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Articles by GTO Wizard
Would You Find This Huge Bluff Against Jacks at a $10K Final Table?
There are few tougher places to pull the trigger on a bluff than a $10,000 final table with hundreds of thousands of dollars on the line. But that's exactly what Andrii Derzhypilskyi did against Tamas Adamszki in the $10,000 GGMillion$ final table, turning ace-high into a river bluff that put his tournament life at risk. With nine players remaining and $409,882 awaiting the winner, Derzhypilskyi turned A♦4♣ into a bluff on the turn before jamming the river into Adamszki's J♦J♠.
Call or Fold? Solving Negreanu's WSOP Final Table Bustout With GTO Wizard
With this fall's WSOP Online series now wrapping up, there's a little time and distance to look back at some of the storylines that defined the past few weeks. As is often the case in poker, Daniel Negreanu provided plenty to talk about, with the Poker Hall of Famer's final-table bustout in the $25,000 WSOP Online High Roller Championship proving a particularly fascinating spot. Negreanu held pocket tens. But should he have called or folded?
GTO Wizard Analysis: The Hidden Mistakes in the $20M Ketola vs. Antonius Hand
The poker world was watching on in awe earlier this month, as Ossi "Monarch" Ketola took on Patrik Antonius in a $20,000,000 heads-up match at the Triton Jeju SHRS festival. Ultimately, it was Ketola who walked away the winner, boosted by a straight flush that saw him edge ahead and then defeat his compatriot on the very next hand. An incredible hand from Monarch and an equally impressive fold from Antonius. But did either player make any mistakes along the way?
GTO Wizard: Helpful Tips for When to Call Turn Barrels
This article by Sibbeh was originally published on the GTO Wizard Blog. We have all been on the turn facing a barrel from the villain and felt unsure whether to continue or not. Without many hours of GTO study, we find ourselves in a guessing game as to where the calling thresholds should be.
Was Saaskilahti's Monster Main Event Hero Call GTO Wizard Approved?
We've had the pros give their takes on Lauri Saaskilahti's hero call at the 2026 WSOP Main Event final table, but what does GTO Wizard think? And were Lucas Jumalon's overbets GTO Approved en-route to winning $10,000,000 and being crowned poker's new world champion? Let’s now use GTO Wizard to break down every street and see whether the solver agrees with how both players approached one of the biggest hands of the 2026 WSOP Main Event.
This is How Not To Play Heads-up Against One Of The World’s Best…
Heads-up is the arguably the most important part of any poker tournament, but with $350,950 up for grabs at the final table of the $10,000 GGMillion$ on GGPoker, every decision becomes even more important. That's why GTO Wizard are taking a look at this hand that decided the outcome of Samuel Vousden's GGMillion$ victory back in June.
Is This Sick Hero Call by Alex Foxen in $250K Tournament Solver Approved?
There aren't many players you'd want to face in a massive river spot less than Stephen Chidwick. Alex Foxen found himself in exactly that position during Day 1 of the $250,000 Super High Roller at the 2026 World Series of Poker, facing a 1.5x pot river overbet with little more than bottom pair. Chidwick had fired 525,000 into a pot of 344,000. Foxen went deep into the tank before eventually finding the call with ace-five suited.
What Is GTO Poker? GTO Wizard Breaks Down the Fundamentals
If you've spent any time around poker strategy content over the last few years, you've almost certainly heard the term "GTO." Players talk about "studying GTO," "playing GTO," or dismissing a line because "it's not GTO." But while the phrase has become part of everyday poker vocabulary, many players still couldn't give you a clear definition of what it actually means.
GTO Wizard: When to Open Shove vs. Different Player Profiles
This article by Barry Carter was originally published on the GTO Wizard Blog. Recently, we at GTO Wizard launched custom multiway preflop solving, which gave me a good excuse to test the new features on an aspect of the game I was studying at the time. So I’ve been digging into shallow-stacked play.
"I Can Beat Deuces": Inside the Insane WSOP Millionaire Maker Soul Read
Deep on Day 4 of the WSOP $1,500 Millionaire Maker, only 13 players remained from a massive 11,769-entry field. With huge pay jumps on the horizon, most players would tighten up, but Halford Fairchild and Garry Gurevich did the exact opposite. The two locked horns in an incredible dynamic. Gurevich fired a multi-street bluff with just pocket deuces, while Fairchild laid a trap with a flopped Broadway straight.
