Most players study GTO by reading charts. A long session with a solution viewer after a losing night, then nothing for two weeks. That builds recognition: you nod at the right answer when you see it. It does not build recall: producing the right answer yourself, in a few seconds, at the table.
A GTO poker trainer exists to close that gap. Here is how to use one well, and a weekly routine that keeps the knowledge from fading.
Viewer vs trainer: why drilling works
A strategy viewer shows you the answer. A trainer deals you a hand in a spot, asks for a decision, and grades it against the strategy. The difference matters because memory is built by retrieving information, not by re-reading it. Every graded decision is a retrieval rep.
A good poker GTO training tool should:
- Deal real spots from the format and stack depth you play.
- Grade instantly, so the correction lands while the decision is fresh.
- Score mistakes by cost, not just right or wrong. Folding a hand that should always defend is a much bigger error than picking the 40% side of a 60/40 mix.
- Track accuracy per spot, so you know when one is automatic and can move on.
What to drill first
Prioritise by how often the spot comes up multiplied by how much it costs to get wrong. For most players the order is:
- Opens by position, especially the button and cutoff.
- Big blind defence against button and small blind opens. See BTN vs BB.
- The blind battle: SB vs BB, limps and raises.
- Facing 3-bets from in position and out of position.
- Short-stack push/fold if you play Spin & Go, heads-up or MTTs.
Only then move to postflop: c-betting by board texture in single-raised pots.
How to run a drill session
- One spot per block. Twenty to thirty minutes on BB vs BTN beats an hour jumping between ten spots.
- Start with pure hands. Learn the hands that always take one action before worrying about mixes.
- Go fast once you're accurate. At the table you have seconds; drill under similar time pressure once the answers are mostly right.
- Stop at the plateau. When accuracy in a spot holds above your target for two sessions in a row, it goes into maintenance and a new spot comes in.
A weekly routine that survives variance
Decide how many hours you can give study every week and treat them as fixed appointments. Three protected hours beat a vague plan to "study more". Then split the time three ways:
| Block | Share | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| New material | ~40% | Build or open one new spot and learn its pure regions |
| Drilling | ~40% | Graded reps on spots you've already learned, so recall stays sharp |
| Review | ~20% | Compare real hands to the strategy and label the mistakes |
The split keeps you learning without letting old material rot. The review block feeds the next week's drilling: every leak you find becomes a spot to drill. See how to find leaks in your poker game and how to review poker hands.
Use short sessions on mobile
Recall fades between sessions. Five-minute drills on your phone before you sit down to play, or between tables, keep a spot fresh at almost no cost. Desktop is where you build and review; mobile is where you maintain.
Keep a one-line log
After each block, write one sentence: what you worked on, your accuracy, whether it stuck. A month of those lines tells you what to cut and what to repeat, which is far more useful than trying to remember how the last four weeks went.
Drill your own strategy, not just someone else's
Ready-made packs give you a proven starting point. But if you play a simplified strategy, a different sizing, or adjust for your pool, drill that. PokerHero lets you start from a pack and edit every hand, frequency and bet size, then trains you against your own version.
Frequently asked questions
What is a GTO poker trainer?
A tool that deals you hands in specific spots, asks for a decision and grades it against a GTO strategy, so you practise recall instead of just reading charts.
How long should a poker drill session be?
Twenty to thirty minutes on a single spot works well. Short daily blocks beat occasional long sessions.
Can I drill my own ranges instead of a solver's?
Yes. In PokerHero you can start from a ready-made pack and edit every hand, frequency and bet size, then train against your own version.