploitative play commonly used by players worldwide, GTO is more of a defensive play as it prevents you from being exploited. Moreover, GTO can also be used as a countermeasure if your opponent is also using this strategy.

What is Exploitative Poker?

From the name itself, this strategy looks for ways to exploit the strategies that your opponents use by looking for imbalances and mistakes you can use as an opening.

Between the two strategies, exploitative poker has been around longer. It was being used by players from around the world to take home countless winnings long before GTO came into fruition.

One of the most common ways to execute this strategy is by excessively betting as a bluff because this usually causes your opponents to fold. Regardless of whether or not you indeed have a great hand, this strategy can help you win games.

However, be careful as this strategy can be a double-edged sword as it also leaves you prone to exploitation from your opponents. Because of this, you have to be cautious while using this strategy as once the other players find out what you’re up to, they can counterattack your strategy and deem it useless.

Additionally, exploitative poker should be fluid, meaning you should always adapt to the situation you’re in. Always remember that you’re prone to danger with this strategy so make sure to make necessary adjustments throughout the game to avoid losing.

According to the article, GTO is defensive play while using Exploitative play is offensive. And there are several pros and cons attached to each of them. These strategies can be used together but this may depend on the player.

My questions for you are:

• Which of these is your favourite strategy?
• And which of these strategies works best in an online casino?
• What are the other poker strategies that are as good as GTO or Exploitative play or even better?

[1714950382]

1714950382

[Rruchi man]

Which of these is your favourite strategy?

There's a popular saying that "defense is the best form of attack". Putting myself in the body of a professional poker player, GTO will always be the strategy to first engage whenever I'm in the casino to gamble on poker and meet a new player. GTO provides the opportunity to access the potential risk/danger impact of an opponent's strategy, to know their attacking force and how best to counter it.

And which of these strategies works best in an online casino?

A mix of both can do the trick, first know where you stand using GTO, then understand the best time to switch it up to the Exploitative strategy.

[seoincorporation]

...

• Which of these is your favourite strategy?
• And which of these strategies works best in an online casino?
• What are the other poker strategies that are as good as GTO or Exploitative play or even better?

In poker is important to be able to read players. Sometimes we have to lose money to verify if they are bluffing, but ones we detect the kind of player we are dealing with then we can make our move.

What i have detected in poker is that some users do the YOLO move after a big loss. And they leave all to luck and not to the hands. That's the best point to win. Is about patience and chase the right hands in that moment.

[swogerino]

That is the beauty of poker.I remember seeing the PokerStar TV series with a real big curiosity as at that time I was obsessed with Zynga Texas Holdem in Facebook so I was trying to learn different strategies from the players there.The one that I saw happened more often is the exact one being explained here,to balance the bluffs and true calls to the game.I remember the guy winning more series it was some guy who kept playing with really dark sunglasses which the other players had difficulties to read and he won one of the series by bluffing with a 2 and a 3 while there were Aces down and all other players were scared because they were thinking he was making a true call,because he made a couple of true calls before this massive bluff.Nice theory absolutely.

[famososMuertos]

Chance, odds, variance, or commonly called luck, is as influential in poker as it is in any other casino game.

A poker proplayer once mentioned "whoever thinks he is very lucky, should play poker"

Any use of any strategy in poker is circumstantial and not defining of your game, so as temporary in that long term of being a poker player.

[bitzizzix]

In reality, GTO is very difficult to execute, unless you are playing against the same players or good players over a long period of time. And the goal in poker is to make money, not to spend your life in pursuit of trying to be known as the best player.
Poker is a game of skill pretending to be a game of chance, and a very easy game to play and all it takes to play poker is good acting and big capital.

[Hydrogen]

The Game Theory Optimal is a strategy that leaves you unexploitable by other players. This makes you almost impossible to beat

Additionally, this strategy guarantees to make money

Interesting keywords in the write up. 

I prefer to have a mentality of there not being any safe place or safe strategy that guarantees anything. Its like combat sports where people tend to oversimplify things. They say if you keep your hands up in a defensive posture, you'll be safe and never be knocked out. But in reality, that's not how things work. Details matter.

Paying attention to the second by second action of the game and making the right calls are perhaps where the emphasis and focus should be. Honing the mentality, self belief, instincts and feel for the game that can allow a person to walk out a winner. The game isn't all offense. People train defense as well. Keeping a calm poker face, no matter the stakes or cards. Staying mentally disciplined and sticking to the gameplan. Poker may seem like a simple game on the surface. But there are definitely different sides to it, where a person can improve to elevate their chances of winning.

[harizen]

• Which of these is your favourite strategy?
• And which of these strategies works best in an online casino?
• What are the other poker strategies that are as good as GTO or Exploitative play or even better?

- There should be no favorite strategy as in every session, players will face different scenarios. It's easy to read up for experienced and professional ones if players will have the same type of approach in different situations. Might be prone to bluffing in most cases.

