ICM Strategy is not about heroics. It is structure. At the 200K Triton Invitational, Fedor Holz faces a river shove from Dan Smith and folds. The hand shows how ICM shapes river discipline, turn plans, and big blind defense.
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In Episode 20 of the GTO LAB Podcast, Jonathan Jaffe talks with Nate Silver about poker thinking meeting decision frameworks. On the Edge frames the chat, but the focus stays poker first, from risk calibration and forecasting to practical tournament spots.
At 40bb, ICM pressure bends preflop 3-bet sizes away from ChipEV’s defaults. Early and middle positions split sizes and polarize. Button leans larger. Learn the why, plus practical adjustments versus recreational opponents who call too wide or fold too much.
You’ve put in the hours. You’ve studied solvers, logged the GTO charts, and you know why A5 suited can be a mandatory 3-bet from the small blind. Then the cards hit the felt and you face the truth: the game is played against people, not outputs, every hand.
In poker, every profitable action and well timed bluff traces back to one foundation: your preflop range. It is not a hunch about two cards. It is a mapped set of hands built for position and stack depth so decisions can be faster, clearer, and higher EV.