It doesn't matter if you play on PokerStars, 888 Poker, William Hill or even America's Cardroom, lottery-style Sit & Go tournaments have become a staple of online poker.
These three-handed (four-handed on 888) hyper-turbo games offer players a chance to win massive prizes by only defeating two (or 3) other players.
If you're new to the Spin & Go craze, continue reading for a crash course on playing Spin & Go tournaments.
Winner Take All at Breakneck Speeds
Spin & Go tournaments are three-handed hyper-turbo games that commonly pay only the winner. The prize pool for each game is determined at the start of the game by a simulated spin.
Prize pools are most commonly double your initial buy-in but depending on the game or promotion, they can go up to 12,000 times the initial buy-in.
Since this is hyper-turbo, each player starts with 500 in chips and your average game takes about 5 to 7 minutes to complete.
Throw Full-Ring, 6-Handed Strategy Out the Window
If you approach these games with the mentality of a full-ring or a six-max player, you're going to lose.
Those that play a lot of heads-up poker will have a better shot at this format. You're going to really open your hand range in these games just as you would in heads-up.
Hands such as suited connectors, two face cards and pocket pairs are monsters in this game and should be played accordingly. You should also take cheap flops whenever possible in hopes of hitting a hand that can bust your opponent.
Aggression is key in this game and the most aggressive players tend to do well in this format. This means you're going to increase your c-bet frequency as well as your bluffing into scary board.
If you're unfamiliar with either of these topics, check out some of our other strategy articles for a refresher.
You Can't Sit Back and Wait
Most of these games will be heads-up by the second or third level and you'll find many will have played to conclusion. So you aren't going to have a lot of time to sit back and wait for good hands.
If you happen to make the third or fourth level and don't have the chip lead, it's usually time to go into shove or fold mode. This is because level 3 has blinds of 20/40 and level 4 has 30/60 blind.
You want to be the aggressor whenever possible in these games. The aggressor will take down the lion's share of your non-showdown hands.
Be Prepared for Higher Variance
While there's potential for huge payouts with this format, you will also experience higher variance over other forms of Sit & Go tournaments.
Hyper-turbo events by default have higher variance; then factor in the three-handed nature of these games as well as the winner takes all mentality and this is a recipe for variance.
All you can do is play your best game and do your best to keep the swings as low as possible. As such, we recommend a higher than normal bankroll for these games.
If you typically have a bankroll of 20 buy-ins, consider bumping it up to 30 or 40. But this depends a lot on how often you're playing this format.
Occasional or recreational players don't have to worry about this requirement as much as serious players.
Not a Short-Term Fad
Spin & Go tournaments have proven wildly popular on all networks since their initial introduction by PokerStars. This isn't a short-term fad but rather a new staple of online poker.
With the above tips, you should be on your way to improving your odds of winning more often at Spin & Gos.
