Ah Tj, another reg who hates me for some reason. I cant remember why this time, as you clearly do seem to have a firm grasp Level Three.
This answer is correct. TJ is trying to ally with Kyberri to discredit me, by trying to make me look like I am being obtuse, but Kyberri did not mention anything to do with his image as TJ stated. If Kyberri had mentioned his image, or his perceived range, I would have deemed it the correct answer. The key here is the fact that "Understanding the villain" is not the only thing that enables you to exploit them. There is another, equally important factor: "How the Villain understands you".
As my enemies are multiplying, lets just put this to sleep... That very common piece of exploitative theory is incorrect. It should read like this:
"You cannot exploit a villain if you know nothing about the villain AND the villain is presumed to know nothing about you".
Many professional players of my generation who misunderstand this piece of theory will try to aim for GTO when they first sit at a new table, waiting until they see the villain makes some play more or less often than GTO dictates before exploiting them, but this is not the most profitable way to play, as this doesnt account for the Level Three exploitative logic.
Once you include your perceived range to your calculations, you realize that it is often better to just go with the flow. To adjust your strategy in accordance with your image. If your first few hands happen to be played aggressively, you benefit from taking advantage of the villains inevitably wrong assumptions about your range by refraining from bluffing very much. If your first few hands at a new table are all air, and so you fold, you can start to assume that when you bet your perceived range will contain more and more value hands thus enabling you to bluff a wider range than GTO dictates.
"Going with the flow" is how I used to use this piece of theory to exploit. When I realized just how valuable the villains initial misunderstanding about us is, I started to push this further. If my very first hand at a new table was strong, but my next hand was not so strong, I would play it as though its stronger to further encourage the villain to think that I am a very agressive player, so that I can further take advantage of his wrong assumptions about me. In a similar way, if I start to look like a tight player, I might continue this narrative for a while to encourage the villain to make some big folds. (Making yourself look tight is nowhere near as profitable as making yourself look loose, as making the villain fold is not as profitable as making the villain call you down with a weaker hand).
Even during your very first hand at a new table, you are able to exploit unknowns due to the fact that they are extremely likely come to the table with misunderstandings about you. Kyberri has hounded me in the past for not teaching people to use a set strategy when they first sit at the table, but the reason I dont do this is because this set strategy is exploitable, and it is more profitable to be fluid. When starting at a new table in the lower stakes games most players will use some set strategy that they have designed against the player pool, this essentially means that they are guessing that you play a certain way, the same way as the average player at the table in question, and so if you too understand the average player pool you can exploit this set strategy as soon as you sit at the table.
What I usually do nowadays is even more profitable than any of this. For my first hand at a new table I will often limp, to make everyone think that I am a fish. I will keep this narrative alive for as long as possible so that I can rinse the villains misunderstanding about me.
This is how a purely creative player is able to exploit their villains from their very first hand at the table. There is no need to ever use GTO. It is always more profitable to exploit. If a purely exploitative player ever feels the need to use GTO, he must have already judged that his opponent is using GTO. There is no other reason to use this straetgy. If all the villains at the table are using GTO, this is the only time we would ever use a complete GTO strategy and if this is the case it is a waste of time playing as nobody will make any money but the casino.
I find myself wondering TJ, what the exact piece of strategic theory is that you misunderstand. What is leading you ally yourself with Kyberri against me. The most obvious answer is that you do not understand Level Four. This is the last stage of an exploitative players development. However, as an experienced player, this may not be what is causing you to oppose me. If you have learnt any one little piece of exploitative theory incorrectly, like, "You cannot exploit an unknown villain", when someone explains the correct exploitative theory to you, you will be almost certain to experience this same issue. I would delve into this further, to find out exactly what piece of theory you are missing or misunderstand, but I do remember that you turned agressive with me in the past like Kyberri did, and I dont want to fight with you guys anymore. You guys clearly dont want to learn from me, so I will just be on my way.
Good luck Lemon. I was hoping that you would work out this piece of exploitative theory yourself to encourage you to crack Level Three. I do hope you do crack it, or, of course, I hope that I am wrong about your exploitive ability. I am the creative player that you speak of, and every move a player like me makes adheres to the assumption that we could well be wrong. We creative players realize that we know nothing. All we ever do, is make educated guesses.
Peace.