Spin & Go: Strategy for Turbo Tournaments

What is Spin&Go

Spin&Go, or Spins, are fast three-player tournaments with a random prize. The payout amount is determined before the start of the Spin&Go. 

Winamax Poker invented the format, PokerStars popularised it

Players can be awarded between 2 to 10,000 buy-ins. The larger the prize, the less frequently it appears. Opponents start with a 25 BB stack, and the blind levels increase every 2-3 minutes. Initially, the format was a variant of the Sit&Go discipline. Over time, it replaced it. The two main advantages of Spin&Go:

• Speed. The tournament rarely lasts longer than 10 minutes. Professional poker players play over vast distances of tens of thousands of tournaments and earn from rakeback.

• Reward. When the maximum multiplier is hit, players can earn up to $100,000 in minutes. At PokerKing, it’s possible to win $750,000 in a $5 tournament. This opportunity attracts a large number of enthusiasts.

The Spin&Go format was devised by Winamax Poker in 2013. A year later, PokerStars launched Spin and Go. The tournaments quickly gained popularity and overshadowed other Sit&Go variations. Enthusiasts moved from: Heads Up (HU), Double or Nothing (DON), Multi-Table Sit&Go (MTSNG), and classic Sit and Go. Many rooms removed Sit&Go from the lobby. On PokerStars, Spin Go has its own section. By December 2025, most platforms in the industry had implemented quick tournaments. They were given names like Spin&Gold, Twister, Spin&Win, Blast, Windfalls, Spins, Expresso.

Some rooms experiment with tournament rules. PokerStars maximises randomness in Spin&Go Max. They feature 3 to 8 players, and the winner chooses the final prize from three hidden options. 888Poker speeds up Blast with automatic all-ins after a couple of blind levels. PokerOK added 6-player tournaments to the classic Spin&Gold. Pokerdom, alongside regular Windfalls, organises tournaments following Chinese poker rules.

In most industry rooms, the starting stack size and blind level speed depend on the multiplier hit. For instance, Spin and Go on PokerStars offers the following structure:

If the maximum multiplier is hit, TigerGaming and other rooms allow players to make a deal.

Spin and Go Strategy

The simple rules of Spin and Go should not be misleading. To win in them, numerous nuances must be considered. Preflop charts play a critical role in the strategy. The fast increase of blinds and modest starting stacks limit manoeuvring space. With 25 BB, post-flop play is not very active. Playing according to charts becomes crucial. There is little room for subtle decisions in sit and go.

Standard tournament tactics in Spin and Go won't work. Waiting for a strong hand and realising its advantage in a swift Spin & Go isn’t feasible. In no-limit Texas hold'em, pocket aces are dealt once in 221 hands. AK comes once every 82 deals. On average, Spin and Go opponents play 25-30 hands. Therefore, players need to broaden their ranges and act more aggressively. A unique chart is needed for each position. 

From the BTN, open 35-40% of hands. If opponents allow, play even wider. With increasing skill, you'll be able to effectively play more hands. We do not recommend making raises with any two cards—you risk getting into a complicated situation with a dubious hand. 

On the small blind, there is only one opponent after us, so can we play wider? Actually, no. We recommend slightly narrowing the range relative to raises from BTN. Another nuance of play on the small blind is the bet size. To avoid creating favourable conditions for an opponent on the BB, open with 2.5 big blinds. If the opponent on the BB is cautious, you may expand the raise range and decrease its size.

Other Spin and Go playing tips look as follows:

• On the BTN, open with a 2 BB raise. Entering the game with larger stakes is pointless. After us, there are only two people, so it’s unnecessary to reduce the number of opponents in the pot. We always have time to inflate the pot and go all-in. The size of the preflop raise will not make much of a difference.

• Watch your opponents. Many players see no point in observing their opponents in Spin and Go. The logic is: “the tournament is quick, I won’t have time to gather information, I'll bet on push/fold”. However, sometimes the gaps in an opponent’s actions can be spotted. They can earn you extra money. Statistics from a poker tracker will also be beneficial. 

• Hone your push/fold skills. From the start to the final stage, the tournament progresses over 3-4 minutes. To consistently win in Spins, strong push/fold skills are necessary. Practise them outside the gaming tables. We recommend honing your all-in skills in special software. ICMIZER 3, among others, is highly suitable. We discussed it and other useful tools in the software guide.

Which Rooms Offer Spin&Go

The majority of online poker rooms offer the opportunity to play Spin&Go. Brief information about the tournaments is gathered in the table below: 

Let’s discuss the place of Spin and Go on the most popular platforms in more detail.

PokerOK. Tournaments are located in the Spin&Gold section. Players have access to Spins with buy-ins ranging from $0.25 to $200. Winning $500,000 is possible in a $5 Spin&Gold. Participants in $200 tournaments have the highest chance to hit the $1,000,000 prizes. The maximum multiplier appears at odds of 300 to 100,000,000. Alongside the three-player version, 6-max tournaments are also available in the lobby. Spin&Gold’s appeal is increased by a daily $50,000 race. Let’s not forget the ELO rating system for Spin and Go players. The fight for hierarchy spots makes the format more competitive.

