Improve at poker: a routine with GTO Wizard and PokerSnowie
The session is over, but one hand stays with you: should you have bet that turn or kept the pot small? That hesitation is a good starting point for study. Here is a simple routine for players who already know the basics: choose a question, study it, then practise recognising the spot. Use GTO Wizard to explore ranges and repeat a focused situation; play complete hands against PokerSnowie’s AI before reviewing your decisions.
This site contains affiliate links. We may earn commissions.
Start with a question from your last session
After the session, save three to five hands where your decision was uncertain, including pots you won. Choose a shared theme: defending the big blind, firing a second barrel or calling the river. Record your thinking at the table, then write a precise question.
From statistics to hands
Often unsure whether to fire a second barrel?
Your tracker can help you find these decisions. In PokerTracker 4 or Hand2Note, start with a specific situation: you open on the button, the big blind calls and you see the flop heads-up.
- 01
Gather comparable hands
Keep the same format, similar stack depths and single-raised pots. Leave 3-bet and multiway pots out of this session.
- 02
Find the turn decision
Among hands where your flop bet was called, compare those where you bet again with those where you checked. Your turn-betting statistic is a starting point: open the hands behind it.
- 03
Choose three to five examples
Choose decisions that made you hesitate, with different outcomes. Record how many situations are available: a few hands suggest questions, but do not establish a lasting tendency.
Filter names vary by software. Without a tracker, mark hands during the session or reconstruct them afterwards with positions, stacks and amounts.
Example review note
Top pair on the button
A fictional cash-game exercise at 100 blinds effective. You open K♠ Q♦ and the big blind calls. On Q♣ 8♦ 3♠, you bet one-third pot and get called. The turn is 6♥; the big blind checks.
Question: which worse hands can call a second bet?
Write your idea before the analysis
‘I wanted to bet because I had top pair. I want to know which weaker queens and other hands can still call, then what I would do against a raise.’
Also keep the opening size, pot size and information available about the opponent. These details help you choose a closely matching study situation.
Study the logic with GTO Wizard
Find a situation matching your format, positions, stack depth and bet sizes. Look at the full ranges first, then your own hand. Aim to connect each action with the hands that make it useful and the decisions that may follow.
Read both ranges
Return to the KQ hand. Which weaker queens can the big blind hold after calling preflop and on the flop? Which strong hands, middle pairs and draws also remain? Do the same exercise for your button range.
Compare betting with checking
In your chosen solution, observe the hand groups that bet and those that check. Examine the suggested sizing and the response to a raise. An action becomes easier to understand when you consider the other hands taking it.
A note you can use next session
Your reasoning can move from ‘I have top pair, so I bet’ to ‘I identify worse hands that continue, choose a size and prepare my response to a raise’. Add what you actually observed in the tool and the solution’s parameters.
If positions, stacks or bets differ from your game, record the difference. That will tell you the context in which to reuse the idea.
Practise, then review your decisions
Use the GTO Wizard Trainer to repeat a specific situation. If you prefer playing complete hands and then examining your decisions, play a session against PokerSnowie. Keep two or three spots to revisit and explain your choice before reading the analysis.
Your first 30-minute session
This timetable is a starting point to adapt. Stay with one topic long enough to explain what you learned.
- 5 min
Recall
Read a hand again and state your question without consulting the analysis.
- 15 min
Understand
Explore the situation and compare two possible actions and their consequences.
- 10 min
Repeat
Practise the topic, then write one useful reference point and a question to revisit.
Next session, revisit the hand without your notes. Can you explain your action, identify the opponent’s relevant hands and say what would change on another turn? That is a more useful check than the pot’s result. If you study tournaments, add paid places, payout jumps and bounties to the hand context.
Review tournament-specific fundamentalsWhich tool should you choose first?
GTO Wizard is especially useful for exploring ranges, understanding a solution and repeating a focused spot. PokerSnowie is ideal if you enjoy learning by playing complete hands against AI and reviewing your decisions afterwards. Start with the method that makes you want to study: one tool is enough to establish a routine, and you can combine them later.
GTO Wizard
Understand why a range bets, find better bluffs and work on recurring spots: GTO Wizard connects solution study with practice. Explore a spot in your browser, then practise your decisions in the Trainer.
Try GTO WizardLearn More About GTO Wizard
PokerSnowie
PokerSnowie makes studying poker inviting through play. Face its AI, review your decisions and identify habits that cause problems. A practical way to deepen your postflop understanding, hand by hand.
Try PokerSnowieLearn More About PokerSnowieNew to poker? Start for free
Start with free resources to learn positions, starting hands, pot odds and bankroll management. GTO Wizard’s Free plan then lets you explore solutions and the Trainer. PokerSnowie offers a 10-day trial to try training against its AI. A subscription becomes useful when you want to explore a subject further and study it regularly.
When should you move to a paid plan?
A paid plan becomes useful when you know what you want to study and have time to do it. For experienced players who work on their game every week, GTO Wizard and PokerSnowie deserve a place in the training budget. Before choosing, identify your format, the feature you need and the number of sessions you expect to devote to it. Explore GTO Wizard with Free or use PokerSnowie’s 10-day trial, then choose the plan that fits your use.
Compare the GTO Wizard and PokerSnowie approachesGrindLab
GrindLab helps answer specific review questions: how much equity remains against this range, and what changes with a wider assumption? Adjusting ranges and comparing scenarios shows which parameters influence the analysis. A practical companion for exploring your hands, especially in multiway pots.
GrindLab