Spin And Go Poker Strategy
I'd like to discuss strategy for Spin & Go. I'm sure all of you that play online have come across it; 3-handed turbo, 500 starting chips, blinds start at 10/20, go up every 2-3 mins. At the beginning of the game a wheel is spun and designates a prize to the winner (2nd and 3rd take nothing) of at least double the buy-in. Learn a winning Spin & Go PokerStars tournament strategy in ICMIZER 3. October 1 PokerStars introduced a new exciting poker tournament format called Spin and Go PokerStars tournaments. Part of the buy-in goes into the jackpot prize pool which can get randomly added to any Spin & Go tournament and result in much higher prizes.
Spin & Go: Facts and Strategy Spin & Go is a new 3-player SNG in hyper-turbo format, where the prize pool is randomly drawn and the buy-in can be multiplied by between 2 and 1000 times. Each player starts with 25 bb in their stacks at a 10/20 level, and blinds go up every 3 minutes. The winner of a tournament wins the entire prize pool. Best Spin and Go Poker Strategy is to be 'Smart-Aggressive'. You have to be very aggressive but should not turn into a maniac. Pay attention to your chip stack and blinds. Remember, you can still fold some hands pre-flop, especially in the beginning. Strategy 2: Under 10BB Means Open Shove Mathematically gifted poker minds have created Push/Fold strategy for Spin and Go poker. Below I’ve outlined example Push/Fold ranges for different effective stack sizes at both the button and the small blind. Remember, effective stack is the maximum amount you can go all-in against a remaining player.
Spin and Go Poker
Spin and Go is a fast three-person poker format where players have a chance of winning huge amounts of money. Classic version has three minute blinds and a starting stack of 500 chips. Fast Spin & Go poker tournaments have become one of the most popular online poker formats over the past few years. Thanks to the possibility of winning a big jackpot in a fast 3 player tournament, these games attract many casual players looking for some excitement. Spin and Go's were first introduced on Winamax (Expresso), but the idea has spread to other rooms. These SNG Jackpot games (Spins) have impressive stats, it is one of the most popular online poker formats.
Best Poker Sites for Spin & Go games
If you're interested in playing Spin & Go games, you can find them on these poker sites (click the name).
PartyPoker
Regardless of where you choose to play, the fundamental strategy remains the same. All of these poker rooms offer low and high buy-in limits, however they have different traffic (amount of active players during peak hours), rakeback/bonuses, software, different percentage of regular (good) and recreational/new players.
If you are an active Spin and Go player or planning to be one, please get in touchso thatwe could provide you additional rakeback. In some cases, we can do that for old accounts or if you are just planning to sign up, we will help you to find the best deals for your home country.
Aggressive Play for the Win
Spin and Go tournaments feature a shallow structure, where players get to the push-fold stage very quickly. Many casual players fail to adapt to this fact and make far too many speculative calls, trying to see the flop and play from there. The winning strategy in these is to stay very aggressive and push your edge. Avoid limping and calling as much as possible. Don't be afraid to push your chips fairly wide and put your opponents to the test. This is especially true for Spin and Go's with high multipliers, where less experienced players are likely to play too tight, reluctant to bust out.
Of course, if you use tracking software (a poker tracker), you can rely on statistics to tell you how to adjust your game. Against someone who folds too much, you can afford to shove almost any two cards. Likewise, if you're dealing with a player who doesn't like to fold, adjust your range to exploit this tendency.
Poker Sites with shared liquidity
Due to regulations, some poker sites have additional sister sites which look almost identical but are limited to players from one or very few countries. However, most of them are sharing liquidity - players with other countries so the traffic and prize pools are big enough. While some poker sites have landing pages in your local language but take you to their main webpage. Click on the selected brand to sign up.
PartyPoker.FR: France (€40 FREE)
Win Rates & Variance
Even if you play better than most of the competition, Spin and Go games are in the group of high variance poker variations (especially the Nitro/Ultra format). A lot of your equity comes from finding and winning those high multiplier tournaments and, if these don't go your way, it could be bad for your bankroll.
However, like with other poker variations, you shouldn't care too much about the short run. In the long run, better players will always prevail and things will even out. Always make sure that you are happy with how you played, always review your hands, look for study material such as videos and if needed - get a poker coach. This way you will be ahead of your competition.
