Can You Play Like a Solver? 7 Brain-Bending GTO Puzzles

J♠️J♣️4♦️.

The second option, a dry board with an ace, won the vote.

Let's look at all four flops:

9♦️6♠️2♥️ is the worst board for a continuation bet. The BB's range is much more likely to have low pocket pairs and various small trash hands like 86s, 65s, 53s, and so on. It's simple: the lower the board, the better it suits the preflop caller.

Q♥️T♥️3♠️ is good for the raiser, but the flush draw prevents him from betting too often. The flush draw forces the aggressor to increase his continuation bet size and, consequently, decrease his betting frequency.

A♥️7♣️3♦️. Many people intuitively think this board is perfect for a range bet, but that's a misconception. The solver will rarely bet here, 30-35% of the time. Both players have a lot of missed hands (KQ, JT, and so on), but they also have a lot of Axes. Yes, the aggressor has AA, but the BB has 33, so the nuts are roughly evenly split. The player in position has an equity advantage, but it's not enough to continuation bet too often.

And finally, the flop is J♠️J♣️4♦️, which the machine almost always continuation bets. The ranges are evenly split, but in position, it's easier to realize with any hand. Very often, the player in the big blind will be forced to fold on the turn.

Q♣️5♣️.

Interestingly, the correct answer received the fewest votes in the channel's reader poll!

Here's how to think about it: When check-raising the flop for value, we need to think about two things:

1. How much do we block our opponent's continuation range?
2. How much will our hand potentially suffer from a texture change on the turn?

Let's look:

• 77 and 55 don't block calls on Qx—no turns are scary for these hands.
• 75s – will only suffer from a queen pair, doesn't block the continuation range. A good candidate for a check-raise.
• Now Q7s and Q5s. Both block opponents from betting on Qx. Q7s isn't particularly afraid of pairing a five, but Q5s will suffer greatly if paired by a seven. Check-raising with Q5s isn't a mistake, but the frequency of calling with this hand is much higher than the frequency of raising.

General advice: In single-raised pots (SRPs) on dry boards against small bets (25% to 50% of the pot), check-raise more often with sets, top two pairs, and bottom two pairs. Check-call with middle two pairs.

5♠️5♥️.

When creating a check-raise range, we want to include some disguised strong hands. With 4♦️3♦️ and J♥️9♥️, there are much more reasons to bet: by sizing large (120-200% of the pot), you can knock out a lot of unmade hands that are stronger. These include Q9, Ax, and even some medium hands like 77-99, JT, and QT. 43 doesn't block a folding range, and J9 has a lot of equity, so you can even raise with this hand.

That leaves KT and 55. The solver can check with both, but with fives, it's more likely to check. KT blocks the opponent's betting range and unblocks their checking range. We have a king, which means our opponent has fewer Kx combos they'll bet with. But they might have 5x combos, which they'll check again with. But if we have 55, it's the opposite: our opponent has fewer checkbacks, but more king-sized hands.

K♠️Q♥️.

Most readers voted for A♠️7♠️.

Let's figure out why this is a bad idea:

On boards like 882 rainbow solver in SB place bets 50% or 75% of the pot.

Both versions of A7s play the same way: they continuation bet and double-barrel on almost any runout, regardless of suits. The problem is that a double-barrel button will mostly call with pocket pairs (55 to 99) and strong Axes. As a result, our A7 hand effectively blocks the calling range, so we can safely call.

Now about KQ. A bet on the flop isn't particularly strong initially: we're knocking out dominated hands, and we're rarely knocking out stronger hands, so the solver mostly checks. Betting is possible, but it's important to choose the right suits. In our case, we don't want to have a spade in our hand, as it blocks our opponent's folding range. This will give us a stronger flop calling range.

The rule is this: if you bet with an unsuited hand on a similar board texture, choose combinations WITHOUT a suit that wasn't on the flop. For example, in our case, with K-Q spade, the solver will bet only 15-20% of the time. With K-Q spadeless, it will bet 45-50% of the time.

Push 100% range.

On Telegram, more than 50% of the 750+ respondents chose the check.

The point is that we push to get the button to fold, because if he calls and splits the pot with us (which is obviously always going to happen), he will lose more than if he folds.

The standard rake at NL10 is 5% with a 10BB cap. This means that if the button calls, they'll receive (200 x 0.95 +0.5) / 2 = 95.25BB. This means they'll lose 4.75BB in this hand after calling, and only 2BB if they fold.

The only thing that can save you is rakeback—specifically, 55%+. If you're not getting that much, calling is a bad idea. If the game is low on rake, pushing would be a mistake, since the player on the button will always have to call (calling is less of a loss than folding).

Q♥️9♥️.

The K♠️Q♠️ answer won by a huge margin. With a strong draw and overcards, getting all-in isn't scary! However, for the solver, this isn't a reason to raise again.

The logic behind 3-betting in this spot is simple. The strategy revolves around our nuts: 99, JJ, and a small portion of overpairs. And when we bluff raise, two conditions must be met:

1. It is important for us to block the opponent's nuts, in this case two pairs and sets.
2. You shouldn't feel sorry to throw away your hand if you're shoved on.

So, A4, K4, 54, A9, Q9 and T9 are good hands for bluffing.

The solver will 3-bet Q♥️9♥️ with a frequency of almost 100%.

A♥️5♥️.

In the comments, subscribers found arguments for calling with both hands. For example, they wanted to call with AQ because the small blind definitely has AJs in his range. And people liked T9s because it blocks full houses with A9 and 99.

But the solver prefers A5s for bluffcatching. That's because, in polarized spots, it's not the absolute strength of the hand that matters, but the blockers. Small blind bluffs consist of Broadway hands, including T, J, and Q (blocking strong trips on Ax). So, the most important thing is to avoid these bluffs, and A5s is the only hand that works.