This video is available directly on YouTube.
Watch on YouTubeToday Francesco Lacriola from RIO team covers where poker actually stands in 2026 – now solver study is standard, pools are more uniform, and the baseline is higher across the board. But that didn't close the gap, it just moved it. Most of the edge left in these games comes from spots where players know what the solver wants but can't execute it when it costs them something real.
In this video elite NLHE poker pro gets into the ecosystem shift, two hand reviews built around real in-game decisions, how study needs to change now, and the part most serious players skip – mental game, variance, and what financial stability actually looks like when edges get this thin.
Knowing the solver output is table stakes now. The edge is in knowing when to ignore it.
Whole video breakdown:
- Solver study raised the floor – but it also created a specific gap most regs still haven't spotted.
- The edge that's left isn't where most players are currently looking for it.
- Two hand reviews show how sizing, timing, and one line decision shifts most of the EV – theory barely comes into it.
- The way most players study right now is working against them – Francesco explains exactly why and what to do instead.
- MDA regs and solver regs both have a weakness, and they're not the same one – knowing the difference changes how you attack each.
- Narrower edges mean longer downswings – there's a structural reason for that, and it should change how you think about variance.
- Poker income has a hard ceiling – the four rules Francesco gives for what to do about that are worth the watch alone.
Watch the full video to see how modern solver-heavy games actually break down in practice and where the real edge still comes from.