Jackpot SNG Strategy
Best Spin and Go Poker Strategy is to be 'Smart-Aggressive'. You have to be very aggressive but should not turn into a maniac. Pay attention to your chip stack and blinds. Remember, you can still fold some hands pre-flop, especially in the beginning. When it comes to Strategy, it is always best to maintain a healthy bankroll for your level of play and always strive to improve your game by watching training videos, live streams and examining your hands. Being in a stable or poker school is a great way to grow as a player. If you do these things and keep a cool head on your shoulders, you will be in a great spot to become a winning player.
If you are just starting, then PokerStars Poker School will teach you the basics and it is totally free. Their Spin & Go courses have 26 lessons which include:
Winning and Variance
Early Game Opening Ranges
Defending the Big Bling in the early stages
Basic Game Play
Blinds, Stacks & Position
Effective Stack Size
Dealing with Limps in the Early Stages
Bluffing the turn
River Play
Heads up with various stack sizes
Jackpot game reviews
Push or Fold
Preflop Strategy and Micros
Hand Ranges
Here you can see Spin & Go Small Blind and Button push - all in hand range charts which can be very helpful if you are a new Spin & Go player (Small Blind shoves a wider range of hands).
Push and Call Charts
Once you reach the Head-Up Phase and the stacks are small enough (around 8BB, more or less), then you need to apply this information to your gameplay. These charts will show you when to push (go all-in) and when to call instead. In other cases, you will simply fold.
Tips for Spin & Go's
These are basic Spin & Go tips and suggestions which will direct you to the right way. If you are a new player, it is crucial for you to memorise these and other tips in this guide. If you are (or want to be) a high stakes player, you need to focus and pay attention to what is crucial for your learning.
Be aggressive, especially during Heads Up when blinds are high
Only focus on long-term results & manage your tilt
Only play stakes which you are beating (unless you play very rarely)
Find your opponent's weak spots
If not using a poker tracker (HUD) - play on a site where they are not allowed
Consider joining a poker stable or a training site
Game Odds & Probability
This Spin and Go table shows different odds and probabilities for two major Poker Sites which run Spins.
Here you can see the probability of catching a jackpot or a lower multiplayer.
x12,000: PartyPoker: 0.000001% PokerStars: 0.000001%,
x4,800: PartyPoker: 0.000001% PokerStars: 0.000001%, **
x2,400: PokerStars: 0.000001% **
x240: PartyPoker: 0.003%, PokerStars: 0.003%
x120: PartyPoker: 0.0075% PokerStars: 0.0075%
x25: PartyPoker: 0.1%, PokerStars: 0.1%
x10: PartyPoker: 0.5% PokerStars: 0.5%
x5: PartyPoker: 8.5% PokerStars: 8.5%
x3: PartyPoker: 41.4% - 54.1%, PokerStars: 41.4% - 51.36%
x2: PartyPoker: 36.7% - 49.48%, PokerStars: 39.52% - 49.48%
* These statistics do not include promotional spins where the highest prize is way bigger than normally.
** Only available for million dollar prizes.
*** Unibet's Hexapro has the biggest multiplayer of x1,000 therefore it is much more likely to hit lower prizes.
Spin Rake percentages
Different Spin and Go poker sites charge different rake (fee) for different buy-ins (except Unibet). So, you should make the your decision by comparing their rake and rakeback and only then deciding if you should play there or not.
1,000$: PokerStars: 5%
500$: PokerStars: 5%
250$: Partypoker: 4%, PokerStars: 5%
100$: PartyPoker 5%, PokerStars: 5%
50$: PartyPoker: 5%, PokerStars: 6%
25$: PokerStars: 6%
20$: PartyPoker: 6%
10$: PartyPoker: 6% PokerStars 7%
3$: PartyPoker, PokerStars: 8%
1$: PartyPoker, PokerStars: 8%
0.25$: PartyPoker, PokerStars: 8%
Spin And Go Pokerstars Strategy
* Unibet's HexaPro spins has the same %6.853 rake for all limits while GGPoker Network has 8%.
** Promotional spins not included.
Bankroll Management
If you have a substantial Spin and Go poker balance (bankroll) or if you can make multiple deposits, then you should choose appropriate limits and have enough buy-ins (entries). There are the tips for managing your bankroll which you should keep in mind.
