Spin Poker Jackpot

PokerNews Staff

Jackpot Poker Are Back! One Spin Can Change Your Life! Starting Wednesday, March 18th 2020, we’re offering Jackpots with a 10x bigger maximum payout over our regular Jackpot Poker games.Buy-in, Spin, and Win!Our special $1 Million Jackpots have buy-ins of $5 and $15. The 'jackpot' element of Spin & Go's is the same hook that attracts gamblers to roulette and blackjack games, which disregards the amount of skill necessary to become a successful poker player. Jackpot tournaments or better known as Spin and Go games offer a lot of action and fun. It is so much fun, that a big part or recreational players jumped to these games straight away when it was introduced back in 2014, and left other forms of Texas Holdem poker without hesitation.

Table Of Contents

Since Spin and Go tournaments made their debut on the PokerStars poker software in 2014, an impressive number of casual players and recreational players took to the tables in the hope to turn lower stakes games into some of the biggest paydays in online poker.

If you are one of them, you know that winning big at Spin and Go tournaments isn't easy. Not only 2x multipliers are the most common result of the Spin & Go lottery, but also your usual Texas Holdem strategy might not be good enough to help you beat your opponents on spin and go games.

To increase your win rate and become a good Spin and Go player, you need to revisit the poker basics, adjust your range, and approach each poker hand from new angles.

You need to forget about your hand history as you know it, and learn to play Spin and Go games.

This is what you find on the PokerNews advanced strategy guide to playing Spin and Go games on PokerStars in 2020.

The best game strategy to win Spin and Go tournaments isn't necessarily the same that helps you do well in other poker games. Spin and Go strategies require a different approach to preflop strategy and a game plan you can develop only if you begin to get the ins and outs of the fast-paced lottery sit and go's.

Before we analyse together all the specificities that make Spin and Go tournament specials and we learn to play Spin and Go games together, let me give you one last word of warning.

This is not the average strategy article you find on most poker coaching and poker training sites.

Here on the 2020 Guide to PokerStars Spin and Go Poker, you don't waste precious time on a theoretical approach to Spin and Go tournaments. You get actionable poker tips to attack the games and turn the jackpot sit and go's into the most exciting (and rewarding) online poker games out there!

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Register on the PokerStars website and use these poker tips and strategies to win your first Spin and Go games!

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What is Spin and Go Poker?

Spin and Go's are a fast-paced version of 'sit and go' tournaments that similarly have no set starting times, only requiring the needed players to register for the tournament to begin.

Spin and Go's are most commonly offered as three-player tournaments with 'lottery'-style prize pools that have become an increasingly popular option for online poker players. Indeed, sometimes they are referred to as 'Lottery Sit and Go's.'

The format first appeared on Winamax in July 2013 under the name Expresso. Soon after came similar poker games on other platforms, including Twister on the iPoker network, Jackpot on Full Tilt, Twister Poker on TitanPoker, and the Spin & Go games on PokerStars.

Spin and Go's are an excellent example of the kind of innovative games that can be easily introduced in the online environment. Meanwhile, live poker can sometimes be restricted not only by physical limitations but also by whatever gaming regulation governs the operator.

The 'lottery' aspect of the game comes in immediately after enough players have bought into the game for it to begin.

Rather than having the prize pool be determined by the buy-ins, in Spin and Go's the payouts are randomly determined.

Spin and Go's are typically 'winner-take-all' tournaments with the payouts generally ranging from twice the buy-in to much higher amounts — even 1,000 or 10,000 times the buy-in. (Deal-making also usually is not allowed.)

This randomness adds some excitement for players at the start created by the prospect of enjoying what could be seen as a huge 'overlay' in the event.

A typical feature of the Spin and Go poker format is a 'turbo' or 'hyper-turbo' structure.

In most cases levels last three minutes, players start with small starting stacks of 500 chips, with each blind level and antes going up very rapidly, ensuring a swift end to the tournament.

