For live $1/$3 and $2/$5 players, game selection matters more than I think most players realize. You can spend months improving your game, but if you’re consistently sitting at tables where your edge is small, you’re making poker harder on yourself than it needs to be.

Should low-stakes players spend time studying GTO? Absolutely—but probably not for the reason you think. Learn how GTO provides a foundation for better decision-making while real profit comes from exploiting the mistakes your opponents make.

Playing tight-aggressive will keep you out of trouble, but it won’t maximize your profit on its own. The real edge in live poker comes from adjusting to the players at your table and exploiting the mistakes they make.

The biggest mistake is treating a small pocket pair like a hand that wants to see every flop. It doesn’t and it’s not supposed to.

Against someone who is willing to put money in with almost anything, you do not need to get fancy. The better adjustment is to tighten up your starting range and wait for hands that can comfortably play big pots.

It’s not about always betting or always being aggressive. It’s about understanding how someone plays and putting yourself in the spot where their mistake costs them the most chips.