1: Have a minimum of 200 Buy-ins or if you are a beginner and want to be on the safe side, then 300 - 400 will be enough
2: If you are a regular player and win most of your games, 150 Buy-ins will be enough
3: Choose a poker site where an average player is not very strong
4: If you are a beginner, then start with one table, only add another one when you totally beat that limit
5: Avoid playing very late or when you are tired, this will decrease your bankroll
6: If you don't have a starting bankroll then look for a Spin and Go Stable which would provide you study material and a bankroll for a percentage of your profits
8: Make sure to review your hands, learn from videos and other material
Different variations
There are different versions and names for Spin & Go Jackpot Games. Some of them are identical, some can be slightly different (ante, different starting stacks, blinds) while some could have some major differences (such as Spin & Go Max).
Spin and Go Max: PokerStars*
Spin and Go Flash: PokerStars*
Spin and Go Omaha: PokerStars, Winamax
Twister Poker: IPoker Network
* These types are different when compared with the standard 500 chips/3 min blind structure. They may have a different starting stack, you are forced to go all in once your timer runs out (888poker) and/or their payout structure is completely different.
PokerStars Spin & Go
PokerStars was not the first site to introduce Spin and Go games since it did that as soon as they were launched elsewhere by Winamax. They noticed that this poker concept works really well. PokerStars went all in with Spin and Go format and made it very popular. It is great for both players and poker site since it is generating a lot of rake but is also very rewarding and can be beatable in the long run.
Spin and Go games have massive prize pools, you can literally win millions
Classic version has blind levels from 2 to 5 minutes depending on the prize pool
Very quick so you can play any time of the day
Very easy to learn the basics once you start
You don't get bored since the blinds keep increasing and you do not know what your next prize pool is going to be
Want to know more about PokerStars poker site and casino? Then read our full review by clicking here.
UFC Spin & Go
Before 2019 April, PokerStars used to call their Spin and Go games 'Spin & Go'. However, The Stars Group decided to partner up with UFC in order to attract more players. This slight name change and different poker table graphics were among the changes for some of the Spin & Go games.
Omaha variant
Pokerstars also has Pot Limit Omaha Spin and Go games for those who love this poker format. It is different and has many bad players who are not used to playing Omaha. So if you prefer it over Texas Hold'em, make sure to give it a shot. PokerStars offers various buy-in limits and it is one of a very few poker sites for Omaha Spin and Go Games. If you have not signed up yet, scroll to the top to find a special link.
Spin and Go Max
PokerStars Spin and Go Max gameplay and strategy are little bit different from the original version. Here you have between three and eight players, an All-in mode after a certain number of hands and a choice to pick a random prize out of three allocated ones. Once you win a Spin & Go Max game, you will get the chance to pick your prize.
Three prize options will appear at the end of each tournament
Prizes go up to x10,000, whilst classic version goes up to x100,000 and more
All-in mode at the end makes it very quick, but takes some skill away
Picking your prize at the end might be fun, especially if you have someone watching you play
Up to 8 players which means you get better prize if you win
Try to become a chip leader before the timer runs outs in order to have an advanted over your opponents
Spin & Go Flash
PokerStars has introduced Spin and Go Flash Games as soon as Winamax introduced their Expresso Nitro spins.
It is pretty simple, everything is the same like in the classic version, but you get 300 chips and the blind levels increase every minute.
FORMAT: Same as the classic version but quicker (300 chips, 1 minute blinds)
STRATEGY: Requires similar strategy, but you have to be ready to raise and shove often
PRIZES: Same multimillion prize pools
EXCITEMENT: Very fun, lots of crazy players
Spin & Go Flash Strategy
Spin and Go Flash version strategy is a little bit different from the classic one but it is easy to learn the basics. If you like fast poker games then you will like Spin and Go Flash. In order to master them you need to know how to take advantage of your opponents, you shouldn't get emotional and should be smart-aggressive.
More bad players if compared to the classic Spin & Go version
Skill wins in the long run but be prepared for swings in either direction
Very quick so you will never get bored
Same prize pools like in the classic version
Be prepared to be less selective and push all-in more often
If you play the classic version well - you will master your strategy quickly
Unibet HexaPro
Unibet has its own version of Spin and Go called HexaPro. The rules are the same, however the way they charge rake, their blind levels and the prize multipliers are a little different but that is a good thing for most of the players. Read a summary below in order to learn more.
