Phil Galfond Reveals Key Strategic Changes in His Poker Game

Phil Galfond, a seasoned poker player, has seen significant changes in his strategy over the years, largely influenced by the advent of solvers. When Galfond started playing poker 15 years ago, solvers were not available, and the understanding of poker strategy was quite different. Solvers have significantly improved the understanding of poker strategy, revealing that many traditional approaches were suboptimal.

One of the key changes Galfond has made is in his use of continuation bets on the flop. Previously, he would make frequent continuation bets, but now he understands the importance of differentiating board textures. He has learned that there are boards where continuation bets with the entire range are appropriate, and others where a check is the better play.

Another significant change involves his 3-bet strategy. Galfond used to employ a highly polar 3-bet range in response to raises, but he has since shifted to a more linear strategy. This involves deciding whether a hand is strong enough for a call and then building a 3-bet range from those hands. This approach is more effective in many situations, especially when protecting a big blind against an open from a middle position.