These are the terms that come up when you study live cash games by opponent type rather than by equilibrium. Each definition stands on its own, so you can read one and stop. Where a concept changes depending on who you are playing, the definition says so, because that dependency is the whole point of exploit-based study.
Exploitative play
Exploitative play means choosing the action that profits most against a specific opponent's actual tendencies, rather than the action that is safest against a perfect one. It accepts being counter-exploitable in theory, on the reasoning that the player across the table is not looking for the leak. It is the basis of most live cash edges.
Node-locking
Node-locking means fixing an opponent's strategy at a decision point, telling the engine how that player actually behaves, and then working out the best response to that fixed behaviour. RangeIQ applies a simplified version: you select an opponent type instead of hand-editing frequencies, and the recommendation adjusts to that profile.
Opponent type
An opponent type is a repeatable behavioural profile: how often a player enters pots, how much they bet, what they call with, and whether they bluff. RangeIQ models nine, from Nit and TAG through Calling Station and Maniac. The same hand can call for a different action against each one.
Capped range
A range is capped when the line a player has taken rules out their strongest hands. Someone who only calls on the flop and turn, never raising, rarely holds a set or a straight by the river. Recognising a cap is what makes a large river bet credible rather than reckless.
Bluff-catcher
A bluff-catcher is a hand strong enough to beat an opponent's bluffs but too weak to beat anything they would bet for value. Calling with one is a wager on how often that opponent bluffs, not on the strength of your own hand, which is why their profile decides the spot.
Overbet
An overbet is a bet larger than the current pot. It works when an opponent's range is capped and their continuing hands are all roughly equal in strength, because it charges the maximum for a decision they cannot get right. Against players who rarely fold, it becomes a value tool rather than pressure.
Fold equity
Fold equity is the share of a hand's value that comes from an opponent folding rather than from winning at showdown. It depends entirely on how often that particular player folds. Against an opponent who calls nearly everything, fold equity approaches zero and bluffing hands lose most of their reason to bet.
Pot odds
Pot odds are the price a call is getting: the amount you must put in, compared with the amount already in the pot. In a $50 pot facing a $25 bet, you risk $25 to win $75. Whether that price is good depends on how often you are actually ahead.
Value bet
A value bet is a bet made expecting to be called by a worse hand. The size should follow what the opponent will actually pay, not what a balanced strategy would charge. Against a station who calls with any pair, the correct value size is often far larger than theory suggests.
Population tendency
A population tendency is a mistake most players in a given pool make in a given spot. It is not a read on one individual but a default that is right more often than not. At live low stakes, under-bluffing rivers and over-folding to large bets are two of the most reliable.
Game theory optimal (GTO)
A game theory optimal strategy is one that cannot be exploited, whatever the opponent does. It is a defensive baseline rather than a maximum: against players who make consistent mistakes it deliberately leaves money on the table, because it never adjusts. Solvers compute it; exploit-based study departs from it on purpose.
Board texture
Board texture describes how the community cards interact: whether they are connected, suited, paired, or high-card heavy. Texture decides which ranges improve and which stay weak, so the same hand can be a clear bet on one board and a check on another. It is the first thing to read after the flop.
For how these fit together in practice, see What Is RangeIQ? for the short version, Demystifying Node-Locking for the mechanics, and the Exploit Library for 25 worked hands.