The poker community these days is debating the issue of GTO solvers, which was stirred up by Andrew Esposito. In the second day of the $5k WPT Gardens Championship event, the American professional used the GTO solver while playing at the table, which his opponent Peter Cross did not like. He confronted his opponent with a request to stop using the GTO Wizard application, to which the opponent replied that he had only looked at one past hand in the software.
If you spot someone using a solver real-time, say something, just like this guy did today at @WPT Gardens. What is the penalty for this @wsop @Kevmath.
— Joshua Arieh (@JoshuaArieh) May 23, 2023
It’s my understanding that this player received NO penalty pic.twitter.com/fa7iktTbbq
In the video above, you can see the aforementioned confrontation, to which Cross subsequently wrote the following statement on Twitter:
Esposito did not deny using the app, but explained the situation differently: “Yes, I had the app open, but I was looking at the hand I was in 15 minutes ago. I know this may sound unbelievable, but I only downloaded the app a few days ago, and today I turned it on for the first time ever. I've seen a lot of players use it during the game, but no one has addressed it."
The casino's tournament director Cavin Quintanilla turned to TDA Rule No. 5, which states that players should not use phones, tables or other electronic devices during the game that can slow down the game or give them an advantage. As a result, the floorman just told Esposito to put the phone down and the situation was solved. Of course, this did not leave the poker community cold either, but the internet was filled with a wave of different opinions:
- MonkerGuy: Allowing something like this at any time during a game (even between hands) will ruin live poker. Please ban anything related to strategies, all graphs, solvers, ICM.
- Tony Dunst: I can't form a clear opinion about it, I have to speak with my colleagues and think about what could be done.
- Benny Glaser: Unbelievable, what annoyed me the most is how the player is still angry and wondering what is being solved.
- Doug Polk: If a player used the solver at any point in the hand, they should be immediately disqualified from the event.
If a player is using a solver during a hand they should be disqualified from any event they are playing in.
— Doug Polk (@DougPolkVids) May 24, 2023
I wasn't there during this hand but as a general rule mid hand solver consulting should be a DQ in any event.o https://t.co/97ZrBCsSca
No matter which side you lean on, the organizers of the ongoing WSOP responded most promptly to the whole situation, and reflected the situation by issuing an official statement: "If a player is caught at any WSOP event using RTA/GTO software during a hand, he will be immediately disqualified from the event. We also reserve the right to additionally penalize the player for using such programs in other situations during the game."
What do you say about the whole situation? Do solvers and utilities come into play? Or would you uncompromisingly ban such offenders? Let us know in the comments!
Source: Twitter, PokerStrategy, WSOP, HighStakesDB
