The moment you open the app and see the Advisor panel, many people freeze — four fields and a pile of decimals. This post translates them into judgments, not formulas.
The four fields at a glance
| Field | Meaning | Threshold intuition |
|---|---|---|
Action | Recommended play | Sole option on strong signal; top-two on weak signal |
EV | Expected value of the action (BB) | Gap > 1 BB: must follow; < 0.3 BB: either is fine |
Freq | Mixing frequency (%) | > 80% pure strategy; 40-60% mixed strategy |
Why | Driving factors | Tells you why, not what to do |
Scenario 1: Freq 85% raise
The easiest case. On a preflop BTN open with A♠K♥, the engine gives you raise 85% / fold 0% / call 15%, EV(raise) = +2.4, EV(call) = +1.8.
Call: just raise. 85% is not asking you to randomize — that's the mixing weight used by the engine. For you, take the highest-frequency action.
Pure is pure. When the frequency gap is big, don't try to get clever and mix.
Scenario 2: Freq 45/55 mixed
River, opponent checks, you hold A♠J♦ on K♥7♣2♠Q♦7♠. The engine gives bet 1/2 pot 45% / check 55%, both EV +0.8, gap 0.05.
Call: the engine is telling you that "under GTO, both paths are roughly equivalent". The decision now belongs to your read —
- Opponent is a Calling Station? → Value bet (pick bet)
- Opponent is a Nit? → No meaningful value to extract (pick check)
- Opponent type unclear? → Follow the frequencies, lean slightly toward check
That's the engine's honesty: it doesn't pretend to know what it doesn't (opponent type); it hands control back to you.
Scenario 3: is a 0.3 BB gap worth deviating for?
The most debated case. Engine gives call 60% / raise 40%, EV(call) = +1.5, EV(raise) = +1.2. You feel like raising.
Call: look at the session. 0.3 BB per hand × 100 hands = 30 BB; over 10 hours that's 300 BB — an entire night's profit for a winning player. Don't deviate just because something "feels right".
The only time it's worth deviating: you've read information the engine can't see (opponent just tilted and smashed the table). In those moments, even the engine admits it's incomplete.
The Why field: the most underrated column
Why is not filler. It shows you the engine's reasoning chain:
"BTN vs BB, SPR 6.2, board high-equity for raiser, opponent fold-turn 35% (< pool avg 45%), recommend mixed line"
Translation: you're on the button vs. BB, SPR 6.2 is medium, the board favors you, but opponent check-calls too often — hard to bluff — so the engine outputs a mix rather than a pure bet.
Next time you see "opponent check-calls a lot", you already know to cut your bluff frequency without consulting the engine. That's having learned the logic — not memorized the answer.
Three counter-intuitive rules
- Negative EV doesn't mean you can't play. If a -0.1 BB call beats a fold (-0 BB), you have bluff-catcher equity and you should call.
- Freq 0% is not "always wrong". It's 0% inside the GTO frame; in reality, if the opponent is extremely exploitable, occasional deviation is fine.
- Numbers in Why age better than Action. Hands change; driving factors (SPR / position / opponent pattern) are always valid.
Practical advice
Next time you open the app: read Why first, Action second. You'll find that on 80% of hands you don't need the engine to tell you what to do — the driving factors already give it away. That's the whole point of training.