- All strategies are best. It now depends on how it will be used and apply to the game

- As I mentioned, above, all strategies are best. There are no "even better" nor "the most used" since it's all about proper timing to use those.

[fiulpro]

These two strategies are based on the bluff, but what if the player playing do realize that they know that you are bluffing which also mean that it would eventually throw you off the game and you would continue to spend money with actually nothing to get credit for. At the end of the day one must understand that, poker even if it is based on bluff, it's also based on understanding others, these two strategies might be beneficial for some but knowing when a person is actually " bluffing " is a key skill and you can only bet a certain amount and if you are betting more and more and more and bluffing and it gets called out, you loose, A LOT as well.

[crwth]

A very interesting topic that you have OP, and it's informative. I didn't know that there are names that were given in the strategy when playing poker. I'm not a professional player so I really wouldn't know but it's nice that you know this because you will never know if you would like that strategy or something until you have tried it.

Which of these is your favourite strategy?

• I would personally use Exploitative play because I know I like to play aggressively when it comes to any type of game. I'm quite the intimidator or something like that. Possibly it also comes in the mood but I'm quite aggressive when it comes to strategy. I see it as something more effective compared to a defensive play, unless it's a different game or something.

And which of these strategies works best in an online casino?

• I think any of it would work great but if there should be one between the two mentioned in your post, I think it's going to be GTO. I know that it's going to be dependent on the decision-making of the user but GTO would be better online because you can't see your opponents. You cannot act aggressively if you didn't see the small nuances of the movements of your opponents. So it would be harder to act on the moves when you don't see the person playing.

What are the other poker strategies that are as good as GTO or Exploitative play or even better?

• Maybe YOLO gameplay? Just kidding. I don't know any type of strategy though. As I mentioned above, I just learned it from here that there are different types of strategies being used.

[chaser15]

• Which of these is your favourite strategy?
• And which of these strategies works best in an online casino?
• What are the other poker strategies that are as good as GTO or Exploitative play or even better?

Nothing specifically favorite as regardless, we will really end up using those strategies based on the given situation.

Whether in physical games or online casinos, those strategies mentioned are effective also fact that we should know how to use those in a proper way.

For other strategies, we can eventually create our own automatically while in different situations. There are lots of things and happenings we will encounter while in-game that's why there's a thing in our mind that will create the best strategy for us. Experienced poker players know that.

[Wakate]

In reality, GTO is very difficult to execute, unless you are playing against the same players or good players over a long period of time. And the goal in poker is to make money, not to spend your life in pursuit of trying to be known as the best player.
Poker is a game of skill pretending to be a game of chance, and a very easy game to play and all it takes to play poker is good acting and big capital.

The major interest here is to always go for what works for us. The major goal is to make money from other people's mistake and to seat on a particular strategy for long and not making a reason amount of money. I think of you think the GOT works for you well and you are making consistent profits then that's fine and it worth more efforts. Everything about poker playing is all about skills not just luck. There might be a time where opponents could make silly mistakes and we end up winning but it is majorly based on skills of individual players.

[danherbias07]

I don't see why there should be a favorite pick.
Both strategies are used in different situations. There will be times a player will be defensive so you cannot do the same or else you can't maximize the profits if you have the better hand. Sometimes you need to be on the offense to lure him in your bait.
The same goes for the defensive strategy which is needed in situations like vice versa with what was said above.
This will all work if you set an unpredictable aura as the game goes on.

[Baofeng]

Nothing specifically favorite as regardless, we will really end up using those strategies based on the given situation.

Whether in physical games or online casinos, those strategies mentioned are effective also fact that we should know how to use those in a proper way.

For other strategies, we can eventually create our own automatically while in different situations. There are lots of things and happenings we will encounter while in-game that's why there's a thing in our mind that will create the best strategy for us. Experienced poker players know that.

I agree, there's nothing special about this so called strategies and this is already well known in the gambling industry. Successful poker players really developed their own strategy on how to read and not giving flaws to their opponent to see and read what hands they have. Or at least some of them, it's all about the bluff and how you are going to execute it.

[btc_angela]

I'll try to go defensive first on my opponents, folding hands if you know that it's not winnable. But later be on the attack, at least make them confuse so that they don't know what your up to with those cards of yours. At least that's how I play poker regardless if I'm in a table with my friends or in a land base casino. Obviously, strategy win games so it's better to have one like the one mentioned by the OP.

[tokeweed]

My questions for you are:

• Which of these is your favourite strategy?
• And which of these strategies works best in an online casino?
• What are the other poker strategies that are as good as GTO or Exploitative play or even better?

First question.  You shouldn't use GTO or exploitative play because you like one over the other.  There's room for both but mostly you're better off playing GTO.  You win less but you lose less too.

Second question.  Depends on your opponents with you at the table.  If they're playing worse than you, you can get away with playing more exploitatively.

Third question.  None afaik.  Those are the two schools of thought in poker.