How to Adjust Against 3x Opens in Live Poker Tournaments
If you mostly play online poker, live tournaments can feel like a completely different game. One of the biggest adjustments? Open sizing. While online players have largely settled on smaller opens between 2x and 2.5x, live tournament fields still love making it 3x preflop, especially at lower and mid-stakes buy-ins. But how much should you actually change your strategy against those bigger sizings?
Was Folding Pocket Nines to a Three-Bet at This $10K Online Final Table Too Tight?
Folding pocket nines at a final table rarely feels comfortable, especially when stacks are shallow and pay jumps are looming. But in high-pressure ICM spots, even strong hands can become marginal. WPT Global streamer Lukas “RobinPoker” Robinson used GTO Wizard to analyse a tricky preflop decision from a 2026 $10,300 GGMillion$ Final Table, where Fahredin Mustafov opened with pocket nines and faced a three-bet from the small blind. The hand raised several key questions.
Struggling in Multiway Pots? GTO Wizard Shows the Answer in this Triton $250K Hand
Multiway pots have long been one of the toughest areas to study in poker. Deep stacks, multiple ranges, and complicated board interactions make these spots difficult to solve, and until recently, running accurate simulations could take hours. WPT Global streamer Lukas “RobinPoker” Robinson revisited a fascinating hand from the Triton WSOP Paradise $250K Invitational and used the new multiway AI feature in GTO Wizard to break down the action.
GTO Wizard: Phil Hellmuth Actually Plays GTO Poker After All?
Phil Hellmuth analyzed an interesting hand on Day 3 of the 2013 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, one that you might think is game theory optimal (GTO) approved. But does GTO Wizard agree with his assessment. Let's dive into the memorable ESPN televised poker hand. Hellmuth, as you probably know, doesn't exactly play a GTO style of poker.
Would You Fold Ace-King Pre-Flop on a SCOOP Final Table?
What is a Bubble Factor and Risk Premium in Poker? The bubble factor measures how much a player’s strategy should tighten when they are close to a payout. A higher bubble factor means losing chips is extremely costly, meaning players must use stronger hands before committing chips. The risk premium is the extra equity a hand needs to continue in a spot because losing chips is more expensive than usual. In other words, it is the penalty for risking chips under ICM.
How to Play Against Limpers in Live Poker Tournaments
Have you ever wondered what the optimal strategy is when playing against limpers in live poker tournaments? If so, this article is for you. GTO Wizard has recently introduced a new multiway preflop AI solver that allows you to solve preflop spots instantly with up to nine players involved. While playing live poker recently at the Dublin Poker Festival, I noticed that even in an $800 buy-in event there were still a lot of players open limping.
Should Muller Call Holding Fourth Pair With $300k on the Line?
Is it ever right to call with just fourth pair when facing a triple barrel during heads-up play? How about at the final table of the $10,300 GGMillion$ on GGPoker? The hand took place between Arie Muller and Danilo Velasevic with $1,393,371 on the line. It was a very interesting call from Muller, who opted to call with just fourth pair in this hand, and was consequently incorrect. But was this call correct according to the GTO Wizard solver? Let’s take a closer look.
Flopping Top Set vs the Chip Leader on a $10,300 Final Table!
Flopping top set at a final table is usually the dream scenario, but when the chip leader has you covered and massive pay jumps loom, even monster hands become tricky to play. The folks over at GTO Wizard analyzed a key hand from a 2025 $10,300 GGMillion$ Final Table on GGPoker, where “littlepapi” flopped top set against chip leader Danilo Velasevic. On commentary, Fedor Holz suggested "littlepapi" should check the flop and raise the river.
Were These Two Players Playing GTO Poker at the 2015 WSOP Main Event Final Table?
Solver-based study has transformed how poker hands are understood, but long before GTO became standard, players were still making high-stakes decisions under intense pressure. PokerNews Ambassador Lukas “RobinPoker” Robinson — using GTO Wizard — went back to a hand from the 2015 WSOP Main Event final table to see how two players handled extreme ICM spots, and how closely their decisions aligned with modern GTO strategy.
Was Jamming All-In in the GGMillion$ With Queen-High GTO Approved?
