Quote:
Originally Posted by rickroll
mason, i haven't read jonathan little, but based on what i've heard others say of him, i would not be surprised if he were not the best resource for reading about solver work
having said that, i'm not of much help pointing you in a better direction
Hi rickroll:
No. Your answer was exactly what I was looking for. When critically reading someone else's book, whether I'm going to write a review or not, I like to be sure that what I think the author is saying is indeed what the author is trying to convey. And you helped confirm this. So, thanks again.
On a different note, when reading some of this stuff, and this is not aimed specifically at Little, I can't help but think that many of these authors have looked at so many solver results that they have a good idea of what the solver will produce for many situations (and that, for instance, is where some of these bet sizes come from). However, this doesn't mean that their understanding of why game theory / solver produces the results it does is accurate because much of this stuff can be counterintuitive.
As an example, I read in a different book that on those hands where the solver gives a mixed result, such as sometimes betting as a bluff and sometimes checking, the EV is the same no matter which way you play it. And this is wrong. The EV is only the same if the defender's response to your bet is based on GTO. But, for instance, when you bet these hands as a bluff, your EV will be dramatically different (on these specific hands) against an opponent who calls every time as opposed to one who never calls.
Also, one of the nice things that these solvers do, from an author's perspective. is that it allows the author to give the right answer. This is true whether the author really understands as to why the solver gives the answer that it does or whether they come up with a confused reason as to why the solver gives the answer that it does. But in either case, the solver is still giving the correct answer and the author is passing this on.
Mason