In some cases, the length of the levels is connected to the 'prize pool multiplier.' For instance, on PokerStars if the prize pool is 2x the buy-in, levels last two minutes. If it is from 3-5x the buy-in, levels are three minutes, 10-25x the buy-in four minutes, and 120+ the buy-in five minutes.

How to Play Spin and Go Tournaments

Most sites have sped-up versions of Spin and Go's, such as Winamax where they offer Expresso Nitro and PokerStars where the game is called Spin & Go Flash.

In both, players start with just 300 chips and play one-minute levels as in hyper turbos. That's why they're given names like spin and go flash tournaments — they are over in a flash.

You register for these tournaments much like you do any poker tournament on most poker sites.

Once in the lobby:

  1. Select it
  2. Choose which type of Spin and Go you want to play


Looking at PokerStars as our example, you'll find not just the standard Texas hold'em Spin & Go games.

On PokerStars you find also pot-limit Omaha games and other variants like Spin & Go Flash (the flash games mentioned above) and Spin & Go Max.

This last one is a version featuring 3 to 8 players, a triple prize spin, and a hand countdown after which the game goes to 'all-in mode').

You'll notice a variety of buy-in levels. On PokerStars, real money games start at $0.25 and go up to $500. You can see with each buy-in what the maximum prize pool could be, should you happen to get lucky.

The multiplier on these games goes up to 10,000x; thus, the biggest possible prize pool in a $0.25 game is $25,000, and so on. You can also choose to play a certain number of games at once. On PokerStars, the maximum is five.

Once you've chosen your buy-in level and the number of games you want to play, click 'Play Now' and you will be immediately seated at a table.

Before the game starts, the prize pool will be determined by the randomizer, which on PokerStars is shown as a slot machine-like spin of numbers.

Then you're dealt your first two hole cards, and the game begins. In other words, first you 'spin'... then you 'go'!

How Much Can You Win?

The 'lottery' aspect of Spin and Go's means sometimes players do 'win the lottery,' so to speak, and enjoy enormous winnings.

Special promotions by sites have made it possible for players to win even more than is usually possible in these games. For instance, in December 2019 a player on PokerStars won $2 million in a $5 buy-in, limited edition 'Jackpot Spin & Go.'

Payouts and probabilities change with the stakes in Spin and Go's. Not only do the higher buy-ins yield bigger prizes, the probabilities slightly vary as well.

Also, when it comes to spin and go rake at the higher buy-ins, the rake is usually less than at the lower buy-ins.

To keep things relatively simple and to give you an idea of how the payouts work, let's look at the current prizes and probabilities for the lower stakes Spin & Go's on PokerStars.

Prize Pool Multiplier$0.25 First-Place Prize$1 First-Place Prize$2 First-Place PrizeFrequency
12,000$2,500$10,000$20,0001 in 1,000,000
240$50$200$40030 in 1,000,000
120$25$100$20075 in 1,000,000
25$6.25$25$501,000 in 1,000,000
10$2.50$10$205,000 in 1,000,000
5$1.25$5$1085,000 in 1,000,000
3$0.75$3$6414,012 in 1,000,000
2$0.50$2$4494,882 in 1,000,000

As you can see, close to half the time (almost 49.5%) you sit down to play in a Spin & Go, you'll be playing for twice your buy-in. And nearly as often (41.4%) you'll be playing for three times the buy-in.

In other words, most of the time the winners won't be enjoying 'overlays' or prizes exceeding the amount of money coming from players' buy-ins.

Meanwhile, a little more than 9.1% of the time the prize pool multiplier will be 5x or higher, meaning the prize pool will be bigger than the buy-ins.

Also worth noting — as in most other tournaments, there's a rake taken as well. At these lowest buy-ins on PokerStars the rake is 8%, and it decreases to 5% at the highest.

Are Spin and Go's Profitable?

