Forget GTO, focus on your edge
In soft fields you should be prepared to sacrifice edge and forget what the solvers tell you, so says Bencb.
When hero-calling on rivers and facing a likely bluff-catch situation, I NEVER consider all that GTO stuff at first.
I ALWAYS focus on my edge and future game dynamics at the table.
First, I quickly ask myself and try to assess my situation at the table:
"Where is my edge?"
"How many weak opponents are there?"
"In which spots can I exploit my opponents?"
"Will better opportunities arise?"
Within seconds, I assess whether it's worth bluff-catching, especially if it means risking my tournament life on a marginal decision. This trains my mind to stay sharp and aware of my situation at each table.
In short, the tougher the table, the more inclined I am to make a "marginal" hero call. On softer tables, I'm content to sacrifice a bit of EV to capitalize on better opportunities in future orbits.
GTO for pros only
Only when I realize that my table is tough and the edges are slim do I contemplate GTO hero-calls for a significant portion of my stack.
Yet, 95% of the time, I don’t even entertain these considerations about blockers, GTO and whatnot.
This mindset simplifies the decision to fold hands where I'm likely behind, knowing I would make a theoretically correct call but my average opponent won't find the right amount of bluffs.
It also helps avoid getting too attached to any particular hand. And not paying out your opponents when subconsciously you know you are behind most of the time.
That doesn’t mean you should play passively on soft tables.
Quite the opposite – this is the time to be aggressive and exploit the opponent's tightness and weaknesses. If you're fortunate enough to be at a table with several bad aggressive players, patience is key.
Just wait for strong hands.
If you bluff on these tables in big spots, getting into marginal spots over and over again, sorry but then you are the Idiot. You do not understand how Tournament Poker works.
"I can't win on low stakes because people don't fold to my bluffs."
Yeah buddy, sure.
Future Game & In-Game Table selection
Many players don't understand the concept of Future Game and In-game Table Selection. They remain trapped in their GTO tendencies, even in tournaments with lower buy-ins, because they're unsure where and how to exploit weaknesses.
They might find peace in high solver scores, but that won't pay your bills.
Considering ROI in a tournament setting, it's crucial to think about your future game. While it's hard to quantify or assign exact values, you can still avoid those break-even 50bb hero calls when you have a decent edge.
All it needs is to use your brain. To use logic. You don't need to solve anything here. The better you are, the higher your ROI, the more you should avoid marginal confrontations (which will deny future higher EV opportunities).
Some argue, "But Ben, doubling up gives an additional edge."
That's only true around the bubble or in comparable ICM situations (like F2T, FT). It's valid if, and only if, you truly understand how to capitalize on playing a big stack.
It's more challenging than most realize. Moreover, during early and mid-game phases, a big stack doesn't necessarily guarantee extra EV.
Do you genuinely believe an average opponent will consider the ICM implications and therefore fold more against a bigger stack in the middle of a tournament?
The common thinking is quite the opposite:
"He's got a big stack, so he's likely to bluff or play more aggressively."
Remember! When facing a river decision, 95% of the time, I don’t even think about blockers, GTO and whatnot. I ALWAYS focus on my edge and future game dynamics at the table.
Get our unbeatable Raise Your Edge discounts
After an exemplary rise to the top of the poker world, starting out on low-stakes SNGs and grinding his way all the way to the top of six-figure buy-in tournaments, Benjamin 'bencb' Rolle launched his own poker training site Raise Your Edge, delivering world-class poker courses that can help anyone to get their own game to new heights.
No matter if you want to master regular tournaments, perfect your skills in bounty MTTs, boost your mindset, or reignite your career with live cash games—there's something in store for everyone at Raise Your Edge. And with our unbeatable PokerStrategy.com discounts at Raise Your Egde that you will find nowhere else, you will be able to save cold hard cash when taking your game to the next level through the elite poker training Raise Your Egde offers.
Up to $250 discount through PokerStrategy.com
Check out our discount overview for all the available courses and pick whatever game format you would like to thrive in. PokerStrategy.com offers the biggest discounts available at Raise Your Edge:
| Course | Standard Price | Discount | Exclusive Price | Discount Code |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tournament Masterclass App | $697 | -$100 | $597 | POKERSTRATAPP |
| Tournament Masterclass Exp | $1.297 | -$175 | $1,122 | POKERSTRATEXP |
| Bounty Beast | $997 | -$250 | $747 | POKERSTRATBEAST |
| Unchained Mind | $597 | -$125 | $472 | POKERSTRATMIND |
| Online Cash Apprentice | $297 | -$50 | $247 | POKERSTRATCASH |
| Mastering Live Cash | $397 | -$75 | $322 | POKERSTRATLIVE |
The best part of it all: There's a money-back guarantee on all the offers available at Raise Your Edge, meaning if you completed a course and done the work, but you feel it provided no value, you can get a refund for your purchase within 60 days.
Pairrd App by Raise Your Edge
While checking out the most popular courses on our dedicated Raise Your Edge page, you should also have a look at their unique interactive studying tool Pairrd that is coming with engaging video quizzes, range drilling and hand review quizzes, all based on the most up to date GTO ranges out there.
An essential part when learning poker is the ability to think in ranges and understand the why behind them. Raise Your Edge does a great job of getting that across to their students, meticulously breaking down ranges and explaining the reasoning behind them.
However, memorising ranges is quite hard, and often the only way to learn is by making enough costly mistakes to see one's errors. Thankfully, Raise Your Edge provides a powerful tool to circumvent that with Pairrd.
PokerStrategy.com editor Barry Carter has reviewed Pairrd and concluded about the merits of the innovative app:
"Pairrd is a unique interactive studying tool that provides something relatively new to the world of poker training, a way to practice spots without having to play them at the tables. It is essentially a dynamic way to make real poker decisions without risking money. Since most of us learn from experience, it's a natural way to memorise the theory from Raise Your Edge."
Exclusive 10% discount with PokerStrategy.com
You can get started with Pairrd from just $50 per month or save $100 with an annual plan for $497. What's more, if you join via PokerStrategy.com, you will get a discount of 10% when purchasing Pairrd. Just use our link below and the discount is automatically applied during checkout:
Save 10% on Pairrd with PokerStrategy.com
Key Features of Pairrd by Raise Your Edge
- Interactive Weekly Quizzes: Comprehensive library of interactive training spots covering preflop, postflop, GTO and Exploitative. Train in-game scenarios so they become second nature at the tables!
- GTO Preflop Ranges: Preflop tournament ranges included that will immediately step up your game. Accompanied with built-in practice functions, Pairrd will make you a force to be reckoned with.
- Exclusive Video Content: To ensure you fully understand the concepts being trained, quick and easy to digest video explanations are included in the interactive quizzes.
- Study With Friends: Practice and compete with your friends using Pairrd, including sharing hands, private leaderboards and a built-in chat function!
Find out more about Pairrd by Raise Your Edge
