Jackpot Spins – Are they Worth Your Time? How to Improve and Master your Game.

SNG Jackpot tournaments (also known as Spins) are very popular and fast 3-man hyper poker games. They are exciting and can be very profitable in the long run as long as you know what you are doing. What was just a new idea on one poker site, it proved to be so successful that every major poker network decided to introduce it. Spins can be played on sites like GGPoker.

Multipliers

These will determine your prize once you start your game. For example, if the Multiplayer is X10, that means that you can win ten times your buy-in. X2 is the most common one and some largest multipliers (Jackpots) may give a piece of the pie to 2nd and 3rd place finishers.

Please remember, that you will keep getting the lowest multipliers such as X2 and X3 all the time. So don’t be discouraged and continue doing your best. It is only a matter of time until you hit a decent sized multiplier so you have to be prepared and once you get it, you have to use your poker smarts to win.

Limits and Bankroll

First you have to decide what are your preferred limits (buy-in). You have to start small, but not so small that you would get bored and would lose interest. Play a few thousand games and see how your bankroll is doing. If it is growing substantially – that’s a good sign, if it is almost the same, that also shows that these limits might be good for you. As long as you are not losing too much, you can stay with those buy-in limits.

Make sure that you are extremely comfortable in those limits and only then start playing multiple tables. And if you feel that these limits are quite high but you can still play one table at a time and are making money, then it is also perfectly fine.

Your starting bankroll should be around 200 buy-ins. You don’t have to deposit the whole amount if you don’t want to, that’s simply the money available for your bankroll. Just make sure to keep an eye on it. Large swings are very common, make sure that you are making optimal decisions while playing and you will not get into trouble.

Reading your opponent

Most Spins have 3 minute blinds, some are even faster and having a read on someone sounds totally crazy, but it is possible. Some poker sites will allow you to use a Poker Tracker (HUD), so you will be able to see their playing tendencies, especially if that’s not the first time you are playing against them.

To spot a maniac it will be quite easy, lots of shoves from the very beginning and tighter players will keep folding to your steals/shoves most of the time so it will also be easy to notice. It gets more complex if your player is smart-aggressive or similar and you have to look for leaks in his game and adjust yours in order to outsmart him. But as long as you keep learning, take notes and control your emotions, you can manage it.

Push or Call? – Pushbotting at 7-9 Big Blinds

Once the blinds go up and you are playing against the last opponent for the win, it is more than ever important that you take necessary steps to have the best chances of winning the game. You have to know when to Push, Fold and Call. These charts will show you exactly that. Once you reach a Heads-Up Phase and have around 7-9 Big Blinds, you can use them to maximise your potential. But remember, you still have to read your opponent and have to adjust your game-play accordingly.

GTO Push Hands

GTO Call Hands

Anything Else?

We have covered most of the basics, but you still need to remember a few key facts. These are quick and easy to remember tips which are very important for your success in playing spins.

• Be very aggressive, but not a maniac which could be manipulated
• This is not a tournament, so be ready to call less and raise more
• Work on your bet sizes (for example, raising 2.3 BB instead of 3BB might save you some chips when you are not ready to face a shove)
• If you bankroll starts decreasing after thousands of games – consider moving one limit down or at least take a break if you feel that you can easily recover
• Watch your opponents and their playing tendencies

Contributed by Pokcas.com