Using Bulk GTO Calculations and EV aggregation to improve preflop ranges

Today I'm going to build upon some of the work I did both in my previous post on using bulk GTO calcs to make statistical inferences and on some of the results from my OOP C-betting strategy pack to show how to use GTO postflop calcs to improve a preflop range, even in a preflop spot that is not 2-handed.  I'm going to do this using SimplePostflop's new EV aggregation feature which will automatically solve a given postflop scenario on every possible unqiue flop, then weight those results by how often each flop occurs, and present average EVs for making a preflop call with each combo in the hand range.  Our goal is going to be to use these calculations to work backwards from the average postflop EVs to create a stronger preflop range.

The key concept that we'll need to apply is an idea that I call marginal range building, and I'm going to take a look at how we can use this concept to iteratively strengthen an existing preflop range.  As in my OOP C-betting strategy pack I'm going to be looking at improving a flatting range for a Button caller against an UTG preflop 3x open.  I'm going to start with a range that is already very solid that is used by a student of mine who plays mid/high stakes 6-max on Stars and work on finding a range with an identical number of combos that will have a higher average postflop EV when we call.  The same method can be used to see if we can profitably widen our flatting range by calling a range that includes more combos overall.

The final range that I end up with only differs on about 10 hand combos, but averages about 1.5bb/100 more profit than the initial range, It is played very similarly on almost all flops, it just has slightly more diversified board coverage which yields a higher average EV.

I go through all of this in the video below, and at the bottom of this post I've included links to all of the SPF files I used to do this analysis (10,000+ flop calculations!) for you guys to pour over on your own.  Enjoy!


You can download the solution files here: https://s3.amazonaws.com/GTOBlogData/utgvsbtn-iterations.zip

If you want to run your own calculations you will need the desktop version of SimplePostflop, its a bit pricey but GTORB readers can get $70 off: here.

GTORB LeakBuster Integration

I'm excited to announce that GTORangeBuilder calculations are now integrated into LeakBuster.  Leakbuster will automatically scan your hand histories for potential leaks and allows you to examine specific hands that its algorithm detects may have been played sub-optimally.

You can then instantly load that hand into GTORangeBuilder with ranges for both players automatically provided by the LeakBuster AI, making your GTO analysis a one click process.  You can of course also tweak the ranges for both players, apply your own hand ranges, edit the bet sizing options as you see fit, etc.

This add-on to LeakBuster is available for purchase now starting at $9.99/mo here: http://www.acepokersolutions.com/Rangebuilder-Leak-Buster/  

If you play on Bovada and need to get hand histories so that you can build a database to analyze you can also use the LeakBuster card catcher to save and analyze your Bovada Poker hand history files.

OOP C-Betting and IP Calling Strategy Pack Released

I'm very excited to announce the release of latest strategy pack on OOP c-betting vs an in position caller which focuses on c-betting / c-bet defense after raising preflop and getting flatted by an in position caller.  With ~2hrs of video and 30+ GTO solutions this pack provides an indepth analysis of one of the most commonly misplayed situations in poker.

I've included some exciting new material on calculating pre-flop call EVs for an entire range by running postflop calculations on every possible flop (and full SPF solution files for every possible flop are included for download).  I'll be releasing a blog post with more details on the marginal range building techniques shown in the video later this month.

In addition this strategy pack shows that while on many boards against a BTN caller an UTG preflop raiser should always check, on other boards it is essential to bet.  Correctly identifying which boards an OOP player should c-bet on and which boards they should always check is a key to both playing these situations correctly and to identify how to exploit opponents who do not have a strong understanding of OOP c-betting in EP vs LP situations.

For more info you can check out the free preview on youtube below and you can purchase the strategy pack in our GTO Dojo.