Data & Method
Last updated July 25, 2026
If you have used a solver, "solver-derived" is not a claim you can act on. This page documents exactly what is behind the PLO Spot preflop ranges — the solver, the scenario set, the stack depths, the rake models and the tree coverage — and is equally explicit about what we do not publish.
Solver
The preflop strategies are MonkerSolver outputs. The hand notation used
throughout the range browser is Monker's grouped-suit format (for example
4[A3][A3]), and the same notation drives the category classifier and the Matrix
binner, so what you see on screen is the solver's own representation rather than a re-encoding.
Scenario set
The scenario selector carries 82 preflop solutions. They break down as:
| Dimension | Coverage |
|---|---|
| Table size | Heads-up (42), 6-max (23), 4-max (10), 5-max (4), 3-max (3) |
| Format | Classic (40), Ante & Straddle (42) |
| Stack depth | 20, 30, 50, 75, 100, 150, 200 bb |
| Stake band | Low (24), Mid (19), High (39) |
| Room model | CoinPoker (30), GGPoker (26), App Games (6), PokerStars (2), unspecified (18) |
The default scenario
When you open the PLO5 range browser without changing anything, you are looking at:
Cash · Preflop · Classic · 6-Max · GGPoker · 100bb · Low Stakes · Rake 5%, 3bb cap
Every one of those fields is a chip on the scenario row in the app, so you can always read the exact configuration you are studying rather than inferring it. Click the scenario label to switch to any of the other 81.
Rake is modelled
This is the field most range products leave out, and it is the one that changes opening ranges most at the stakes people actually play. Every PLO Spot scenario carries an explicit rake configuration, and there are fifteen distinct rake models across the set:
| Rake | Where it appears |
|---|---|
| 5%, 3bb cap | 6-max low stakes (the default) |
| 5%, 2bb / 2.5bb cap | 6-max mid stakes, ante formats |
| 5%, 1bb / 1.25bb / 1.5bb cap | shorter-handed and higher stakes |
| 5%, 0.125bb – 0.75bb cap | high stakes and heads-up |
| 4.5%, 0.06bb cap · 10%, 5bb cap | outlier room models |
A solution computed rake-free would open meaningfully wider than any of these. If you are comparing PLO Spot against another chart and the ranges differ, the rake model is the first thing to check.
Tree coverage
The ranges are the full preflop action tree, not a selection of headline spots. The default 6-max 100bb scenario resolves 1,324 distinct action nodes — every combination of opens, 3-bets, cold calls, squeezes, 4-bets and defences the tree permits at that depth. In practice this means you can click deep into a branch that most chart products stop short of and still get a real strategy instead of a fallback or an interpolation.
Where a node genuinely has no data, the app says so explicitly rather than showing an invented range. If you see a "no data" message, that is the honest state of the dataset for that spot.
Hand space
PLO5 has 134,459 distinct starting hands once equivalent suit patterns are collapsed; PLO4 has 16,432. That is why the range browser groups hands into shape categories (double-suited, one-pair, rundowns) and offers search and filters — reading a 134k-row list hand by hand is not a study method. Two-card combinations per hand: six in PLO4, ten in PLO5, fifteen in PLO6.
What we do not claim
Being specific about the limits matters more than the marketing:
- No exploitability figures are published. We do not display per-scenario convergence or Nash-distance numbers, so treat the strategies as high-quality approximations rather than proven equilibria.
- Preflop only. The range browser and trainer cover preflop. Postflop solving is not part of the current dataset; the postflop guide covers that ground conceptually instead.
- Bet sizing follows each scenario's own tree. Sizes are whatever that solution was solved with — pot-sized opens in Classic scenarios, 3.5x or full-pot RFI variants in the ante formats. The scenario chips name the raise-size model where it differs.
- Ranges are static. They are solver exports, last expanded in May 2026, not a live-solving service. They do not adapt to a specific opponent pool.
- GTO is a baseline, not a script. Most of the money at low stakes comes from deviating against known mistakes — see the mistakes guide.
Checking it yourself
Everything above is visible in the product. The scenario chips show the configuration, the EV column shows what each action is worth, and the equity calculator lets you verify any matchup the ranges imply. If you find a spot where the data looks wrong, that is worth an email — jh.iskra@gmail.com.
Frequently asked questions
Which solver produced these ranges?
MonkerSolver. The grouped-suit hand notation used across the range browser is Monker's own format, and the scenario metadata carries the solver tag directly.
Is rake included?
Yes — every scenario has an explicit rake model, fifteen distinct configurations across the set, from 4.5% with a 0.06bb cap to 10% with a 5bb cap. The default 6-max scenario is 5% capped at 3bb.
What stack depths and table sizes are covered?
20, 30, 50, 75, 100, 150 and 200 big blinds, across heads-up through 6-max — 82 scenarios in total, split between Classic and Ante & Straddle formats.
How deep does the action tree go?
The full tree. The default 6-max 100bb scenario resolves 1,324 distinct action nodes, so squeezes and 4-bet defences return real strategies rather than fallbacks.