The FTOP and calling on the river

[PokrLikeItsProse]

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Its just really really odd to me that calling on the end headsup is always suboptimal yet it happens on almost every hand.

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Your mistake is in thinking that the FTOP describes a relevant standard for optimal play.

The FTOP is a useful tool for thinking about poker, but you can't really measure yourself against a principle that claims you made a mistake by losing all of your money in a set over set confrontation. It doesn't just say that calling on the river is wrong, it says that a value bet is suboptimal, since you have made a mistake if a hand that beats you calls. A measuring stick which requires supernatural skill, or at least marked cards, to play optimally isn't of that much practical use.