Stat 198: Introduction to Poker Homework #1
Assessing Hand Strength, Opening UTG and Pot Odds
HW will be graded for effort and completion. This HW will be due by Thursday, 2/23 @
11:59PM PST. Submit HW via email to pokerdecalsp23@gmail.com. Don’t worry if you
receive a yellow warning message that this email is an external recipient, just dismiss it.
Collaboration is encouraged along with asking your peers in discord, and please don’t hesitate to
reach out or message any of the course staff with any questions or concerns as well. Please feel
free to refer to the lecture slides if you get stuck, they are all currently posted in discord!
Name: ________________________
Email: ________________________
Section: _______________________
Answer each question on the line space provided below. For questions with multiple lines given
to write, a one sentence minimum response is required. (Refer to lecture slides if you get stuck!)
Rules, Nash Equilibrium:
1.1) Who acts first preflop? What about last?
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1.2) Who acts first postflop? What about last?
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1.3) Does a straight beat a flush? If not, name a hand that does beat a flush.
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1.4) What is the maximum number of rounds of betting that occur in a single hand of poker.
Name each round. (i.e. preflop, …)
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1.5) Suppose I folded every single hand dealt to me at a poker table. How much would I lose in
BB per orbit (one revolution of the dealer button around the table in a poker game).
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1.6) True or False. It is possible to play perfect GTO at a poker table.
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1.7) True or False. GTO is (like all Nash Equilibriums) completely unexploitable.
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1.8) True or False. Someone playing a GTO based strategy is aggressive, bluffs frequently, and
plays a tight range or strong hands.
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1.9.1) Imagine you sit down at a poker table with Carol Christ. She claims to be playing perfect
Game Theory Optimal strategy or GTO for short. Assuming this is true, is there any way to
exploit her? Why or why not? Feel free to use the definition of Game Theory Optimal in your
response.
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1.9.2) After facing defeat from Carol, you seek the magical burritos from La Burrita that provide
any of its customers the ability to play perfect GTO poker. After eating one, assume you are now
capable of playing perfect GTO poker. You call up Carol and demand a rematch. Who would win
and why? Briefly explain why this is an example of nash equilibrium. (Hint, remember the ice
cream vendor example!!!)
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1.10) Briefly explain the difference between GTO and Exploitive Play. Can one be more
lucrative than the other in some instances?
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1.11) You sit down at a poker table with Oski, Berkeley’s mascot. Assume your initial strategy is
GTO. Within a few hands, you notice Oski hates folding and keeps calling your bluffs.
Frustrated, you elect to stop bluffing against Oski and only bet when you make a strong hand.
Thus, deviating from your initial strategy and exploiting Oski’s mistakes. Can other players at
the table now exploit you as soon as you start exploiting Oski? Why or why not?
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Assessing Hand Factors:
Rank the following hands on Good Pair Potential, Versatility, and Nut Potential on a 1-10 scale,
then estimate an overall score.
Don’t think too much about how to get the overall score, just take the average and weigh GPP
more than V more than NP by a bit. Feel free to Reference the Lecture 1 PowerPoint if needed.
If you don’t know what number to put, you can just mark x or make your best guess!
Hand
KTo
A7s
AA
33
Good Pair
Potential
Versatility
Nut Potential
Overall Score
99
JTs
67s
QJo
Opening UTG
Assume our table is full of Regs and so we play quite conservatively. Give a short explanation as
to whether or not we should open raise this UTG using Good Pair Potential, Versatility, and Nut
Potential.
2.1) KTo
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2.2) KTs
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2.3) 33
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2.4) 99
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2.5) QJo
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2.6) AKs
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Implied Odds and Reverse Implied Odds
3.1) True or False. KJo has a higher kicker than KTo.
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3.2) J6s has more Raw Equity than T9s, meaning it will win more often than T9s after all five
community cards are dealt out. Given this information, should we consider J6s to be a better
hand than T9s? Why?
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3.3) Does A7o have a lot of reverse implied odds? Why?
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3.4) Does 33 have a lot of reverse implied odds? Why?
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3.5) Briefly describe what draws are in poker? What does a flush draw mean? Do strong draws
have a lot of implied odds?
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Miscellaneous
4.1) What bet size do we typically Open Raise with in terms of BB? _______________________
4.2) What is limping?
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4.3) In 99% of instances, should we ever limp? Please explain and provide reasoning.
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4.4) What does EV stand for? What does it mean if something is +EV.
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4.5 Can something +EV still lose us money? If so, what is it called?
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Pot Odds
5.1) In your own words, what does Pot Odds represent and how do we calculate it?
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5.2) Suppose Villain bets $10 into a $20 pot (one third Pot Size Bet or PSB) What are our pot
odds? How much equity does our hand need to justify a profitable call?
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5.3) Suppose Villain makes a Pot Sized Bet. What are our pot odds? How much equity does our
hand need to justify a profitable call?
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5.4) Will our hand ever need more than 50% equity to make a call profitable? Why or why not?
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