Lesson overview
MDF by Node
The single-node defense floor — and why it's not a multi-street rule
Read this introduction, then sign in to continue the full lesson and exercises.
Inside the full lesson
You face a half-pot bet. You hear "MDF says defend 67%." Should you call 67% of your range?
In the full lesson, you work through this scenario with interactive examples.
Most players treat MDF as a calling rule. It isn't — it's a defense FLOOR at a single node, computed from immediate pot odds. Once the action continues to the next street, the formula resets. Confusing single-node MDF with multi-street equilibrium is the most common GTO mistake at intermediate stakes. This lesson fixes that.
What you’ll learn
- The MDF formula and its derivation from villain's bluff EV
- Why MDF is a per-node floor, not a multi-street strategy
- How real solver call frequencies differ from naive MDF
From the full lesson
The MDF formula and its derivation
Referenced activities and other examples are available in the full lesson after sign-in.
MDF (Minimum Defense Frequency) = Pot / (Pot + Bet)
| Bet size | MDF | α: fold equity villain's bluff needs (= 1 − MDF) |
|---|---|---|
| 25% pot | 80% | 20% |
| 33% pot | 75% | 25% |
| 50% pot | 67% | 33% |
| 67% pot | 60% | 40% |
| 100% pot (pot bet) | 50% | 50% |
| 150% pot (overbet) | 40% | 60% |
| 2× pot | 33% | 67% |
From the full lesson
Per-node, not multi-street
Referenced activities and other examples are available in the full lesson after sign-in.
MDF is computed at a SINGLE node — one decision point, one bet, one frequency.
The formula doesn't know:
- That villain has a turn bet coming.
- That villain has a river shove coming.
- What villain's polarization looks like across streets.
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