RAKE: Same 6.85% rake percentage is charged for all limits
LAYOUT: Very nice and modern graphics
PRIZES: Lowest prize multiplayer is 1.5x while the highest one is 1000x
LIMITS: Buy-in limits up to €100
BLINDS: Levels are between 1 and 4 minutes depending on how big the multiplayer is
To read more about Unibet Poker Site, please Click Here.
Twister Poker
Twister Poker is the name for Ipoker Poker Network's Spin and Go games. These are classic Spin & Go and don't have any major differences. Their biggest prize multiplayer is x1,000 and their games are much softer when compared with some giant poker sites such as PokerStars. This is a list of Poker Sites where you can try these games, just click on a name and you will be taken to their website.
PartyPoker Spins
PartyPoker site has classic Spin and Go games called Spins, they have various buy-ins and even million dollar jackpots. Its first Spin and Go version was called Sit and Go Hero (SNG Hero) which hand antes and short blind levels. Since the first version was not very successful, while upgrading their software, they introduced SNG Jackpot Spins which were a little similar but with some positive changes like a better structure and more buy-ins. The last name did not stay for very long and together with further massive software updates PartyPoker Spins were introduced. Spins got even more buy-ins, a proper structure and nicer graphics.
Massive prize pools and great traffic
Great Poker App for multi-tabling Spins
Spins on Party Poker Mobile App have very nice graphics and sounds
Great promotions for those who play Spins and other games, a lot of added value
Great rakeback (up to 60%)
To read more about PartyPoker site please Click Here.
PartyPoker Ultra
In 2020 PartyPoker has released Ultra Spin Games which are the same classic spins but with smaller starting stacks and 1 minute blinds. For now Ultra spins are up to 20$ buy-in but these should increase in the future. So if you were playing these somewhere else, consider switching since here you get a massive rakeback plus private cashback from PokCas (get in touch for more information).
Spin & Gold
GGPoker Network has recently released new Spin & Go Jackpot SNG games called Spin & Gold. Currently they are up to 50$ buy-in and have a $600,000 Jackpot (12,000x multiplayer)! These limits will increase in the future. GGPoker Network has also added a Spinsurance feature which will help you to win more in the long run and will protect you from a huge negative variance. Starting stacks and blind levels depend on the multiplier so if you are a fan of fast games - you will like them. They also have huge leaderboard for Spin & Gold players very often.
Spin & Gold Challenges
Spin and Gold is a fast-paced format that introduced both casual and professional players with challenges they have never seen in a poker game before. Spin & Gold Challenges will award you up to 63% Rakeback while you will be in a process of completing them. This process is called Gold Mining. You can select for how many hours you want to mine gold and keep playing in order to reach your goal. This is a very nice feature since it is fun and will provide you an extra rakeback.
GGPoker
GGPoker Sites have a VIP Program called Fish Buffet which is offering 15-60% Rakeback depending on how active you are. This excludes leader boards, deposit bonuses, challenges and other promotions which can boost your rakeback even more. Our GGPoker and Natural8 players can also receive special benefits and gifts (if you already have an account - get in touch, we will transfer it for you).
Click on these GGPoker sites to sign up. Once you sign up - send us an email so that we could confirm that you are connected to us and could provide you private rakeback and could give you tips regarding things like PVI index which affects your official and private rakeback. If you play high stakes - please send us an email before signing up, since then we will be able to offer you a better deal.
Winamax Expresso
Pokerstrategy Spin And Go Strategy
Winamax has very nice expresso 3-man spin and go games. However, they should do a better job at caching cheaters who use illegal 3rd party programs. They have massive prize pools and a decent traffic, so that is the main thing you should remember if you plan to play expresso games there. Besides basic spins, they also have Expresso Nitro which is an alternative to PartyPoker's Ultra and PokerStars' Flash games.
Winamax Expresso Challenge rewards the biggest winners who play their Expresso tournaments! €5,000 shared out every day. It is an added value for active players, but it could be a little bit more for lower stakes players.
Profitability in Spin and Go Games
Spin and Go games are definitely beatable (especially the classic version) and it has been proven many times.
If you use a tracking software or if your games appear on a tracker like Sharkscope - you can see your ROI (Return of Investment percentage) without rakeback included. These are examples of what post rakeback ROI percentage was achieved by players who play very well. If you achieve at least 4% in a few thousand games - that's very good.
