Chapter 10: Where to Begin?

Now that you’ve built a solid foundation to tackle Spin & Go, it’s time to take action.

Written by Gandalf, professional Spin & Go player and co-founder of Poker Sciences.

You now have a good understanding of how Spins work and how variance impacts your results. Let’s quickly recap the key points:

  • It’s possible to make money in Spin & Go, but it requires work and discipline.
  • The breakeven point is around 36% to 36.5% ITM, depending on the site. With rakeback, this percentage can be lower.
  • A CEV of 40 is a minimum goal to be profitable in the long term.
  • Variance is huge in the short term: a winning player can go through big losing streaks, while a losing player might run hot for hundreds of games.
  • A bankroll of 100 to 200 buy-ins is needed to withstand the swings without risking going broke.
  • Tilt is inevitable: learning how to manage it and implementing anti-tilt strategies is crucial.

Now that you have these fundamentals, the real question is: where do you start if you want to grind Spins?

Let’s look at the key steps to start your Spin journey with confidence:

1. Choose your poker room

If you haven’t already, start by selecting the site where you’ll be playing. To maximize your profits, compare:

  • The rake (the fee taken from each tournament).
  • The effective rake (the more large jackpots a room offers, the higher the effective rake usually is).
  • The rakeback deals (a portion of your rake returned as rewards or cash).
⬅️   Feel free to go back and read chapters 2 and 7, where we discussed these topics.

2. Select your starting limit

If you’re new to Spins, begin at the lowest available limit (€0.25 or €0.50). Even if you already have poker experience, it’s wise to prove yourself at the lower stakes before moving up.

3. Deposit a proper bankroll

Based on the bankroll management recommendations from Chapter 8:

  • For €0.25 Spins, a bankroll of €25 to €50 is enough.‍
  • For €1 Spins, aim for €100 to €200.

4. Install a tracker

A tracker is a crucial tool for analyzing your game. I recommend PokerTracker 4, which allows you to track your CEV (Chip Expected Value) curve.You’ll find plenty of tutorials online to help you set it up and use it correctly.

5. Start your first sessions

At first, play just one table, or two maximum, to properly grasp the dynamics of the format.

Be aware of your emotions and of variance: do not draw any conclusions after a few dozen or even a few hundred games.

You might win or lose a lot at first – that alone doesn't mean anything about your real skill level.

Don’t forget: variance will always try to mess with your mind.

6. Begin improving

Playing is good. Studying your game is essential.

That said, balancing play volume with study time isn’t always easy:

  • When you’re winning, it’s tempting to just keep playing.
  • When you’re losing, you want to understand your mistakes before jumping back in.
  • When you’re in your comfort zone, it’s easy to stop learning and rely on auto-pilot.

To make steady progress, find the right balance between grinding and studying.The rest of this guide will only scratch the surface of advanced strategies, but it will give you a strong base to build on.

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Table of Contents

1

Can you really win at Spin & Go?

1. Can you win more chips than your opponents in the long run?
2. Jackpots and rake: where does the money go?
3. What ITM should you aim for to make money in Spins?
4. CEV: the true profitability indicator in Spin
5. Why your graphs are lying to you
6. Understanding variance in Spin
7. A small bonus not to forget: rakeback
2

The basics of grinding Spins

8. Bankroll management
9. You’re going to tilt. What should you do?
10. Where to begin?
3

Your first strategies

11. 3 basic strategies for Spins (beginner)
12. Exploiting two common mistakes of your opponents (beginner)
13. Introduction to advanced strategies

Preflop Spin Charts

All the preflop range charts to crush Spins (Spin Gold, BLAST, Spin & Go, etc.)
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Created by a pro player of the format.
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