Basic Strategy
Spin & Go strategy will be easier to pick up if you have some experience
playing short-handed, either in 0️⃣ cash games or in the late stages of tournaments. Due to
the short levels and players starting with as few 0️⃣ as 25 big blinds (BBs), having a
concrete strategy will help you play optimally when a lot of your opponents 0️⃣ may just be
trying Spin & Go’s out for the first time.
By following some of the key points below,
you 0️⃣ should be able to develop an edge over your opponents despite the shallow starting
stacks.
Building a Stack Early
A common mistake 0️⃣ inexperienced players make in this
format is waiting for a good hand and not taking the initiative in the first 0️⃣ few
levels. Remember, you only have 25BBs and the blinds are increasing at turbos speeds;
if you wait too long 0️⃣ for a good hand you might only have a few big blinds remaining in
your stack when it comes. This 0️⃣ doesn’t mean you should be opening 100% of your range,
but controlled aggression is definitely optimal, especially from the button 0️⃣ and small
blind.
It’s important that you try and find out as much information as possible during
the early stages, such 0️⃣ as:
Are players not defending their blinds properly?
Are all of
your button raises getting through?
Are your opponents playing too passively?
Do your
0️⃣ opponents seem like weaker opposition?
Once you have a feel for your opponents, you’ll
be able to gauge how aggressive you 0️⃣ can be and adjust your opening/shoving ranges
around that.
Calling Becomes Shoving (from the Small Blind)
Due to the shallow stacks,
calling 0️⃣ an open raise becomes a lot less profitable in this format. You’ll be playing
25BBs effective poker in the first 0️⃣ level and even then, you should only really have a
calling range from the big blind.
The problem with calling raises 0️⃣ out of the small
blind is that you’ll be out of position every time and you’ll struggle to realize the
0️⃣ full equity of your hand when post-flop. Therefore, a lot more hands are added to your
3-bet jamming range, which 0️⃣ is going to be so much more profitable than calling.
The
table below shows a typical 3-bet jamming range from the 0️⃣ small blind in the early
stages when stacks are around 20BBs deep.
For 20BBs Effective
+EV Open Jam
AA AKs AQs
AJs ATs 0️⃣ A9s A8s A7s A6s A5s A4s A3s A2s AKo KK KQs KJs KTs K9s K8s K7s K6s K5s K4s K3s
0️⃣ K2s AQo KQo QQ QJs QTs Q9s Q8s Q7s Q6s Q5s Q4s Q3s Q2s AJo KJo QJo JJ JTs J9s 0️⃣ J8s J7s
J6s J5s J4s J3s J2s ATo KTo QTo JTo TT T9s T8s T7s T6s T5s T4s T3s T2s 0️⃣ A9o K9o Q9o J9o
T9o 99 98s 97s 96s 95s 94s 93s 92s A8o K8o Q8o J8o T8o 98o 88 0️⃣ 87s 86s 85s 84s 83s 82s
A7o K7o Q7o J7o T7o 97o 87o 77 76s 75s 74s 73s 72s A6o 0️⃣ K6o Q6o J6o T6o 96o 86o 76o 66
65s 64s 63s 62s A5o K5o Q5o J5o T5o 95o 85o 75o 0️⃣ 65o 55 54s 53s 52s A4o K4o Q4o J4o T4o
94o 84o 74o 64o 54o 44 43s 42s A3o K3o 0️⃣ Q3o J3o T3o 93o 83o 73o 63o 53o 43o 33 32s A2o
K2o Q2o J2o T2o 92o 82o 72o 62o 0️⃣ 52o 42o 32o 22
This specific range can be adjusted
depending on the opponent opening from the button. If the player 0️⃣ has been relatively
tight, or extremely aggressive, you can adjust the range accordingly.
In addition, this
range can also be applied 0️⃣ to the big blind, but considering you have already invested
1BB into the pot, the majority of the time you’ll 0️⃣ be getting the right price to call
with most of your range, even off a short stack.
Raise-Sizing
Preserving your stack at
0️⃣ all times is something that will go a long way in Spin & Go’s. So, When opening from
the button 0️⃣ a minimum raise (‘min-raise’) is often ideal, as you don’t have anything
invested in the pot, so risking the least 0️⃣ amount of your stack is going to be much more
profitable.
As for opening from the small blind, considering you already 0️⃣ have half a
big blind invested you have more incentive to fight for the pot and try to take down
0️⃣ the hand. Therefore, upping your sizing to around 2.5x BBs is fine from this position
as you’re increasing fold equity 0️⃣ and giving the big blind less incentive to call.
