Do you have advice on how to adapt Red Chip GTO ranges to live tournament play? In live cash, playing GTO ranges against recreational players can be a huge leak. What about in tournaments? For example, with 20 BB in the CO against an early open raise, Red Chip suggests to call AA-KK, A8s-AQs but 3bet most QJs and some A5s. I realize that GTO aims for deception in these ranges. However in live tournaments, against recs who do not pay attention, do you really just call AA and KK against recs and 3bet A5s?


I'm trying to improve my tournament play. Up to now, I've played exclusively live cash but have located some low-rake tournaments that promise to be more profitable.

In theory, yeah, AA and KK make nice traps, although honestly you should trap much more with AA and KK does need some protection. But in low stakes tournaments, if you want to always 3-bet those hands (especially against players who are unlikely to squeeze behind you) that's fine. It just means you get to mix in more bluffs, and that's where a hand like A5s comes in..

If people are not folding to 3-bets and not squeezing light, then flat calling with AA/KK is not generally good.

That's what I'm thinking

What is "red chip"?

I mean, GTO ranges generally assume that your opponents are also playing GTO. Obviously this is rarely the case in real life. So when you adjust, the basic idea is to figure out what mistakes your opponents are making, and then adjust your ranges and lines in a way that maximally takes advantage of those mistakes.

Dara O'Kearney's book Beyond GTO covers some of these adjustments based on the mistakes players are making, which in some cases is pretty intuitive and others less so. Overall, the thrust is "play more pots with them and give them more opportunities to make those mistakes."

(I know I cite his books a lot, but he's written a lot of books lately, and they're all pretty easy to get into even for the relatively inexperienced player, in my opinion.)

If you are going to 3! light, I would use hands like QJs more than Axs. Axs is good for the blocker if people will 4! or fold. However, at low to mid stakes live, they flat call a lot, so you want playability. You often need to take it postflop, representing a big hand.

Would not flat AA/KK at typical live tournaments.

I think flatting AA/ KK is fine when stacks are shallow or at insane tables with odd dynamics. Sure this isn’t common in live poker. I don’t like flatting AA or KK say 150-300 bb deep early in a tourny obviously unless you have some insane blaster or 2 at a table. I feel most live poker- people don’t 3 or 4! Light enough in spots so flatting aa or kk can be terrible.

20-40 bb deep- I’m more a fan bc easier to get chips in at spots bc I don’t want to 4! A spot where I only have AA or KK.

Also in live play, mak sure you 3! And sometimes 4! Enough with A5s etc type hands to not only have AA or KK when you do 3! And 4!. Folks don’t 3! Enough even in spots like cutoff vs sb or bb, button vs bb etc. live play- at least be aggro enough to get paid when you do get hit by the deck with AA or KK. Even these spots, you can outplay folks with pure aggression in spots when you 3! Or 4! Light. Think in most live poker mitts- folks for the most part aren’t aggro enough and will waste there few tournies where they run good by not maximizing the chips they receive when the deck hits them.

With 20xBB, there is room to 3!/fold, so I would raise from 2xBB to 5xBB with KK/AA. If it was like 14xBB, you would sort of have to shove, so it could be better to flat with KK/AA.

In general, 3-betting light is probably profitable, but it may not effect the action you get with big hands that much.

Something I have found to be fascinating since returning to MTT poker is the GTO concept of open limping and calling 3b in places where I thought back in the day I would have ordinarily just open or 4b shoved linear. That just blows my mind.

I've heard blackjack players talk similarly about the misuse (or overuse) of card counting on the floor ... like if casinos actually encouraged this, they'd probably profit because so many recreational players would try to follow the strategy, but they'd do it so badly that the casinos would profit in the long run ...as a cash grinder this was a metaphor of how I saw the overuse of GTO at the micros and beyond. (But doesn't mean we shouldn't use GTO to improve or study just like a blackjacker shouldn't use card counting to improve their game, but overusing both can harm both gamblers).

Did the author have anything to say about misusing randomizer? I heard Chance Kornuth say on a live stream recently say that randomization is for lazy live poker players or something like that... like they should simply adjust to the players they're playing against based on their types. IOW if you're calling an ep rfi otb 25% and raising 75% with AQo you'd likely call the 25% if it's a rec knowing that their tighter but you can out play them 75% of the time vs a reg your 3b 75% becuase you know they're wider and its better to take the initiative post... simple enough.

Not that I recall, but randomizing decisions should generally be left to spots where you don't know how your opponent plays or you know they're good enough to be well-balanced.

In any case, the concept is the same: GTO is the foundation of your play, and you deviate from it to take higher EV lines based on the actual opponents you find yourself against.

Red Chip Poker, a training site headlined by James "SplitSuit" Sweeney.

Depends you have to have a strategy based on board text too and if he plays back reps jt 567 type boards vs dry boards k73r. It’s good
To have as in raising and calling ranges, but keep in mind it’s only a one out hand that can easily lose equity quickly if the board texts change or become more wet!

Over in the cash lnlhe strat forum, in recent week, the overlimpers and 3bet callers have gained over the fold-or-raise types.