YOUR #1
GAME KILLER IS

Adjustments
ADJUSTMENTS & EXPLOITS

Based on your answers, your #1 problem right now
is Adjustments & Exploits.

Thanks for taking the time to take the What’s Your #1 Game Killer Quiz. Your Quiz Results report should be hitting your email inbox in about 30 minutes from now.

In the meantime, let’s talk about your results!

In poker, every scenario has an array of relevant factors to consider to make a decision. So, you have to keep in mind that any theoretical concept (like GTO) is merely a guideline for us and not an excuse to abstain from analyzing each spot. 

PLO is very situational. It’s about studying the context of the situation and understanding the strength of your hand and range in regards to that situation. In addition to this, we actually play against real human beings, with real flaws in their game. They generally don’t come close to what a solver would play, so we need to take advantage of that by adjusting our strategy based on the reads we pick up on them. An important question to answer is, how ‘hard’ should we attempt to exploit someone at any given time?

The problem with the Adjustments & Exploits Killer

Common mistakes based on lack of adjustment include overvaluing your hand strength based on the context. This basically leads to playing the wrong lines and probably losing a lot of money in the process. If you’re incorporating a certain line into your game, you have to continuously evaluate it and see if it’s actually working in the given context. And then improve it and optimize it based on the new information consistently.

Exploiting is good and necessary, and a good exploit will make you a lot of money, but you have to know what you are exploiting. Our goal for exploitation is to build reads. But if your read is wrong, you’ll lose a lot by choosing the wrong strategy.

"exploiting is good and necessary, but you have to know what you are exploiting"

One of the biggest problems you can have is overestimating the reads you have on your opponents. You could see a small statistic and already be thinking that you can exploit your opponent by just maximally going against it. If you’re making extreme adjustments to your opponents, you also expose yourself to becoming exploited and losing the money you were making from your adjustments back to them.

Sometimes, making minimal adjustments allows you to maximize your long-term win rate by preventing you from making massive mistakes on an incorrect read, or making your opponent aware of his leak (and opening up yourself to a counter-exploit).

Here's what you can do about it

Different hands have different combination qualities. Think about how your hand will play out and whether it is appropriate for the situation you’ll most likely end up in. Take all the elements into account, a hand can be weaker or stronger depending on all the different variables at play. Things like different positions, amount of players in the pot, stack sizes, the specific cards in your hand and on the board, etc.

Only if you know and understand the theory, will you be able to come up with solid exploits. Your goal should not be to play GTO like a robot, it should be to understand how your opponents’ game plan is configured, and then find the best counter-strategy. If you’re able to do that you’re able to exceed the expected value of GTO by far and make a lot more profitable decisions at the table that are based on how your opponent perceives the game. When you get a read on your opponent, find a weakness, and know how you adjust to it, you should take advantage of their mistakes and maximize your profit.

To exploit opponents, we recommend following this step-by-step process:

(If they are playing looser, play tighter so when you get it in against them, you most likely have them dominated.)

It’s not about looking at all the stats in every single hand of the player, but having information on the top of your mind. As you continue to do that you will develop sharper reads and even become more difficult to play yourself, as your strategy becomes dynamic and situation-based. And don’t think only about baseline GTO, but also about the current meta in your player pool or stakes. How do they perceive GTO and how does that open them up to exploitation?

Do I need to apply to Black Card if I am a former VIP Rewards Member?

All VIP Rewards members were automatically enrolled in the Black Card program and don’t need to apply again.

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