Poker
GTO preflop ranges
Game-theory-optimal preflop ranges tell a player which starting hands to raise, call, or fold before the flop, balanced so no opponent can profit by exploiting them.
Key points
- Early positions play tighter, later positions wider; the strategy is generally raise-or-fold rather than limp, except at small blind 1.
- GTO preflop ranges are equilibrium-based and balanced, unlike broader poker preflop ranges which may be heuristic or descriptive 46.
- They can be shown in 9-max or other formats, but the underlying concept is the solver-derived strategy, not the chart layout 23.
Where this term is used
Not the same as
- Poker preflop ranges — a broader, non-GTO term for any estimated or chosen starting-hand range
- Preflop range chart by position — a positional chart that may be descriptive or heuristic, while GTO preflop range charts are solver-derived
- Preflop range chart 9-max — a format label for a chart in nine-handed games; GTO preflop ranges are the underlying strategy concept
Related terms
Poker
Gto poker
The broader concept of game-theory-optimal strategy in poker, of which preflop ranges are a part.
Poker
Poker range
The set of hands a player might hold in a given situation.
Poker
Preflop poker chart
A visual reference showing which hands to play before the flop, often position-based.
Poker
Gto poker bot
Software that plays or approximates game-theory-optimal poker strategies.
Poker
Poker range percentage
The proportion of all possible starting hands a range includes.
Poker
Poker ranges by position
How starting-hand ranges change depending on a player's seat at the table.
Sources
- Are ChatGPT and GPT-4 Good Poker Players? - A Pre-Flop ... arxiv.org Provides the key numbers for fold percentages and the raise-or-fold strategy.
- GTO Wizard Benchmark arxiv.org Supports the term 'GTO preflop charts/ranges' and the 9-max format distinction.
- PokerBench: Training Large Language Models to become ... arxiv.org Supports the application to preflop scenarios and the solver-derived nature.
- Profit-Maximizing Poker Agents for No-Limit Hold'em arxiv.org Supports the distinction between GTO and broader poker preflop ranges.
- arXiv:1302.7008v2 [cs.GT] 7 Mar 2013 arxiv.org Supports the open-raise size of 3 BB.
- A Heuristic Framework for Adaptive Poker AI arxiv.org Supports the distinction between GTO and heuristic ranges.
Sources are drawn from regulators, universities and published research, and each one is labelled with what it actually is — a preprint is not called a paper. Bookmaker and affiliate pages are never cited here, because a page that sells betting is not a neutral authority on it.