How to Read a GTO Chart

GTO preflop charts are the most direct bridge between theory and your actual play. They encode the recommended action for every hand in every position, distilled into a lookup table. This article explains what those charts contain, how to read them, and how TrainPoker uses them to grade your decisions.

Quick Take

• TrainPoker's preflop charts are curated, position-based action charts.
• Each hand in the current chart set resolves to one primary action.
• The key variables are position, action faced, and stack depth.
• The fastest way to improve is to recognize the pattern, not memorize every combo in isolation.

Study cue: TrainPoker's preflop drills are best used as pattern training. Learn the spot, the hand class, and the default action until the chart feels familiar before you worry about edge-case memorization.

What Is a GTO Preflop Chart?

A GTO preflop chart is a table that shows the recommended action for every starting hand combination from a given position, action faced, and stack depth.

TrainPoker's current preflop chart set is a curated GTO-aligned reference. Each hand in TrainPoker's preflop charts has one primary action. The charts do not currently expose mixed frequencies or randomization prompts in the drill flow.

Chart Structure in TrainPoker

TrainPoker charts are organized around two variables:

• Position: Where you are sitting (UTG, HJ, CO, BTN, SB, BB)
• Opponent action: What happened before your turn (e.g., raise first in, facing an open, facing a 3bet)

Each cell in the chart represents a hand (e.g., AQs, 99, KJo) and displays the recommended action for that specific situation. In the current chart set, every hand resolves to one primary action: fold, call, raise, 3bet, or 4bet.

Reading the Current Chart Set

Here is a simplified example of what a preflop range chart can look like in TrainPoker:

Reading these entries:

• AKs is a clear open from the Button.
• T9s is strong enough to continue against an UTG open, but not as a raise in the current chart set.
• J4s is simply not profitable enough to open from the Button in the current chart set.
• AKo is strong enough to continue aggressively when facing a 3bet.

Understanding Stack Depth

GTO charts change significantly at different stack depths. The charts in TrainPoker are calibrated for the three stack depths that exist in the current preflop set:

• 100bb deep: The widest opening ranges and the most room for postflop realization.
• 50bb: Mid-stack play tightens some opens and continues.
• 25bb: Shorter stacks compress the ranges and make aggressive continue-or-fold decisions more common.

When you drill hands at different stack depths, the correct GTO action can be very different for the same hand. A 99 that calls from BTN at 100bb might be a shove at 25bb.

How to Use Charts for Study

A structured study workflow:

1. Look up your position. Find the chart section for your seat (e.g., CO).
2. Identify the action you faced. Was it a raise first in? A 3bet? A limp?
3. Find your hand. Locate your specific hand (e.g., JTs) in the chart.
4. Read the primary action. Is it fold, call, raise, 3bet, or 4bet?
5. Internalize the primary action. Over many reps, the chart becomes instinct rather than a lookup.

Fast way to review a miss: When you get a hand wrong, ask three questions in order: What was my position? What action did I face? What hand class was I holding? That sequence usually explains the chart output faster than staring at the full matrix.

In TrainPoker, you do this lookup automatically with every drill hand. The grading system shows you the GTO action after you decide, so each rep reinforces the correct chart entry. Over time your accuracy per position and spot type reflects how well you have internalized the chart.

Chart Limitations to Understand

GTO charts represent the Nash equilibrium against an equally skilled opponent. Against non-GTO opponents (which is most players in practice), deviations from chart are often correct:

• Against a Calling Station, increase your value bet sizes and reduce your bluff frequency.
• Against a Nit, widen your stealing range beyond what the chart suggests because their tighter fold frequency improves your steal profitability.

Learning the GTO baseline first gives you the reference point from which to deviate intentionally. Without knowing the baseline, you cannot know when you are exploiting versus when you are making a mistake.

Summary

• A GTO preflop chart encodes the recommended action for every hand in every position.
• TrainPoker's current preflop chart set is a curated single-action chart set rather than a mixed-frequency trainer.
• Charts change with stack depth. The current set covers 100bb, 50bb, and 25bb.
• Learn the GTO baseline first; intentional exploitative deviations require knowing what you are deviating from.