PokerStars. The former industry leader offers Spin&Go with buy-ins from $0.50 to $50. The maximum prize pool on the tab is $250,000. In Spin and Go Max tournaments, the rewards are higher. For instance, in a $50 spin, the prize pool can reach $800,000. PokerStars also offers Spin&Go Omaha. Fast tournaments feature not only cash prizes but also tickets to live series. In December 2025, passes to a spins tournament in Paris were being distributed. Occasionally, PokerStars organises leaderboards for Spin&Go players.

RedStar Poker. In the iPoker network, the Spin and Go analogue is called Twister. Entry to the tournaments ranges from €0.50 to €200. The prize pool in regular Twisters reaches €200,000. The platform also offers spins with a progressive jackpot. The reward increases every minute. At the time of writing, the prize pool has reached €700,000. RedStar Poker maintains audience interest through a weekly rake race worth €12,500. 

Winamax Poker. The French room has placed fast tournaments in the Expresso section. Clients have tournaments with buy-ins from €0.25 to €500 available to them. With odds of 1 in 10,000,000, a €1,000,000 prize pool can drop in a €2 Expresso. In more expensive tournaments, there is a higher chance of achieving the maximum multiplier. Expresso also features tickets to online festivals.

€2,000,000 — the largest prize pool for Spin and Go format tournaments

PokerKing. Rooms in the Winning Poker network offer Jackpots at $5, $15, and $50. Regardless of the buy-in size, the million-dollar prize pool appears at odds of 1 in 5,000,000. In more expensive tournaments, high, but not maximum, multipliers can be hit more often. Jackpots' attractiveness is enhanced by the weekly Sit&Crush rake race. Additional money is also brought by a loyalty program with rakeback up to 65%.

Pokerdom. The Russian platform named tournaments Windfalls. The minimum buy-in is 50 roubles, the maximum is 25,000 roubles. The prize pool reaches 9,500,000 roubles. Regular Windfalls according to no-limit Texas hold'em rules are complemented by versions in Omaha and Chinese poker. The format's attractiveness is increased by the Golden Windfall Jackpot. On 5 December 2025, it was 4,600,000 roubles.

Why Multi-Table Tournaments Are Better Than Spin&Go

The chance to win big money in just a few minutes has attracted a huge number of enthusiasts to Spin and Go. On the surface, the chance to convert $5 into $1,000,000 seems enticing. If you dig deeper, the probability of winning a Spin and Go with the maximum multiplier is akin to a lottery. A professional will prefer a discipline where their influence affects the outcome, not luck. In a normal tournament, a poker player has more control than in Spin and Go. Other advantages include:

• Diversity. Minimal post-flop and focus on push/fold is the main feature of the format. There’s almost no room for a beautiful bluff or exploiting opponents through observation in a swift Spin&Go. Most often, the victor is the player who practiced with a calculator longer. Multi-table tournaments provide more opportunities to realise a skill advantage. 

• Versatility. Top Spin and Go players know the push/fold chart perfectly but aren't as strong post-flop. Tournament stars show high skill levels both pre-flop and post-flop. If a player dominates the online poker field, they’ll likely perform well in live series too. Ideally—winning at the World Series of Poker, World Poker Tour, or another festival. Spin and Go as preparation for live tournaments is less suitable.

• Learning Space. To start in Spin&Go, you need to know the format's basic principles and hone push/fold skills. Hundreds of hours of training and practice will allow reaching a good level in spins. Becoming a tournament poker master is more challenging. The path to the top requires thousands of hours of learning and playing. The skill level in tournaments can be elevated infinitely. Many players are attracted to poker due to the potential to progress daily.

• Freedom. Any commission increase affects the Spin&Go players' income. In some cases, high rake makes spins unprofitable. Let's not dismiss the potential demise of the format. A few years ago, Spin&Go nearly phased Sit&Go off most platforms. There are no guarantees that Spin and Go won't fall victim to a “new big game”. Tournaments are the foundation of poker: their disappearance is not at risk. 

• More Emotions. Defeating an opponent in a long tournament brings great joy. Success in a specific Spin&Go lacks emotional charge. Format professionals play thousands of tournaments monthly. In most, victory doubles the buy-in. Triumph in a large tournament impresses other players. Winning a Spin and Go with a high multiplier does not create a stir in the poker community.

You can win a million in a classic tournament too. For example, in The Venom with an $8,000,000 guarantee

Start your poker journey with a free FF Start course. During the training, we'll cover: playing with a short stack, basic strategy adaptations against opponents, tournament tactics at different stages, and poker mathematics. Pass the theory and exam, and we'll gift you a starting bankroll of $50.