Factors in choosing not to mix in specific spots preflop
So in many spots preflop, a solver mixes between some combination of 3bet/call/fold vs a perfect GTO bot because all options have the same (or very similar) EV. Obviously in real life, we often have additional info on our opponents that we can use to prefer one line over another. Some obvious examples:
- Vs someone who is opening too wide and/or has a high fold to 3bet %, lean towards 3betting
- Vs someone with with high 4bet %, lean towards calling or folding
- When deep, lean towards continuing with hands that have strong nut potential (weak suited aces, offsuit broadway that can make nut straights, mid PPs that can make top/mid set)
- Vs a fish (either behind, or after they limp) lean towards continuing with two high cards as you can often get 3 streets of value when you both flop top pair but you outkick them.
- If you have people behind that 3bet/squeeze often, you should be flatting less often
Thought it could be interesting to have a thread where we share some less obvious strategies that others might not have thought of. When multiple lines have the same EV, what information are you looking at when deciding which line to take preflop? Or are there any situations where you deviate completely and take a line a solver would never recommend vs an unknown opp?