Game Theory Optimal vs. Exploitative Poker Strategy
In this article, professional poker player Doug Polk outlines two main types of strategies involved in No Limit Texas Hold ‘Em – game theory optimal (GTO) and exploitative. In a GTO strategy, a player would make choices in a pattern such that the opponent is indifferent about the strategy he or she plays, always maintaining a perfect mixed strategy Nash Equilibrium. However, because Hold ’em is an unsolved game, there is still no truly GTO strategy, but players can still make plays based on GTO concepts. For example, say you are “hero” and opponent is “villain” in a poker hand. The pot is $200 on the river and hero bets $200. Then, villain would be calling $200 to win $600, so they have 2:1 odds and would need to win at least 33% of the time to break even. In this case, hero should value bet 66% of the time (bet when they have a strong hand) and bluff 33% of the time (when they have nothing) to make villain indifferent between calling and folding.
Exploitative play can be more profitable, however. If hero sees that villain always bets a certain way depending on the type of hand, hero can make adjustments that are not necessarily balanced, but are more profitable because the odds are skewed in hero’s favor. If hero sees villain raise a lot pre-flop but fold a lot post-flop, hero can bet more aggressively post-flop to win more hands against villain. On the other hand, by exploiting villain, hero also opens himself/herself to exploitation: villain can counter hero’s exploitative plays because hero is now unbalanced. If villain realizes that hero is betting more aggressively postflop with potentially weaker hands, villain can start to call more and make adjustments in his/her favor.
The idea of GTO play relates to game theory we have been talking about in class, such as zero-sum games. In a two-player zero-sum game with two options for each player, the players must play both options with exactly 1/2 probability. If player one does not, for instance, then there is a strategy for player 2 with higher EV that player 2 should always play, and the game is no longer zero-sum. Similarly, if a player plays perfectly GTO poker, he/she would be impossible to beat in the long term, only break-even. In reality, this is basically impossible for a human to do with a game as complex as poker, so winning poker players today incorporate aspects of both strategies into their play. Despite the depth of poker and its theory, its still the basic ideas of game theory that outline the theoretical optimal way to play it.
Source: https://www.upswingpoker.com/gto-vs-exploitative-play-game-theory-optimal-strategy/