[Iceman]

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i have a math background (degree from MIT) and have some knowledge of game theory. I have been considering learning a lot more about it in the hopes that I canimprove my poker game, especially NL. has anyone else tried/done this and does anyone believe it is a waste of time? and if you have done it, any tips or advice? Thanks. I realize this is a very general question.

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Game theory is absolutely useless in actual poker games. It can be used to solve some "thought experiments" involving contrived extreme situations, but for real-life play you're much better off learning poker theory and strategies for specific games, and gaining experience applying those theories and strategies.

Take the situation where you have an obvious draw on the river against an obvious made hand, both you and your opponent know you win if you hit your draw and lose otherwise, and you want to know how often to bluff if you miss your draw. This would seem to be a situation where game theory would be useful. However, game theory will give you the same answer (of what fraction of the time to bluff) for every opponent. You'll do much better adjusting to the specific opponent you're facing - for someone who will fold even a moderate fraction of the time here to one bet in a large pot, you should bluff a lot, while some players will always call for that one final bet, and you should never try to bluff them. If you don't know your opponent at all, then you should go by what players in that game, limit, and cardroom are normally like.