15$: 10% - 11.6%
30$: 6.8% - 7.5%
60$: 6.5% - 12%
100$: 5.5 - 7%
Private Rakeback for Spinners
The fun part of being a PokCas member is that you can get private rakeback for most poker sites. In most cases you have to sign up through our website, but in some cases we can transfer your old account or offer an alternative option. So just get in touch with us via email (info @ pokcas .com) and we will set it up for you. Rakeback depends on the poker site, games you play and how active you are. It will be around 5-15%. We pay our players monthly via Skrill, BTC, Bank Transfer, Revolut and other methods.
Summary
Thank you for reading our guide, if you have any feedback on how we could improve it - please let us know. Consider reading our guides on Poker Rules for different games, Best Poker Trackers and Best Poker Training Sites (for schools and courses) which will help you even more.
Good luck!
If you have ever played online poker, especially on the number one site in the world known as Pokerstars, you have probably heard of the new poker format that is sweeping the poker world called Spin and Go tournaments. This is our favorite form of Sit and Go tournament to play and, judging by its massive growth in recent years, we are not alone.
Even though they were started very recently in 2014, this type of tournament has grown to account for an estimated 20% of Pokerstars’ revenue. This is a massive weight for one poker format to pull on a site with so many different formats to choose from, especially when it is only a few years old.
As of May of 2017, there have been 16 poker players around the world who were made into millionaires in under ten minutes by winning a Spin and Go tournament. Six of these players won their prize all in the same week back in October of 2015. This just goes to show that you never know when lightning might strike multiple times!
These tournaments only have three entrants in each one, and all three players will receive 500 chips to play with. The blinds increase at a very fast pace, usually every three minutes. A tournament with this level of quickness is usually referred to as a hyper-turbo tournament. Once there is only one person left, the tournament is finished.
This format exists in many online poker rooms these days, but they sometimes have alternate names such as Jackpots on America’s Cardroom, BLAST Tournaments on 888 Poker, or Twister sit and go tournaments on Coral Poker.
Payout Structure
The general idea behind these Spin and Go tournaments is that there is a random jackpot attached to each one. You will not know what the jackpot amount is until you register for the tournament, after which the table will show you how much you are competing for.
The range of the prize pools that are created by these jackpots can be anywhere from two buy-ins up to 12,000 buy-ins. Whenever the jackpot is less than 100 times the amount of the buy-in, only first place will be rewarded with a prize. This first-place finisher will take home the full amount of the jackpot that is attached to the Spin and Go, while second-place and third-place finishers will receive absolutely nothing.
However, in the event of a Spin and Go tournament with a jackpot attached to it that has a value of at least 100 times the buy-in amount, all three entrants will be paid a prize. The second and third place finishers will receive 10% of the jackpot amount that the winner receives.
For example, if you are playing a $100 Spin and Go tournament and you hit the big jackpot of 12,000 buy-ins, this means that there are 1.2 million dollars up for grabs. In this case, first place will receive one million dollars while second and third place both receive $100,000 for their efforts.
Rake
Just like regular sit and go tournaments, Spin and Go tournaments have a level of rake that decreases as the buy-in level increases. In the micro stakes of $3 and under, the rake is going to be 8% of the buy-in. The $7 Spin and Go level is where the rake begins to drop down to 7%. The $15 and $30 Spin and Go tournaments have a 6% rake. The final two buy-in levels of $60 and $100 charge a very reasonable 5% rake.
You might notice that these tournaments have a lower amount of rake compared to normal sit and go tournaments across the board. This is simply because of their high-variance nature, and this decrease in rake is normal for tournaments that increase blind levels at hyper-turbo speed.
However, the rake that is charged in a Spin and Go tournament is higher than the rake in plain old hyper-turbo sit and go tournament, even though they have the same structure. This is simply because the money for building the jackpots has to come somewhere, so they raised the rake a tad.
Don’t worry, this does not mean that this format is unbeatable. Spin and Go tournaments attract such a large number of recreational players compared to other sit and go tournaments that it completely offsets the increase in rake, the hyper-turbo structure, and the variance of the jackpots all at once.
Jackpot Probabilities
One of the reasons that Spin and Go tournaments contain a high level of variance is that you never know which jackpot your tournament will get. The smallest jackpot possible, which is two buy-ins for whichever level you are playing, will occur around 70% of the time.
This means that most of the time you will battle two other people just to double your buy-in. While this is not ideal, it is a tradeoff that must be made in order to have access to such large jackpot prizes.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, one in a million of these Spin and Go tournaments will contain a prize pool of 12,000 buy-ins! This monster jackpot has been hit many times since these tournaments run millions of times per year at all buy-in levels.