Spin and Go's are winner-take-all, so of the three players only one is going to come away with a profit. But thanks to the randomized prize pools that profit can sometimes be huge.

Spin and Go's have been around long enough for there to be expert players who specialize in the format, which in and of itself proves they can be profitable.

It is also a game type that attracts a high percentage of novice and recreational players, meaning even just some additional study of structures and strategies can give you an edge that can translate into profits.

Many people enjoy the adrenaline rush of games with rapid outcomes — the gambling industry thrives on that desire — and Spin and Go's certainly satisfy that craving among the poker-playing segment of the population.

The 'lottery' component of Spin and Go's also tends to attract players who play a 'loose' or high-variance style, which also can be beneficial to more disciplined players who are better judges of basic poker strategy and how to manage risk-versus-reward. That, too, can make Spin and Go's profitable.

Some players point to how spin and go rake requirements are higher than what you typically encounter in a cash game or other tournament types, and therefore can cut into potential profits. Also, playing a bunch of spin and go's in a row for the minimum prize pool (2x) can be a little

Play Your First Spin and Go!

Register on the PokerStars website and use these poker tips and strategies to win your first Spin and Go games!

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Spin and Go Strategy: Tips to Win More

Winning Spin and Go players are often also versed in basic short-handed and heads-up tournament strategies where many of the same principles apply.

Having a good grasp of the poker hand rankings and the starting hand strengths is key as well since the fast structure generally means players become shallow-stacked relatively quickly.

Free Spin Video Poker

Because of the fast structure, it is imperative to get involved and try to accumulate chips right away. There's also limited time to gather reads on your other two opponents, so pay attention from the start and recognize their tightness or looseness during the first two levels, as that will help you judge how best to play against them.

Three-handed play means the button acts first preflop, and often that means from the button you should be opening all above-average hands and many medium-strength ones as well.

And if the button folds to you in the small blind, you should similarly adopt an aggressive approach.

Spin

When you do open-raise, keep in mind the stack sizes start short and quickly get shorter. On PokerStars, for instance, players start with 25 big blinds — 500 chips at 10/20.

The blinds then increase to 15/30, 20/40, 30/60, 40/80, 50/100, and so on. That means early on min-raising from the button and making it a little more when opening from the small blind, but not raising too big to make it hard to manoeuvre post-flop.

That said, there comes the point relatively soon in Spin and Go's when you'll need to move into a push-fold strategy, particularly once the effective stacks have slipped to the 10 BB range or less.

For this, it will help to become familiar with the push-fold strategy — including charts that can guide your thinking when deciding whether or not to jam your stack.

'Just sit down and do your homework with regards to ranges,' advises Nick Walsh of PokerStars Team Online who sometimes live streams Spin & Go's and discusses strategy. ' Have some guidelines on the kinds of way you should be playing.'

'It's little things like adjusting your preflop raise sizes and ranges. Adjusting how wide you're playing from all of the positions is huge,' says Walsh. 'You want to be playing loads of buttons heads-up and defending your blinds extremely wide, but in a controlled manner.'

Walsh also recommends practising smart bankroll management when playing Spin and Go's. He suggests having at least 200 buy-ins per stake level, since 'it's rare that people have swings deep enough to go broke with 200 buy-ins.'

Spin and Go's can be great for those who want to play poker for just a few minutes here and there, or for those who enjoy faster-paced games in which the results come quickly.

And unlike other new online formats that only lasted a few months before being pulled, Spin and Go's have proven themselves to be appealing both to the casual player and the professional poker player.

Spin and Go F.A.Q.

What are the Spin and Go tournaments at PokerStars?

Spin and Go's are a type fast-paced sit-and-go tournaments available at PokerStars. These online poker tournaments feature a hyper-turbo structure, 500-chip starting stacks, and a randomized prize pool that can reach up to 12,000x the buy-in.

