Understanding the Solver Dashboard
After launching DriveGTO, you’ll see the primary analysis window (as shown in your “primary.png”).
Here’s what each section represents:
- Top Left (Actions): Displays optimal frequencies for each available action—Call, Raise, Fold, etc.—based on solver output.
- Top Right (Strategy Grid): Shows your full hand range, color-coded by action frequency.
- Green = Call
- Purple = Raise / All-In
- Red = Fold
- Bottom Section (Hand List): Displays detailed EV (expected value) for each combo.
- Tabs (Strategy / IP Range / OOP Range): Toggle between viewing total strategy, In Position ranges, and Out of Position ranges.
You can click any hand combo to highlight its play frequency and EV difference across possible actions.
Saving, Loading, and Exporting
File Management
From the main menu (☰):
- Save Solution: Save a full solve file locally.
- Load Solution: Reopen previously solved trees.
- Export Solve: Output your results for backup or sharing.
- Import Solve: Load shared solutions from other users or sessions.
DriveGTO files include all range, frequency, and EV data—ready to resume instantly.
Importing Hands
How to Import a Hand History
- Click the hamburger menu (☰) in the top-left corner.
- Choose Import Hand History → then select either:
- From File – load a hand history from your computer.
- From Clipboard – paste a copied hand directly from DriveHUD or your poker client.
- Once imported, DriveGTO automatically fills the preflop data and stack sizes.
- You’re now ready to build the tree or run a solve.
Setting Up a Solve
Main Solve Setup Screen
Click on AI solve at the bottom right side of your screen.
Before solving, you’ll enter:
- Pot Size – total pot in BBs.
- Stack Size – effective stack depth.
- Exploitability Threshold – how close to perfect GTO you want the solver to aim for (lower = more accurate, slower).
- All-in Threshold – controls when all-in becomes an allowed action.
- Advanced Settings – click “Open” to choose your bet/raise sizing structure.
Click Solve when ready to start.
Viewing and Interpreting Results
Understanding Solver Output
After solving, DriveGTO will display:
- Action Bars (Top): Frequencies for each option.
- EV Overview: The expected value for each decision.
- Heatmap (Right Grid): A full visualization of all starting hands, color-coded by frequency.
- Hands Table (Bottom): Specific EV and combo data for each relevant holding.
Hovering over a combo shows:
- % frequency per action (Call, Fold, Raise).
- EV difference in chips or big blinds.
- Pot odds and equity vs opponent range.
The Equity Chart (toggle view) graphs equity progression between IP and OOP ranges, making it easier to spot dominance across board textures.
Node Locking
What Is Node Locking?
Node locking is a feature that allows you to manually fix (or “lock”) certain actions within a solver tree. In simple terms, it tells DriveGTO to assume one or both players will take specific actions with specific hands instead of playing pure Game Theory Optimal (GTO) strategy.
For example, if you want to analyze what happens when a player always calls with pocket eights instead of mixing between calling and folding, you can “lock” that behavior. The solver then recalculates the equilibrium based on your locked inputs.
Node locking is extremely useful for:
- Testing exploitative strategies
- Modeling population tendencies
How To Use Node Locking in DriveGTO
- Run or load a solved scenario — Open any completed solve from DriveGTO. You’ll see the Strategy grid and Action frequencies displayed at the top (Call, All-In, Fold, etc.).
- Open the Node Lock panel — Click on the action box (e.g., “Call 46.4%”) or right-click on any specific node in the hand tree where you want to modify behavior.
- Adjust the sliders — The Node Lock window will appear (as shown above).
- Each slider represents the percentage frequency for that action.
- Move the sliders to your desired fixed values.
- Example: Lock “Call” at 100% and set “Fold” and “All-In” to 0%.
- Click “Unlock” first if the fields are grayed out.
- Confirm the change by clicking OK.
- Re-solve the hand — DriveGTO will now run a new equilibrium calculation while holding your locked node fixed. This generates an updated strategy for all subsequent decisions.
Tips For Best Results
- Start with small locks (e.g., tweak one street or a few combos) to see how it impacts the rest of the tree.
- Use node locking to simulate human tendencies — for instance, locking too many folds with weak top pairs to test counter-aggression.
- Save your locked version separately for comparison against the original GTO solution.
Advanced Settings Explained
Customizing Bet Sizes
Here you can control the betting options DriveGTO will consider:
- Add or remove bet/raise sizes for Flop, Turn, and River.
- Use the + button to add multiple sizes (e.g., 33%, 50%, 75%, 100%).
- The Add All-In toggle lets the solver include jam options for that street.
- Once configured, click OK to save and return to the main screen.
Tip: Fewer bet sizes = faster solves; more sizes = more accurate modeling.
Common GTO Solver Questions
Q: What’s the difference between IP and OOP ranges?
In-position (IP) acts last on each street, allowing for wider and more aggressive ranges. Out-of-position (OOP) acts first and must play more defensively. DriveGTO separates these automatically for clarity.
Q: Can I use DriveGTO without DriveHUD?
Yes, you can import hands manually, but DriveHUD integration allows one-click analysis directly from your sessions.
Q: How accurate are the solutions?
DriveGTO uses equilibrium-based GTO math, achieving near-perfect solutions depending on your exploitability setting. Lower values (e.g., 0.5%) take longer but provide stronger precision.
Q: Are solves stored locally?
Yes. All data is stored and processed entirely on your PC, keeping your hand histories private.