A
common mistake people make from the small blind is min-raising, as 0️⃣ you give your
opponent a great price to call and they then have the advantage of position. Also, the
shorter 0️⃣ your stack, the more you’ll start to open-shove from the small blind and
raise-sizing won’t be an issue.
Button and Small 0️⃣ Blind – Jamming Ranges
After the first
few levels of a Spin & Go, more often than not you’ll find yourself 0️⃣ playing a ‘push or
fold’ strategy with fewer than 11 BBs. You’ll no longer have the stack to play
post-flop 0️⃣ poker and 3-bet/folding becomes a less favorable option as well.
If you’re
struggling to build a +EV jamming range from the 0️⃣ button or small blind, the following
charts will give you an idea of what your range should look like.
Note that 0️⃣ as your
stack becomes even shorter you can add a few more hands into your jamming range, but
using this 0️⃣ table is a good way to build your range and gain some experience by using a
set strategy.
11BBs: Button Range
+EV 0️⃣ Open Jam
AA AKs AQs AJs ATs A9s A8s A7s A6s A5s
A4s A3s A2s AKo KK KQs KJs KTs K9s 0️⃣ K8s K7s K6s K5s K4s K3s K2s AQo KQо QQ QJs QTs Q9s
Q8s Q7s Q6s Q5s Q4s Q3s Q2s 0️⃣ AJo KJo QJo JJ JTs J9s J8s J7s J6s J5s J4s J3s J2s ATo KTo
QTo JTo TT T9s T8s 0️⃣ T7s T6s T5s T4s T3s T2s A9o K9o Q9o J9o T9o 99 98s 97s 96s 95s 94s
93s 92s A8o 0️⃣ K8o Q8o J8o T8o 98o 88 87s 86s 85s 84s 83s 82s A7o K7o Q7o J7o T7o 97o 87o
77 0️⃣ 76s 75s 74s 73s 72s A6o K6o Q6o J6o T6o 96o 86o 76o 66 65s 64s 63s 62s A5o K5o 0️⃣ Q5o
J5o T5o 95o 85o 75o 65o 55 54s 53s 52s A4o K4o Q4o J4o T4o 94o 84o 74o 64o 0️⃣ 54o 44 43s
42s A3o K3o Q3o J3o T3o 93o 83o 73o 63o 53o 43o 33 32s A2o K2o Q2o 0️⃣ J2o T2o 92o 82o 72o
62o 52o 42o 32o 22
11BBs: Small Blind Range
+EV Open Jam
AA AKs AQs AJs ATs A9s 0️⃣ A8s A7s
A6s A5s A4s A3s A2s AKo KK KQs KJs KTs K9s K8s K7s K6s K5s K4s K3s K2s 0️⃣ AQo KQо QQ QJs
QTs Q9s Q8s Q7s Q6s Q5s Q4s Q3s Q2s AJo KJo QJo JJ JTs J9s J8s 0️⃣ J7s J6s J5s J4s J3s J2s
ATo KTo QTo JTo TT T9s T8s T7s T6s T5s T4s T3s T2s A9o 0️⃣ K9o Q9o J9o T9o 99 98s 97s 96s
95s 94s 93s 92s A8o K8o Q8o J8o T8o 98o 88 87s 0️⃣ 86s 85s 84s 83s 82s A7o K7o Q7o J7o T7o
97o 87o 77 76s 75s 74s 73s 72s A6o K6o 0️⃣ Q6o J6o T6o 96o 86o 76o 66 65s 64s 63s 62s A5o
K5o Q5o J5o T5o 95o 85o 75o 65o 0️⃣ 55 54s 53s 52s A4o K4o Q4o J4o T4o 94o 84o 74o 64o 54o
44 43s 42s A3o K3o Q3o 0️⃣ J3o T3o 93o 83o 73o 63o 53o 43o 33 32s A2o K2o Q2o J2o T2o 92o
82o 72o 62o 52o 0️⃣ 42o 32o 22
As you can see, your small blind jamming range becomes a lot
wider as you only have to 0️⃣ get one player to fold. Similar to the button, the shorter
you are the wider you can open-jam. Additionally, if 0️⃣ the player in the big blind seems
like an extremely tight player, you can widen your jamming range as they 0️⃣ won’t be
calling with the correct range.
Once you’ve started getting a feel for your opponents,
you can adjust your ranges 0️⃣ accordingly and start to build a strategy of your own.