As you can probably tell, there is a very wide spectrum of jackpot outcomes that can occur from day to day. This is even true from week to week or from month to month.
However, over the course of a year, you should be able to play enough tournaments to find out if you are truly a winning player in this format, no matter what jackpots you get. It is not required to hit the big 10,000 buy-in jackpot to make money in these Spin and Go tournaments.
Advantages
The reason why Spin and Go tournaments are exploding in popularity is that people are slowly realizing that there are a ton of benefits that come from playing this poker format.
The main explanation for why poker players are so attracted to Spin and Go tournaments is the speed in which they are finished. After playing thousands of these Spin and Go tournaments, we calculated the average amount of time that it takes to finish one is about nine minutes.
This lightning speed of nine minutes can be attributed to the short starting stacks combined with the two-minute blind level increases. This brings us to our next advantage to playing Spin and Go tournaments, which is that it favors players who are adept at playing with a short stack.
You will be starting the tournament with 500 chips at 10-20 blinds which works out to 25 big blinds. This is about as deep-stacked as you will get in these tournaments, which is relatively low compared to other poker tournament formats. For someone who knows profitable preflop all-in shove ranges well, these tournaments will be a blessing.
Other poker players who might prefer Spin and Go tournaments are those who do not enjoy playing postflop poker. While these tournaments do involve some play after the flop, this will generally only happen in the early stages of the tournament. Most of the hands that are played will be all-in preflop because the effective stacks will usually be too small to mathematically justify seeing a bunch of flops.
An additional reason why we love playing Spin and Go tournaments is that they offer a chance at hitting a huge score for a tiny investment in a very short amount of time. Before this thrilling poker format came along, the only way to hit a jackpot-sized score in poker for a small entry fee was to win a multi-table tournament. Multi-table tournaments are notorious for taking up to 12 hours to finish, but Spin and Go tournaments are finished in under ten minutes almost every time.
The final reason why we love Spin and Go tournaments is that the strategy for them is very simple in most situations. There will be no complicated four-betting going on in these tournaments since the chip stacks are too shallow for that to be possible, so raises and three-bets are all that you will normally see in these.
Most of the decisions made in these tournaments will be whether to go all-in preflop or not, so there will not be many triple barrel river bluffs to worry about either. We will now take a closer look at the strategy aspect of this special poker format in the next section.
Spin and Go Tournament Strategy
Bankroll Management
The first thing that you need to decide before coming up with a strategy is what stakes you are going to play. If you are completely new to this Spin and Go format, we recommend that you do not venture any higher than the 7$ buy-in level.
The $7 buy-in level is unique because it is the first level that features a decrease in rake and it is still full of recreational players. However, you should not attempt to play these tournaments unless you have at least 150 buy-ins in your poker bankroll. Therefore, if you are playing in these tournaments you should have a bankroll that is 150 times seven dollars which is $1,050.
Why do you need so many buy-ins? Some people might ask this because they think that requiring a $1,050 bankroll to play $7 tournaments is overly cautious. Well, the fact of the matter is that Spin and Go tournaments involve a ton of variance. This means that both the good luck streaks and the bad luck streaks will be even more dramatic than we are used to dealing with in other forms of poker.
ROI
The large amount of variance that is built into Spin and Go tournaments explains why even the best players have a relatively small return on their investment of 4%- 5% per tournament. If you are confused by what this means, we will now provide an example for you.
If you have a 2% return on investment or ROI, and you play 1000 of the $100 Spin and Go tournaments, you will have made $2 in each tournament. This comes out to a profit of $2,000 for every 1000 Spin and Go tournaments that you play. The best players will make double this amount over the long run for every 1000 of these tournaments that they play.
How does this return on investment match up to other forms of poker? Well, in freezeout tournaments, a player’s return on investment can reach up to 100% or higher. However, these tournaments take up to 16 hours sometimes, so the hourly rate that you will make is not always that great. The low return on investment in Spin and Go tournaments is balanced by the fact that they only take nine minutes on average and therefore you can play a ton of them per hour.
Table Management
Since the return on investment is small this means that we should play 20 tables at a time to maximize our profit, right? Well, unfortunately, things are not that simple due to the fact that it is extremely easy to start missing profitable spots once you add a third table.
