Open up any solver output and you'll see something terrifying.
Mixed frequencies. They're everywhere!
This hand bets 67% of the time. That hand bets 35%. Then after checking, this one raises 12% and calls 88% while that one folds. And that's just one spot on one board. Scroll down and there's another board. And another. And another.
(Don't get me started on multiple sizings!)
Perhaps your first instinct might be to memorize it. Study the frequencies. Drill them until you know K♠T❤️ bets 85% of the time on this exact texture.
Players try this – open up an output, stare at the percentages, and try to commit them to memory. They drill them time and time again until their accuracy improves. And, in their defense, it usually does improve.
Today, I'm begging you not to waste your time.
The Common Mistake
You're not going to flip a coin at 63/37 odds at the poker table. You're not going to remember what each specific hand on this specific board does at every frequency. And even if you could get close to that on certain flops – your opponent isn't playing optimally. So what's the point of memorizing the "correct" frequency against a strategy they're not using?
I know, I know – to be "unexploitable."
But the reality is that even players who do a pretty good job at getting close to the way a solver plays can be very exploitable.
Poker is such a complex game, and the decisions at every node impact the decisions before and after them. Even if you could play the flop 100% perfectly, if you missed certain plays on the turn and river (which you would), the “perfect” flop strategy wouldn’t do much for you and your exploitability.
The players who hyper-focus on remaining "unexploitable" will leave gaps, just like everyone, but for many, their leaks will be more consistent. To remain "unexploitable," they can't make adjustments to your exploits. Many of them will watch you play very non-GTO strategies and sit there with the false confidence they get from being closer to optimal than you.
Their closer-to-GTO play might leave a smaller target to aim your exploits at, but it's a target that’s standing still.
I am more exploitable in theory than most pros I play against, but I’m a moving target.
The Map
Trying to memorize frequencies is a bit like trying to memorize every route on a map.
You could sit down with Google Maps and try to memorize every possible route. Not just the streets – the routes: Target to the dentist. Starbucks to Frank's house. Every starting point to every destination.
Millions upon millions of routes. Good luck. And even if you had infinite time, you'd be lost the moment you needed to go somewhere new – or the moment one of your memorized routes hit construction.
But as you know from – well, living on Earth – you don't need to memorize every route.
If you understand north, south, east, and west... if you learn the highways and the major streets near your house... you'll be able to get to the bakery on the corner of 5th and Oak without having memorized that specific route. You'll know that 5th runs east-west, and Oak is a few blocks north of where you are, and you'll find your way.
(Plus, we're allowed to use RTA when we drive!)
And what's even better – you'll be able to navigate in other cities too – cities you've never seen before, where you’ve had no time to memorize the map. Because you understand how navigation works. You understand the system.
This is what it's like in poker: Understand how to navigate, and you'll be able to find your way, even in spots you've never studied.
TMI
Am I saying you shouldn't study?
No, not at all. Studying is extremely valuable if you want to win in today's poker environment. Which leaves us with a problem:
What do we do with all of this information? It's way too much, as we've established.
After learning from friends and my own studies, I broke down my process – which is different than many of my peers. The first step, when it comes to studying postflop spots, is looking at thresholds.
Instead of asking, "What percentage of the time does this hand bet?" ask: "Which hands are strong enough to bet?" You aren't looking for exact frequencies; you’re looking for the threshold – the minimum strength required to value bet, call, or raise.
You're looking for the minimum hand that can take an action, not the exact rate at which every hand takes it.
After certain preflop and flop action, K♠T♦ might bet 70% of the time and check 30% on K❤️7❤️5♣8♦. The solver is mixing. But that's not what matters. What matters is that K♠T♦ can bet. It crosses the threshold. It's strong enough to value bet (for whatever the sizing in question is) on this board.
Meanwhile, QQ might never bet.
Why? Because it's below the threshold. It's not strong enough to value bet – or at least, not with this sizing.
Once you see it this way, you don't need to remember that KT bets 75% and KJ bets 60%. You just need to learn: "Top pair can value bet here. QQ can't."
That's your threshold. And that's the first thing you need to know.
What’s good enough to value bet? What’s good enough to call with? What’s weak enough to bluff with? What kind of draw is strong enough to semi-bluff raise with?
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Why It Works
Solvers don't think. They just calculate. They don't know why they bet – just that betting works out as part of an optimal strategy.
"Bet win money. Bet good."
That's fine for a computer running billions of simulations. It's not so helpful for a human sitting at a table trying to make a decision in 30 seconds.
Your brain doesn't work the same way. It works in categories. "Strong" vs. "weak." "Good enough" vs. "not good enough." You can hold one threshold in your head much easier than fifty frequencies.
And when you start thinking in thresholds, you start building intuition that transfers to other spots. You notice that on wet, connected boards, the solver's sizes and thresholds are different. Or on dry paired boards, maybe there's more raising against small bets. You're not memorizing spots, but recognizing patterns.
The solver arrived at its frequencies through brute force. You can arrive at something close through logic. It won't be perfect. But it'll be usable – which is more than you can say for a frequency you forgot the moment you closed the tab.
So, the next time you open a solver, before your eyes glaze over – ask yourself: where's the line?
Start there. Everything else might start to make more sense.
(This approach to studying has earned me 7 figures at the poker table. It has not, unfortunately, stopped me from missing my exit whenever my GPS isn’t on.)