2 Exploits You Can Instantly Apply

In a past YouTube video, we looked at 2 SB vs BB single raised pots. As both were played on $200/$400, some of the highest stakes online, we can expect the regulars involved in the hands to be playing close to the ranges that GTO would suggest preflop.

BUT, since most of us do not play stakes this high, it's likely our opponents are not playing GTO preflop ranges. In fact, data proves that the average regular is not.

As I mention in the video, population on mid stakes does not 3bet often enough from the BB in this spot.
Below you'll see the difference between a GTO range for the BB facing a SB open raise and the range that population on mid stakes plays on average:

BB vs SB open - GTO

BB vs SB open - Population

So as you can see, the average reg in the BB is not only 3betting less often, they are also 3betting a less polarized range.

So what should we do with that information?
Well, there's 2 ways:

1. You continue playing GTO ranges which is a fine strategy

2. You maximally punish your opponent's mistakes and exploit them

If you choose 1., that's a solid choice and you don't have to keep reading.

But if option 2. sounds appealing to you, I'll show you 2 things you can instantly implement to your game that exploit population in this spot.

1. Open wider

When you know you're not getting 3bet as often after open raising from the SB, you can open raise more hands.
Being 3bet is the most detrimental thing to the EV of many opening hands. That's because when they have to fold against a 3bet, they have no chance of seeing the flop and realizing their equity.
So when being 3bet happens less often, you'll get to see the flop more often and have a higher chance of winning the pot.

But how much more can you open?

Well, when inserting population's range against an open raise that we saw above into the solver, we can calculate what our max exploit strategy would look like.
This is the range we could open from the SB in this example - compared to the GTO range:

SB open - GTO

SB open - Exploit

The GTO approach would be to open ~45% of hands from the SB. But exploitatively, we can increase that frequency to more than 50%.
So just from not being 3bet often enough, 5% more hands can be played and profit from your opponents' mistakes.

2. Play tighter against the 3bet

On the flipside, when you're being 3bet by population, you have to tighten up. That's because when a 3bet does happen, it is done so with a stronger range.
We saw that population both 3bets less often AND less polarized. Both of which make the range they do 3bet significantly stronger than a GTO 3betting range.

So the times we do get 3bet by the BB, we cannot continue with as many hands as we could against a GTO 3betting range.

Here's what the exploitative strategy looks like facing a 3bet:

SB vs BB 3bet - GTO

SB vs BB 3bet - Exploit

As we can see, we cannot call as many hands as in GTO and we'll want to fold more often.
Hands like suited connectors, low pocket pairs, some suited aces and offsuit broadways like KJo and ATo are actually to weak to continue against the average reg and become pure folds!

These are 2 adjustments you can instantly implement into your game to make more money. They are backed by data - a lot of data.

In my full guide for preflop exploits, Preflop Xploits, where the exploit ranges above are taken from, I recently released a big update. Adding to the already existing strategies based on a Pokerstars-rake-sructure, I analyzed more than 80 million hands and calculated exploit strategies based on a GGPoker rake structure.

In Preflop Xploits, you'll find a complete analysis of every spot that occurs preflop in a 6max cash game. Just like above, you'll get exploitative preflop strategies that you can instantly apply, based on population's mistakes.
Included is every spot in the game tree, so BTN vs BB, SB vs CO, UTG vs HJ... you name it.
Also, you'll get max exploit strategies for every action you face: facing an open raise, facing a 3bet, facing a 4bet... For example, in the spot above we see that as the SB we only want to 4bet bluff merge hands like AJo, AQo and some KQo. Which is heavily based on the range we can expect population to continue against a 4bet on average. All of that is included, too.

So if you want to make more money by exploiting your opponents, Preflop Xploits is the perfect way to instantly implement adjustments that work against the average reg in your player pool. Check it out here:

Thanks for reading.

I hope you keep crushing and I'll see you soon.

-- Victor
2 Card Confidence