Since these tournaments only have three entrants, you could theoretically be heads-up on every table after just one hand. While this scenario rarely happens, it is very common for quite a lot of these tournaments to get to the heads-up stage rather quickly.
It is extremely hard to play 20 heads-up matches at the same time, much less three of them. There are a ton of factors to consider in each hand and it is simply impossible to play optimally with this many tables.
We recommend starting out with just one table for a few days until you feel comfortable and then move to playing two tables at once. You will still be able to play a large number of games per hour due to the fact that they are finished so quickly. This will also allow you to focus on your heads-up matches without having to make a bunch of other decisions at the same time, which will give you the best chance of winning.
Tilt Control
We know you have been told many times that you need to keep your cool when you play poker. This has never been more important than in Spin and Go tournaments. The sheer number of all-in situations that you will endure in any given hour can be enough to rattle the greatest of zen masters if things are not going as planned.
The best way to go about playing these tournaments is to assume you are making a small percentage of the buy-in every time you play one and not let the results in any hand bother you. The outcome of each hand is ultimately meaningless, all that matters is how well you are playing. Luck is cyclical and everyone gets to endure hot streaks and cold stretches eventually, so do not let the extreme swings of Spin and Go tournaments get to your head.
There is no guarantee that you will win if you keep a cool head. However, there is almost no chance of winning if you are in an angry mood. Poker is no game for mood swings so it is important to find a way to remain neutral during Spin and Go tournaments.
Three-Handed
Three-handed poker is a very small part of Spin and Go tournaments, but since there are only two stages so we must consider the strategy to use for both of them. The reason why this is not as important as our strategy for heads-up play is that normally the three-handed stage will only last a few hands. It is actually quite common to be heads-up after one or two hands, but occasionally you will be three-handed for 20 or 30 hands.
Considering you start the tournament with 25 big blinds, you should not just be open shoving all-in with any hand at this stage when you are on the button, except for the occasional small pocket pair. It will be more profitable to induce people to go all-in by min-raising when you have a big hand. If you have a weak hand, going all-in will only win 1.5 big blinds which is a big risk for a small increase to our stack. Therefore, we recommend doing the min-raise with any hand you choose to play from the button in this early three-handed stage.
If you are in the small blind, we do not recommend calling a bunch of raises from the button when you are out of position. You should be re-raising or folding in most of these three-handed situations.
If it happens to fold to you in the small blind, you should increase your standard raise to 2.5 times the big blind, instead of a min-raise. This will get more folds out of your opponent because they will be getting worse odds to call than they would against a min-raise, which is a good thing when you are out of position against them.
Your three-handed strategy from the big blind should be somewhat similar to the small-blind strategy where you are looking for good spots to re-raise people with your whole stack. However, you are also able to call more raises from this spot since you do not have anyone left to act behind you and you already have a full big blind in the middle. You will also be in position against the small blind, so calling or re-raising their raises with a wider range is a good idea since you will be able to see what they do after the flop comes before you act.
Heads-Up
As soon as the first person is eliminated, you will only have to go through one more person to win the jackpot prize. This means that you will need a solid heads-up strategy if you want to be a profitable player in Spin and Go tournaments.
The main difference between heads-up play and three-handed play is that you will be playing a lot more hands and therefore you will be folding a lot less often. This is especially true on the button, which is going to be the position where most of your profit will come from.
We do not recommend folding many hands from the button in heads-up play until your opponent gives you a good reason to do so. This means that you should be mixing in a steady blend of calling and min-raising with a balanced amount of strength and weakness in each action. If a hand is suited, you should certainly never be folding it from the small blind.
When you are heads-up in a Spin and Go tournament that has a huge jackpot attached to it, things will play out a little bit differently than usual. Most people will play very scared because they are not used to being heads-up for an amount of money that is so huge. You might find that you can bully other players a little more than usual in these situations, so we recommend ramping up the aggression instead of playing scared like everyone else.
The Wrap-Up
Spin and Go tournaments are fast and furious even though Vin Diesel is nowhere to be found. They are the only form of poker that allows players to hit huge jackpots in a small amount of time for the price of a small entry fee.
Even though the rake is higher than in other sit and go tournaments that also have a hyper-turbo structure, they remain a highly beatable feature of the online poker world due to their appeal to recreational players. We recommend taking these tournaments out for a spin to see how you like them, especially if you like to increase your chances of becoming a millionaire today.