5 Things You Should Know About Game Optimal Theory

GTO in poker, or if we’re being fancy “Game Optimal Theory”, is one of those things a lot of poker players have heard of.

However, it’s also something that not a lot of players fully understand.

If you’ve spent any time reading poker strategy books or listening to poker podcasts, even checking in on poker news sites, we’re sure you’ve come across the term.

But we find that sometimes poker writers and broadcasters don’t understand the basics very well. Or even at all. That’s why we write things like the poker terms guide. And that’s why we tackle the basics in articles like this.

This is like the dummies’ guide to GTO in poker. No question is too basic or small or “obvious” for us to address.

And, of course, we always give you a little extra too. If you’re looking for a new online poker room, here’s a new player bonus code for Bet365.

1. GTO in poker is when you play every hand perfectly

Yes, you read that right. Game Optimal Theory is the notion that there is an optimal way to play every single hand in poker. Every bet, raise, check, fold you make is simply correct. If you stick to GTO in poker, over the long term, you’ll get the best profits possible. It’s a step beyond pot odds. It’s a mathematically perfect poker game.

2. This lessens your exposure to losses

Playing to a Game Optimal Theory strategy means that you’re always going to make the logical decision. It means that with every thing you do, your exposure to losses is as small as possible.

3. GTO in poker is really helpful for learning the basics

GTO in poker is all about figuring out the why, what and how in poker. It gives you a clear map of what makes sense in certain situations. It can help you understand the basics of strategy and how you should be playing and responding in many circumstances.

That means it’s a really useful thing to know about and get your head around, despite the shortcomings we’re about to discuss, like…

4. But poker isn’t really all about the statistics

The great thing about poker is that it’s not just based on what you do or the hands you’re dealt. It is as much to do with your opponents as anything. Humans are both unpredictable and adaptable. If it’s even possible to play GTO in poker perfectly (and that’s debatable, more on that later), it’s more than likely that your opponents will change and adapt their behaviour based on what you’re doing. Which means you’ll have to adapt your strategy over and over and over again.

Yes, that’s poker. But it also makes it kind of hard to figure out how you could map out every single scenario with GTO in poker.

5. GTO in poker hasn’t actually been cracked

Mathematicians have been working on trying to figure out if it’s possible to achieve Game Optimal Theory in poker for decades. They’ve created robots to play this strategy against real players. And, to be honest, it has limited success.

While in theory it might be possible, it hasn’t in practice been realised just yet.