With seven players remaining in the $10,300 GGMillion$ online at GGPoker, Alexander Kirichenko and Aren Bezhanyan clashed in a pot that resulted in Kirichenko jamming all-in on the turn with queen-high and an open-ended straight draw. Was Kirichenko's shove GTO Approved? What about how Bezhanyan played what turned out to be a set of sixes? PokerNews ambassador Lukas Robinson uses the powerful GTO Wizard software to delve into the actions of each player.
GTO Wizard Breakdown: Velasevic vs Voronin at Triton Jeju $25K WPT Global Slam
There was an interesting spot on Day 1 of the $25,000 WPT Global Slam at Triton Poker Jeju II last fall, when Danilo Velasevic put Konstantin Voronin to the test on street after street. Voronin had overplayed his hand preflop and, once committed, simply could not find an exit, a decision that ultimately cost him his tournament life. Velasevic scooped in a big one, Voronin headed back to the rebuy desk, but the hand is certainly a fascinating one to study.
Was Daniel Negreanu Playing GTO Poker in the 2015 WSOP Main Event? Original
Was Poker Hall of Famer Daniel Negreanu playing game theory optimal (GTO) poker back in 2015? GTO strategy has become a key component of poker in recent years, but most players weren't aware of it a decade ago. Using GTO Wizard, let's look at a hand from Day 5 of the 2015 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event to see if the strategy on display holds up.
Did WSOP Main Event Champ Michael Mizrachi Play GTO Poker Back in 2013?
Long before GTO solvers became part of everyday poker study, players relied on experience, feel, and pattern recognition at the table. PokerNews Ambassador Lukas “RobinPoker” Robinson went back to a hand from Day 3 of the 2013 WSOP Main Event to see how those instincts stack up against modern theory.
Improve Your Poker Skills With Season 7 of GTO Wizard's PokerArena
A new year means new opportunities to improve at poker, and there's no better way to do so than with the new season of GTO Wizard’s PokerArena. The free-to-play PokerArena is a skill-testing battleground built by the team behind GTO Wizard, the solver used by the game’s elite. Season 7 brings several updates, premium rewards for the top three players on the leaderboard, and a new monthly rewards program called ArenaPass.
GTO Wizard: Was Suarez’s AQ Call Too Thin at the EPT Barcelona Final Table?
At the final table of the €5,300 EPT Barcelona Main Event, Anton Suarez faced a nightmare river decision against eventual champion Thomas Eychenne. Holding top pair, top kicker with ace-queen, Suarez found himself staring down an all-in shove for his tournament life after making a big river bet. Six players remained, with €1.4 million up top and €291,800 guaranteed. Suarez eventually called, and it cost him his tournament. But was the call actually wrong?
Can Kings Gets Away from a Flopped Set of Fives in the EPT Malta Main Event?
Is it possible to get away from an overpair like pocket kings when your opponent flops a set? Our friends at GTO Wizard examined a hand from the 2025 PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) €5,300 Malta Main Event that examines such a situation. The hand between Aliaksei Boika and Mykhailo Ostash took place with four players remaining and blinds of 50,000/100,000/100,000 with €760,000 on the line.
Learn How to Adapt to Opponents With New GTO Wizard Player Profiles Tool
This article originally appeared on the GTO Wizard blog. We’re rolling out an update today that we think you’re seriously going to love: Player Profiles, a new approach to studying exploitative poker. Profiles enable you to model opponents with persistent leaks and exploitable tendencies. You can apply a profile to any solvable spot in GTO Wizard AI. Want to beat a calling station, shut down a maniac, or navigate a nit that suddenly shows strength?
PokerArena Season 5 Goes Live with New Streamer Mode & Free Prizes
A new season has arrived in GTO Wizard’s PokerArena, and players around the world are already battling for glory. Season 5 brings a wave of updates and fresh competition to the free-to-play platform that’s quietly become one of the most creative training grounds in online poker. PokerArena is a skill-testing battleground built by the team behind GTO Wizard, the solver used by the game’s elite.
Was This King-High Call GTO Genius or a Punt Gone Right? GTO Wizard Explains
In September, former footballer Joshua Gebissa beat the pros to win the inaugural Triton ONE Main Event for $975,225. While Gebissa took the trophy from the 1,046 entry field, there was one hand from the final table that left the eventual champion a bit red in the cheeks. Gebissa tried to bluff Japan’s Daiki Shingae off of a pot with jack-high but was snap-called by nothing more than king-high.