Spin Poker Deluxe

What is a 'lottery-style' poker tournament?

In these tournaments, the prize pool is not determined by the sum of the buy-in fees paid by the participants but is assigned, at random, by an algorithm.

What's the maximum you can win on a Spin and Go?

When the biggest multiplier applies, a Spin and Go tournament pays $1,000,000 in real money as the first prize.

Is PokerStars the only website with this kind of games?

No. While the Spin and Go games are exclusive to PokerStars, many other poker sites have similar types of hyper-turbo sit-and-go tournaments with a randomized prize pool.

How many players are in a Spin and Go game?

Spin and Go's are 3-max online events.

Are Spin and Go games profitable?

The multiplier that applies on the prize pool can make the Spin and Go games extremely profitable. This table shows how many chances you have to play for the maximum prize available.

What is the best strategy to win at Spin and Go games?

Video Spin Poker Jackpots Youtube

The best Spin and Go strategy depends on the size of your stack and the blind level.

Most professional poker players suggest to start with an aggressive strategy and try to rake as many chips as possible from the early stages.

Triple Spin Poker

In some specific moments of the game, it might be advisable to adopt a 'push-fold' strategy. For a more detailed description of the best strategy to adopt (and a few examples, too) check out these Spin and Go poker tips.

Play Your First Spin and Go!

Register on the PokerStars website and use these poker tips and strategies to win your first Spin and Go games!

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    Full Tilt

Spin Poker looks a lot like a standard 3-line multi-play video poker game, but it has some significant differences.

The main hand is in the center line, and the other 2 lines are located above and below that line. When you decide which cards to keep and which cards to throw away, those cards are kept above and below, too.

But the cards are dealt from one deck with 47 cards left in it, which makes it impossible to get the same results on all 3 hands.

How to Play Spin Poker

All video poker games share certain gameplay features. You can find detailed explanation of those in our main video poker page. But I’ll share the basics here, too:

Spin Poker App

You start by placing a bet of between 1 and 5 coins. You should always go with the 5-coin bet, though, because that activates a higher payout on a royal flush. If you bet 1, 2, 3, or 4 coins, a royal flush pays off at 250 to 1. But when you bet 5 coins, the hand pays off at 800 to 1. It’s a significant difference that affects your bottom line over time.

Once you’ve placed your bet, you press the “deal” button, and the game deals you a 5 card poker hand. You can choose to keep or discard any, none, or all of the cards in front of you.

The computer deals you replacement cards for the ones you’ve discarded, and you get paid off based on the strength of your hand. These payoffs are detailed on the pay table for the game.

Some games are “multi-play” games, where you get the opportunity to play 3, 5, 10, or even 50 hands at a time. They all start with the same 5-card hand, but you get fresh deals on each line from a fresh 52 card deck. That’s where Spin Poker deviates from the norm. The cards are dealt from one 47 card deck, and they’re dealt from left to right in the discard spots.

This is a subtle but important difference between Spin Poker and multi-line poker—in fact, it’s important enough to warrant a name change.

Spin Poker, like many video poker variations, is just a variation that’s stapled onto an existing video poker game like Jacks or Better or Deuces Wild. It has a different name because of the 3-lines and the way the cards are dealt and replaced after the discard phase of the game.

Since this is the case, the pay tables and odds for Spin Poker are based on the base game.

Example

If you’re playing Jacks or Better with a 9/6 pay table and a 99.54% payback percentage, the same numbers hold true for the Spin Poker variation of the game. (The 9/6 refers to the payouts for the full house and the flush, respectively.)

There is a difference in the volatility of the game, though, because of the extra hands. You can expect bigger swings and longer losing streaks followed by occasional larger wins that make up for them. In the long run, you’ll lose money at about the same rate as you would in any other video poker game with these pay tables. It will just take longer for the long run to kick in. (And the long run takes a while to kick in anyway—longer than most people think. We’re talking about hundreds of thousands of hands.)

