In a game that often lasts several hours, to experience consistent success, online poker players must be equipped with skill, strategy, and patience. While the latter may surprise some, many professional poker players will tell you that knowing when to strike and fold is just as important as deciding when to employ various poker strategies. 

When playing online poker for real money, emotions run high regardless of how high or low the stakes are. Whether a player is betting or implementing a particular strategy, staying composed is essential to their overall game. Otherwise, players risk becoming overwhelmed, attempting to return their losses quickly, or tilting — none of which are good.

Keep reading to gain an in-depth understanding of poker cash game strategy by learning about Game Theory Optimal (GTO), and exploitative poker.

What’s the Difference Between GTO and Exploitative Poker?

While you don’t need to be a mastermind to win, it’s recommended that players incorporate an arsenal of tricks, skills, and strategies to ensure they keep opponents guessing.

Whether playing in a poker tournament or cash game, mixing up your bets — with bluffs, folds, raises, checks, and bets — is essential to longevity in a match. Without doing so, you expose yourself to exploitative players as they become aware of your betting patterns and understand how you approach specific hand ranges, allowing them to counteract based on gathered information. So, instead of only raising when receiving strong hands, mix up your to ensure no competitor can predict your next move. 

Remarkably, over the past few years, two strategies have been utilized the most: GTO and exploitative play. As a mathematical approach, the former focuses on finding the optimal balance for any gameplay scenario through probabilities and ratios, making it harder for opponents to recognize and exploit weaknesses. In contrast, the latter is all about taking advantage of opponents’ weaknesses and maximizing the pot. Many experienced players will tell you that exploitative play is the best poker strategy because it entails avoiding good players and focusing on novices.

If you want to execute an effective beginner poker strategy, it’s critical to identify the skill levels of your opponents before employing a trick. For instance, if you opt for an exploitative approach, spotting the bad players will enable you to focus on easily exploitable players, increasing your chances of success. 

Advantages and Disadvantages

Poker is enjoyed by millions worldwide, and every player enters the game with a unique set of skills and strategies suited to their style of play. And while emulating your favorite professional players is commendable, everyone approaches the game differently. 

So, when it comes to tips for poker tournaments, it’s important to extract parts from your game, but the skills and strategies you adopt should represent the way you play. Otherwise, you run the risk of not having a clear game plan or utilizing strategies that contradict each other, like exploitative and GTO poker, which can be detrimental when they’re used interchangeably.

Game Optimal Theory (GTO)

Out of the two strategies, this is the more methodical approach, requiring players to use mathematics, probabilities, and (if you have access) video poker strategy charts. Some of GTO’s main perks include its ability to minimize opportunities for exploitative players and its ability to adapt to almost every gameplay scenario, making it an effective way of managing one’s bankroll. Furthermore, its systematic and structured formula means it rarely fails.

However, it can become predictable and time-consuming, which can minimize the size of pots and distract oneself from reading opponents, something that’s essential in the latter stages of a game. 

Additionally, poker is a game of skill and luck. So, while waiting for strong cards is essential, most experienced gamblers will tell you that taking calculated risks, like a semi-bluff, are just as important. Unfortunately, GTO eradicates this risk factor, often eliminating the possibility of sizable wins. 

Exploitative Play

Exploitative play is a more reckless approach that opens up opportunities for huge pots and the chance to erase opponents from games, increasing the probability of ending in the green. Another welcomed attribute is its versatility and low-maintenance nature, as it doesn’t require specific mathematics to guide decision-making. Instead, it focuses on exploiting weak players through various betting options, causing mistakes and frequent wins. 

Ironically, unlike GTO, players adopting exploitative strategies become vulnerable to being exploited themselves as opponents can quickly adapt their betting when they’ve identified you’re being exploitative, which is often easy to spot. Additionally, the reactive nature of this style of play means players are more prone to making mistakes or being outdone by a stronger hand after betting high. This is because the strength of hands constantly shifts between each betting round: preflop, flop, turn, and river.

Play Poker at Borgata Online 

After getting to grips with poker game theory, why not give it a shot yourself? A great place to practice and perfect strategy, Borgata Online offers an extensive range of poker variations, from Texas hold’em to Omaha and seven-card stud. Register today and test your skills. 

Outside of poker, enjoy 24/7 access to various online casino games, including slots, bingo, roulette, and blackjack.