Final Table Training: Over 50,000 New ICM Sims Available at GTO Wizard
Making the right ICM decision deep in any poker tournament just became more convenient with GTO Wizard expanding its final table solutions library. The leading poker training software has expanded its ICM Final Table sim count from 553 to over 53,000. That's a 9,000% increase, giving players a better opportunity to be prepared for the most important spot in any tournament. What to Expect Making a final table, especially when playing for big bucks, is always an exciting experience.
Are Your Poker Ranges Broken? GTO Wizard Explains How to Fix Them
When it comes to poker strategy, few concepts are as fundamental — and as misunderstood — as ranges. Knowing when to bet, raise, check, or call is the foundation of playing winning poker, yet even the most experienced players can often construct their ranges in ways that leak EV. That’s exactly what poker coach Matt Hunt tackles in a new GTO Wizard training video, Are Your Ranges Broken? Here’s How To Fix Them.
A GTO Wizard Breakdown of the 2025 WSOP Main Event Final Hand
The 2025 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event produced a finale that will be remembered for years. After more than a week of grueling play at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, the $10,000 buy-in tournament that drew thousands of hopefuls came down to a heads-up clash between two very different players: recreational player John Wasnock and four-time Poker Players Championship winner Michael Mizrachi, known around the world as The Grinder.
How ICM Impacts Late Registration in Tournaments
Late registration has long been a hot topic in tournament poker, and thanks to GTO Wizard’s new postflop ICM feature, players now have a clearer picture of how significant Independent Chip Model (ICM) pressure is when entering the field late. Many already know that max late registering provides an instant equity boost, by skipping the early levels, players automatically outlast a chunk of the field without playing a hand.
Was RobinPoker’s River Jam Too Thin on WPT Global’s $530 Throne Bubble?
PokerNews Ambassador Lukas “RobinPoker” Robinson recently found himself in an interesting bubble spot on WPT Global. Playing the $530 Thursday Throne, Robinson clashed with fellow streamer Driftinator in a hand that ended with a river shove and plenty of questions. After losing the pot, Robinson turned to GTO Wizard to break down the action street by street and find out whether his river jam with king-queen was too thin, or solver-approved.
The One Adjustment That Can Turn Any Breakeven Player Into a Crusher
Most breakeven poker players share the same wish: to always get paid when they have strong hands, while still having their bluffs go uncalled. The problem, as poker coach Matt Hunt explains in his latest GTO Wizard training video is that you can’t have both. In the long run, your bluffs must sometimes get called in order for your value bets to maximize their expected value (EV). Every bluff is an investment in future value. Without them, opponents will stop paying you off with second-best hands.
GTO Wizard: How to Steal on the Bubble With a Short Stack
If you're short-stacked on the bubble of a tournament, raising into bigger stacks might seem like a huge risk. After all, you’re risking your tournament life at a point where folding guarantees you inch closer to a payday. But according to poker pro and strategy author Andrew Brokos, that fear doesn’t mean you should stop stealing altogether.
How Overbet Shoving Puts Opponents Under ICM Pressure
When it comes to closing out tournaments under ICM pressure, few plays apply more heat than the flop overbet shove, and 2022 WSOP Main Event champion Espen Jørstad is here to break down exactly why. In a recent strategy video from GTO Wizard, Jørstad explores a new and often misunderstood solver-approved concept, ending hands early by shoving all-in on the flop in ICM-sensitive situations.
Why You Should Be Shoving A Lot More On the Bubble If You Want to Cash
You're deep in a tournament. The bubble is approaching. You’ve got a serious shot at locking up some money. The adrenaline is kicking in, and your instinct is to tighten up. Big bets become small, small bets become checks. That instinct is usually right, and solvers have backed it up for years. Key word being 'usually'. According to the GTO Wizards, sometimes the best play is the complete opposite.
Prep for the 2025 WSOP Like a Pro with GTO Wizard
The 2025 World Series of Poker (WSOP) is in full swing at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, but that doesn't mean it's too late to freshen up your poker game or put together a game plan for the remainder of the series. The GTO Wizard coaching team is offering players an array of helpful tips, including advice on preparation, game selection and how players going to their first World Series can maximize the experience.
GTO Wizard’s New 1v1 Feature Lets You Play Heads-Up Poker for Free
Looking to improve your poker game without spending big on training tools or subscriptions? GTO Wizard has just introduced a new 1v1 Poker Play Mode, offering free, browser-based heads-up matches that focus on real decision-making and practical experience. The format is simple: sign in, queue up, and get matched with another player of similar skill. There's no real money involved, no downloads, and no paywall. It's just straight-up safe and free-to-play poker from the get-go.