We’ve covered pay tables and payback percentages in detail on a lot of our other pages, but we’ll include an example of a typical pay table below to give you an idea (in case you’re a novice). This example is for a 9/6 Jacks or Better game:

HandReturn
Royal flush800 to 1
Straight flush50 to 1
4 of a Kind25 to 1
Full house9 to 1
Flush6 to 1
Straight4 to 1
3 of a kind3 to 1
2 pairs2 to 1
A pair of jacks or bettereven money

This is also called a “full pay” Jacks or Better game because it’s the best common version of the game. The payback percentage for this version of the game, assuming you make the correct holding/drawing decisions on every hand, is 99.54%. The payback percentage is the amount of each bet that the casino expects to pay back in winnings over the long run (hundreds of thousands of hands).

Jackpot Wheel Free Spins

Here’s how the payback percentage is used to calculate the expected profit on a machine:

You multiply the cost per hand by the number of bets you’re making per hour. You then multiply that by the payback percentage to get the amount paid back to the player in winnings. Subtract that from the amount bet per hour and you get the expected hourly loss.

Let’s say you’re playing the 9/6 game above. You’re placing 15 coins in action on each hand (3 hands X 5 coins per hand). Assuming you’re playing a quarter game, that’s $3.75 per hand. You’re going to average probably 600 hands per hour, so 600 X $3.75 = $2250 per hour. But the casino expects to pay you back winnings of $2250 X 99.54%, or $2239.65. You’re expected to lose the difference, $2250 – $2239.65, or $10.35 per hour.

But keep in mind that’s a long term expectation. In the short run, you’ll see a higher loss rate than that (probably) because you only see a royal flush once every 40,000 hands or so. The 800 to 1 payout for that hand makes up a lot of the return percentage.

The strategy for Spin Poker is exactly the same as it is for the base game. You can find strategy tables for almost all of the base games available on the appropriate game-specific page on our site. If you’ve never used a video poker strategy chart before, here’s how one works:

You’re given a list of possibilities from best to worst. You compare them to what’s on your list and keep the first one that applies to your hand. The royal flush is always at the top, because it’s a pat hand that pays off more than any other hand. The correct strategy choice with that hand is to hold all 5 cards and collect your winnings.

Most “pat hands”—hands that pay off without having to be improved—are held, but not in every case and not in every game. Sometimes you’ll throw away a winning hand to try to draw to a much better hand.

Example

A game where you have a pair of jacks but also a draw to a royal flush. If you hold the pair, you’re guaranteed an even money payout. But if you draw to the royal flush, you have a 1/47 chance of winning 800 to 1. The difference in expected value is tremendous over time.

Spin Poker Deluxe is essentially the same game as Spin Poker with the addition of more pay lines. As with Spin Poker, your strategy doesn’t change, and the payback percentages don’t change. The only difference is in terms of standard deviation and volatility. In Spin Poker Deluxe, you’re dealing with 20 pay lines, which increases the chance of getting a paying hand every time you play. The difference is that you pay for each of those lines, which increases the amount of money you have in action, too.

Spin Poker with Dream Card

Spin Poker with Dream Card is the same game as Spin Poker, but for an extra 5 credits, you get the “Dream Card” option activated. To activate this option, you place 5 additional coins on your bet. When you get your initial hand, you get 4 cards plus a “dream card”, which is similar to (but not exactly the same as) a wild card. The game suggests which card would be best for you, but you have the option to change it. (And sometimes you should – Michael Shackleford suggests that sometimes the game gives the wrong advice.)

Spin Poker is an interesting fusion of a couple of different slot machine concepts with video poker play. It also resembles multi-line video poker games in some interesting ways. The nice thing about this game is that the odds and strategies are the same as for the base game, so you don’t have to learn anything new. The only disadvantage is the increased volatility, which might or might not be a problem for you. It depends on your temperament.