Poker history is not crystal clear, but it appears that it has evolved from a Persian game called nus. Others attribute pokers roots to a French game brelan or the English game bragg, which means 'brag'. Poker and Texas Hold'em are not the same thing.Texas Hold'em is a community card game, one of the thre variations of poker.Other variants include Stud and Draw Poker.All poker games are played by two or more players who compete to try and make the best hand by using a defined hand ranking system.
If you follow and play poker, and especially if you study poker strategy and pay attention to the latest trends and topics, you might've heard of poker 'solvers.' High-stakes players especially seem to be bringing up solvers more and more often when describing steps they are taking to improve their games.
These solvers are software programs that can provide users game theory optimal (GTO) solutions to specific poker situations — or something close, anyway. Users input various scenarios from which certain actions are recommended, with the solvers sometimes suggesting plays that aren't necessarily intuitive or thought to be 'standard.'
Describing these programs as 'solvers' is perhaps misleading, given that they don't necessarily 'solve' no-limit hold'em (or pot-limit Omaha) once and for all. They do however harness computing power to produce solutions to poker problems players can study and learn from in order to help when making decisions at the tables.
In a recent Instagram series, Kevin Martin shared how he was going about introducing himself to solvers. He sensibly suggests new players not worry about them and instead focus more on learning fundamentals.
Parker Talbot recently shared some thoughts as well about solvers and their use among high-stakes players on Mark Herm's show The Chirp Herm Show on the Tournament Poker Edge Podcast network.
A post shared by PokerNews (@pokernewsdotcom) on
Maria Konnikova recently described using solvers as part of her study of strategy when talking with PokerNews at EPT Prague. As she put it, working with solvers provides a way to improve one's understanding of what game theoretically optimal plays might be in certain situations, although that doesn't necessarily mean always trying to execute those plays.
'The way I use solvers is not necessarily to play exactly like that, but to understand theoretically what I should be doing in certain spots,' Konnikova explains.
Konnikova talks as well about how solvers can help players find bluffs when they might not otherwise think of bluffing, and even to execute bluffs more confidently. Take a look:
Of course, all of this talk and use of solvers is taking place against the backdrop of broader discussions comparing playing a 'GTO'-like game to taking a more 'exploitative' approach that more readily seeks to attack specific opponent weaknesses than to adopt a balanced or 'optimal' style.
If you're curious to get a more explicit introduction of what a solver is, here's a short video offering an overview of the one mentioned by Kevin Martin above, PioSOLVER:
Lead image: PioSOLVER
_Russian_style_1911_original.jpg "Who Invented Poker")
Describing these programs as 'solvers' is perhaps misleading, given that they don't necessarily 'solve' no-limit hold'em (or pot-limit Omaha) once and for all. They do however harness computing power to produce solutions to poker problems players can study and learn from in order to help when making decisions at the tables.
In a recent Instagram series, Kevin Martin shared how he was going about introducing himself to solvers. He sensibly suggests new players not worry about them and instead focus more on learning fundamentals.
Parker Talbot recently shared some thoughts as well about solvers and their use among high-stakes players on Mark Herm's show The Chirp Herm Show on the Tournament Poker Edge Podcast network.
A post shared by PokerNews (@pokernewsdotcom) on
Maria Konnikova recently described using solvers as part of her study of strategy when talking with PokerNews at EPT Prague. As she put it, working with solvers provides a way to improve one's understanding of what game theoretically optimal plays might be in certain situations, although that doesn't necessarily mean always trying to execute those plays.
'The way I use solvers is not necessarily to play exactly like that, but to understand theoretically what I should be doing in certain spots,' Konnikova explains.
Konnikova talks as well about how solvers can help players find bluffs when they might not otherwise think of bluffing, and even to execute bluffs more confidently. Take a look:
Of course, all of this talk and use of solvers is taking place against the backdrop of broader discussions comparing playing a 'GTO'-like game to taking a more 'exploitative' approach that more readily seeks to attack specific opponent weaknesses than to adopt a balanced or 'optimal' style.
If you're curious to get a more explicit introduction of what a solver is, here's a short video offering an overview of the one mentioned by Kevin Martin above, PioSOLVER:
Lead image: PioSOLVER
Tags
cash game strategytournament strategyno-limit hold'empot-limit Omahasolversgame theory optimal strategyGTOexploitative strategyKevin MartinParker TalbotMaria KonnikovavideoRelated Players
Parker TalbotMaria KonnikovaKevin Martin
The Origins, Evolution, Facts and Trivia of Poker
by
History Of Poker Pool Balls
Formats The casino game.
Poker History And Facts
The History of Poker Presents the origins and evolution the various centuries-old European betting and bluffing card games that eventually fused together to create American-style poker. The book starts with the evolution of playing cards, integrates the history of games like Brag and Pochen which in turn evolved in the French game of 'Poke' played in the city of New Orleans in the early 1800's.
The book, written in timeline fashion, then adds year-by-year the subtle changes and additions to the orginal game of 1820's Whiskey Poker until it becomes the poker of today that we all recognize. The book is full of interesting tidbits and trivia specifically designed to please the reader who wants something interesting in every paragraph.
The casual reader, the historian and the trivia buff will all be excited to read about the famous historical figures involved in the early history of poker all the way up to President Barack Obama's surprise quote about poker.