“Fisher vs Fishhooks” – A GTO Cooler Breakdown from PSO Campione
Day 4 of March's PokerStars Open Campione Main Event saw 118 players chasing a slice of the nearly €2 million still up for grabs. The field had been whittled down from 2,423 hopefuls, as each remaining player eyed up the title. Amid the chaos, one wild hand stood out. A postflop five-bet jam that left some onlookers scratching their heads. Was it a punt, or was it GTO-approved brilliance?
10 Most Important Concepts for New Poker Players
Every new poker player is excited to jump right into the action and start winning big. But few actually do win early in their careers. That is often because they start playing before studying and preparing. The following 10 concepts, brought to you by GTO Wizard, will help you dive into this glorious game with some knowledge of what it takes to become a winning poker player.
Was Brandon Wilson's Triton $25K Pre-Bubble Blast-Off GTO Approved?
Brandon Wilson and Aliaksandr Shylko clashed in a hand of poker close to the bubble in this year’s Triton 8-handed 25k event. Wilson put his tournament life on the line with a triple-barrel bluff, and Shylko sniffed it out. But was it GTO Wizard approved?
Andrew Brokos
It’s scary to contest a pot against a covering stack when you have a high risk premium,… 17/12/2024 11 min. / 55 sec. Tournament poker generally incentivizes stack preservation and more conservative play than cash game poker, and this is… 16/12/2024 15 min. / 30 sec. In a single-raised pot (SRP), a BB caller should almost always check when out of position (OOP)… 09/12/2024 14 min. / 28 sec. Open-raising on the bubble into players who cover you is scary.
Preflop Strategy in Straddled Pots
Many games allow “straddles,” where a player who is not in the blinds voluntarily posts a blind bet that functions just like a blind: it is live, and if no one else raises, the straddling player still has the opportunity to raise before the flop is dealt. Straddles are typically twice the big blind, though larger is sometimes permitted. UTG is the most common position for a straddle, which buys the straddling player the right to act last (preflop) after everyone else, including the blinds.
Revolutionizing MTTs: The Ultimate ICM Solver Upgrade
The most monumental advancement to MTT study in the history of poker solvers is now here. GTO Wizard is thrilled to announce a revolutionary upgrade: Custom ICM Solving with GTO Wizard AI, which allows you to solve any heads-up postflop situation for any poker tournament format—including KO, Freezeout, PKO, Satellites, and Mystery Bounties. This breakthrough will fundamentally transform how MTTs are studied and shift the meta of poker tournaments! Why Is This a Game Changer?
The 5 Levels of Trainer Mastery
We’ve created over 40 custom drills for this article! Though all drills are accessible through the article, we highly recommend importing them for easy access. Click here to access the drill import sheet. All drills have the RNG mode set to “High RNG.” Learning poker is daunting; the process can feel like hitting your head against a wall for those starting out. Fortunately, if you’re adamant about taking on the challenge, you’ve come to the right place.
Exploiting Cold Callers Who Stab Too Much
In single-raised pots (SRPs) between an in position (IP) raiser and an out of position (OOP) caller, there is usually a clear relationship between one player’s aggression and the other’s passivity. Typically, the OOP caller checks most or all of their range to the IP raiser, who then bets most of their range. The rare cases where the IP player is not incentivized to bet so often are also the cases where their opponent bets most frequently.
Barreling as IP Cold-Caller
You cold-calledCold call To call a bet/raise when you have not invested any money in the pot yet. a preflop raise. That’s scary. You bet into a check from the preflop raiser, which is doubly scary because you know a check from an out of position (OOP) raiser should be uncapped and can possibly be followed up by a raise. The good news is they didn’t raise your bet. The bad news is they didn’t fold either, which is probably what you were hoping for, even if you had a pair.
Pushing Equity With Small Bets
One of the most memorable pieces of poker wisdom I ever received came from my long-time podcast co-host Nate Meyvis, who told me: “The freedom to bet any amount is the defining feature of no-limit hold ‘em. If you only ever bet between 50%–100% of the pot, you’re really handcuffing yourself.” This was in a long-ago era of poker strategy, before the advent of game theory solvers. At that time, few players used very large or very small bets, and even fewer understood when and why to use them.
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