Spin and Go: how to play SNG poker

Spin & Go poker games are just one of the types of Sit & Go games that can be found today among the enormous range of online poker games and tournaments. Specifically, Spin & Go games are hyper-turbo 3-max tournaments in Sit & Go format, with a starting stack of 500 chips, with variable buy-ins ranging from $1 to $60, depending on the offer and platform, and which can offer a random prize pool with a volume that can range from 2 to 3,000 times the size of your entry.

To know how to play Spin & Go, you first need to take a brief look at SNG poker, so let's first talk about some general aspects of Sit & Go poker, and then dive straight into hyper-turbo Spin games.

Sit n go poker rules: everything you need to know

Sit and go tournaments are small poker tournaments with single tables and plenty of action. Pace is the key to these games, and the action never lets up. Play continues until only one player remains, making it a kind of mini poker battle royale for many. Players in these games receive a prize based on their finishing position, which makes the final standing decisive in determining the overall ranking and prize amounts.

These poker games begin as soon as the table is full. With so few players, the tables see a constant flow of players coming and going, which keeps the action consistently high.

The great thing about these poker competitions is that they are ideal for beginners or less experienced players. Although the breakneck pace is a factor to keep in mind, the fact that it is a compact poker game where a small number of players face off against each other makes it an ideal baptism of fire for any newcomer eager to improve.

One aspect to keep in mind in sit and go poker games is the blind structure and its levels. This will vary depending on whether you are playing a sit and go poker game in standard or turbo format, because in turbo format the blind timing changes. What is common to all SNG poker games, however, is the continuous increase in blinds, which encourages action.

Spin and go poker: features and strategies

Spin and go poker is a subset of hyper-turbo SNG poker. It is a unique type of tournament where pace is everything and where the potential prize is very high.

Key facts about spin an' go tournaments:

• They are tournaments made up of 3-player tables.
• Play begins with 500 chips.
• They feature random prize pools, with prizes reaching one million euros.
• At the start, you select the buy-in and the number of simultaneous tournaments you want to play.
• By clicking "Play", the action begins.
• Once the table is full, a draw determines the prize pool amount. The result is shown to all players.
• In Spin & Go tournaments, deals to split prizes are not allowed.

What about the blind duration in Spin & Go tournaments? This depends on the pot multiplier achieved at the start of the game. Typically, the scheme followed in this type of game is as follows:

• x 2: 2 minutes.
• Up to x 5: 3 minutes.
• Up to x 25: 4 minutes.
• From x 120 onwards: 5 minutes.

The jumps in blind levels follow a continuous scale that pushes players into action. Bear in mind that in this type of tournament, background calculations are crucial, but there is very little time to manage them. That is the nature of hyper-turbo formats — everything that needs to be done is done at a frantic pace.

Is spin and go poker a suitable format for a beginner? Not really, despite being a type of competition that falls under the SNG poker umbrella. Hyper-turbo formats are reserved only for professionals, who have the mental agility needed to carry out those calculations during a game without losing track of the competition. This is why it is typically a format suited to players accustomed to cash game tables.

That is why spin poker is reserved for the top players. A newcomer should start by trying standard sit and go poker and, as they gain experience, gradually challenge themselves with other types of tournaments and formats.