5 Useful Spin&Go Strategy Tips

Spin&Go tournaments are an incredibly challenging discipline not only for beginners, but also for truly professional poker players. All because of the very rigid structure and, as a consequence, high dispersion. If you have chosen spins as your format, we recommend that you approach the matter thoroughly. In this case, “thoroughness” implies a thorough study and implementation of the recommendations that are presented below.

1. Use a poker tracker

First, consider the theses that justify the uselessness of stats in Spin&Go tournaments:

• Too large pool of players - you almost never meet the same player twice;
• Tournaments last for 6-7 minutes - in such a short time period, you won’t even get reads for your opponents, not to mention exploitation.

The first argument is easy to refute - in addition to weak players at Spin&Go tables, you will come across regular players. This is where your HUD comes in handy. At micro-limits, their game is replete with flaws that are easy to see using statistics from your Holdem Manager 3\Hand2Note. But only on condition that you use them and do not ignore an additional source of useful data.

The second argument is stronger, but even in a hyper-turbo tournament there is a chance to notice any deviations in the opponent’s strategy. And with a successful combination of circumstances - even use it against himself. Modern poker requires maximum concentration even on minor details that can give you an edge. This cannot be ignored if you plan to be successful at Spin&Go over the long distance.

2. Do not call with hands with high playability

In the context of this article, “hands with high playability” refers to suited connectors and Axs. In the cash game, the demand for such hands is explained by the high potential on the flop: you can collect a very strong hand, which is not easy to read. But to play effectively with speculative hands, deep stacks are needed to pay for our misses with connectors. In Spin&Go tournaments, you will never have situations that can justify calling with 87s or A3s. Too short stacks, blind levels grow too fast, too little space for a virtuoso postflop game. Give preference to broadway hands.

3. Develop your understanding of GTO

At low limits it is difficult to meet a worthy opponent. All of them will have real black holes in their strategy, which simply need to be recognized and successfully exploited. But as you move up the limits, more and more opponents will adhere to the game theory optimal (GTO). And that means it will get superiority over you. In order not to lose money to them, you will also need to be balanced and unreadable to other players. An additional benefit of a balanced strategy in Spin&Go is that you will see better and faster opponents' weaknesses and use them instantly. To develop GTO game skills, we recommend you a Simple GTO Trainer. This poker simulator will help you learn a balanced strategy in a playful way. You can try Simple GTO Trainer for free.

4. Level Up your Heads Up skills

A high level of skill in a one-on-one game is very useful to any Sit&Go or MTT regular player. But this is especially true for Spin&Go tournaments, where in the vast majority of cases, the winner takes everything. There are exceptions for tournaments with high multipliers, but it is unlikely that you will be happy to take 10% of the prize pool in that same life match for $ 1,000,000 if you are lucky to participate in it. The PreflopHero program will be a good help.

It has several options for training strategy in HU Spin&Go. You can try PreflopHero for free.

5. Play responsibly every tournament

If you are determined to become a professional player in Spin&Go, you must show 100% skill and concentration in any tournament. The multiplier of a particular tournament should not matter. Ideally, turn off the information about the multipliers in the settings (not everywhere the software of the poker room allows you to do this, but it is definitely possible at Pokerstars). This will allow you to shift the focus from the multiplier to the tournament itself. Remember, at a distance your result will depend on x2, and not on the ever dropped x240 or x10,000.