Taking It Further

This page will be regularly updated with advice for advanced players who want to push their thinking further and squeeze out additional EV gains.

📊 Blind Levels

Most charts are grouped in 2-blind increments (14–16, 12–14, 10–12, etc.). To build them, we always started from the middle level.

For example, the 14–16bb chart is based on a study at 15bb.

What if you have 14bb?

Should you look at the 14–16 chart or the 12–14 chart?

In reality, it doesn’t matter. If one chart shows a limp and the other shows a shove, it means the hand lies in a close EV zone: both limp and shove will yield very similar results.

👀  The EV difference will therefore be marginal. You can make your choice depending on your opponent and your knowledge of how the hand evolves as the stack decreases. But don’t overthink it — this won’t affect your CEV.

🤏 The Push Charts

Here’s how the Push Charts work:

  • If you see a number in a chart cell: it indicates the blind level from which you should push the hand.
For example, a “5” in the K5o cell means push K5o below 5bb. So at 5.1bb you don’t push, but at 5bb you do.
  • If you see a greater-than sign: it means you only push this hand above the indicated stack size.
For example, at 4.9bb 65s should be folded. At 5.1bb or higher, this hand should be pushed.

🚦 Note on Colors

Some intermediate colors in the Push Charts don’t carry a particular meaning: they simply help visualize how the ranges evolve as stacks shrink.

Roughly speaking, the lighter the color, the earlier the hand becomes a push at short stack.

For instance, 82o is shown in a lighter shade than Q2o because it should be pushed starting from only 2bb, compared to 6bb for Q2o.

To aid memorization, the minimum push/call thresholds are written:

  • 🔴 in red for offsuit hands.
  • 🟢 in green for suited hands.

These thresholds are crucial to memorize.

Concrete example, BB vs SB all-in in Heads-up below 6bb:

You can call all offsuit hands below 2.7bb (🔴), and all suited hands below 3.4bb (🟢).

📈 What CEV Can You Expect When Using Our Charts?

First of all, it’s essential to remember that CEV is highly subject to variance.

Even after 10,000 Spin & Go games, you can still observe a fluctuation of up to ±7–10 CEV points, purely due to randomness.

Over smaller samples — between 1,000 and 3,000 games — these fluctuations are even greater:a ±20-point variation, either up or down, is completely normal.

Although variance is lower than in MTTs, it can still be quite impressive in Spins.
🎢  If the impact of variance on your CEV isn’t clear to you, we strongly recommend reading the dedicated chapter on this topic in our free Spin & Go course.

It’s entirely possible that your CEV decreases in the short or medium term after you start using our Charts.

Only after a large sample size (more than 5,000 games) will you be able to clearly see their long-term impact.

Also keep in mind that factors other than variance can influence your CEV.

Here are three of them:

🧠 Opponent Level

The tougher your opposition — for example, if you play at times with many regulars — the harder it will be to achieve an excellent CEV.

😴 Mental and Physical State

Your fatigue, focus, and emotional state can also prevent you from playing your A-game.

⚙️ Bad Habits

Certain bad habits can creep in unnoticed: playing too tight, calling too often in some spots, and so on.

If you’re not satisfied with your results, look for all possible sources of EV loss.But also remember: you might actually be playing well, and it’s simply variance playing tricks on you.

Also note that if you already had a very good CEV and/or were already using serious ranges, it’s unrealistic to expect a dramatic increase just by purchasing our Charts.

At that level, progress usually means gaining a few additional CEV points — and that’s perfectly normal.

Finally, it’s important to remember that a Chart is not set in stone.

Charts shouldn’t be seen as absolute truths to follow blindly or rigid frameworks that limit your creativity.

If you feel more comfortable playing certain hands differently, don’t hesitate to adjust your decisions slightly.

This won’t significantly change your CEV, but it can improve your playing comfort and confidence, which are just as important in the long run.

➡️ For example: If you don’t yet feel confident playing a hand as an ISO Non All-in because your postflop skills aren’t fully developed, and the EV between ISO Non All-in and ISO shove is close — there’s nothing wrong with choosing the ISO shove instead.

🤔 If Your Red Line Looks Different

The Red Line (non-showdown winnings) is a stat you’ll find in most trackers, and many coaches tend to overestimate its importance.

Many players mistakenly believe that a rising Red Line is the ultimate sign of good play.

I’d even say that focusing on your Red Line can be harmful to your performance.

You can have a declining Red Line and still an excellent CEV.

Conversely, a rising Red Line doesn’t necessarily mean your play is solid.

Example of a player with a flat Red Line but a rising CEV (yellow line) – excerpt from Poker Sciences Tracker®

Focusing too much on it can distort your decision-making: trying too hard to “win without showdown,” over-bluffing, over-defending, forcing ISO-raises or c-bets out of context — and ultimately losing CEV.

🔴🔵 The only thing the Red Line can really indicate is how your playing style distributes your winnings between Pots won without showdown (Red Line), and Pots won at showdown (Blue Line).

Our Charts are designed to be Low Variance, meaning they include fewer “borderline” open shoves and more controlled, lower-risk preflop options when EVs are close.

This naturally leads to more winnings at showdown, which might make your Red Line drop —but that does not mean your EV is decreasing.

Your EV simply shifts toward showdown winnings.

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