The primary purpose of range charts is to guide players in optimizing their preflop play based on different stack sizes and situations. The proper Spin and Go charts cover all important preflop scenarios, ensuring that you’ll rarely encounter a scenario where you’re unsure how to play a specific hand. With these charts in your toolbox, you can focus on improving your postflop game, confident that your preflop decisions are already profitable.
When it comes to Spin and Go games, different charts are used based on your position, effective stack size, and whether you are playing 3-handed or heads-up.
Playing a hand most profitably varies widely depending on the previously mentioned factors. For example, if you have AQs in 3way SBvBB with a 15bb effective stack in a 3-handed situation, your best action would be to min-raise and allow your opponents to wander in with weaker hands. However, as soon as your effective stack drops to less than 13bb, simply shoving AQs can be even better while also simplifying your strategy (which is especially relevant when playing a lot of tables). A good chart for Spin and Go games should include these changes.
Using preflop charts will give you a clear advantage over your opponents.
Imagine a football team that puts as much effort and focus into attacking as it does into defending, maintaining formation at all times, and sticking to a plan that works effectively against every possible opponent. They use short, precise passes, giving their opponent no chance to interrupt them—much like FC Barcelona during their famous tiki-taka era. Barcelona passed the ball around patiently, keeping possession and controlling the tempo. This strategy made it difficult for opponents to exploit any weaknesses because their play was well-rounded and extremely hard to counter. This is the equivalent of GTO (Game Theory Optimal) play in poker.
GTO ranges in poker, like a balanced football strategy, are designed to minimize weaknesses and make it difficult for opponents to find an edge. It’s a safe and reliable way to play since it involves making decisions that are theoretically unbeatable in the long run. The idea is to create a balanced strategy that opponents can’t exploit, regardless of how they play.
Now, consider a football team that adapts its strategy based on the specific weaknesses of its opponent. If they notice that the opponent’s defense is slow, they might play more long balls over the top to exploit that. If the opponent is weak in the air, they might focus on crossing the ball into the box more often. This team takes advantage of the opponent's specific vulnerabilities to score goals.
Consider Leicester City during their 2015-2016 Premier League-winning season. They often played a counter-attacking style that exploited the fact that many teams they faced pushed up the field, leaving space behind their defense. Similarly, in poker, you might min-raise more if you notice that hobby players fold too often from BB preflop in HU situations. By noticing their tendencies, you can create exploitative ranges for HU SB preflop situations. The idea is to adjust your strategy to exploit your opponents' specific weaknesses.
Neither GTO nor exploitative ranges are inherently superior to the other. It all depends on the actual game you’re playing. And it’s not as if you should exclusively stick to one style. If your opponent is weaker and you find spots to exploit them, you should go for it, regardless of what GTO suggests. However, if your opponent is playing GTO, you should also stick to it to balance out their moves.
This is quite a fun one, since vs. hobby players we can maintain aggressive MR (minraise) all the way down to 10bb even when GTO would stop doing so at around 12-13bb. The reason is hobby players simply fold more preflop while not fighting back with enough 3bets, and even if they call, they will be out of position with less than stellar postflop skills.
As this one suggests, we can be very straightforward and unprotected with our hands. But keep in mind that this only works against hobby players; as soon as we face someone who knows what they are doing, we will be exploitable just as easily with this strategy.
