Difficile de jouer hors de position : il ne faut pas trop call

Lorsque SB MR, nous avons deux options principales : call ou 3-bet shove.

📌 Pourquoi ne pas trop call ?

1️⃣ Nous sommes hors de position

• En callant, nous serons toujours les premiers à parler après le flop.
• Cela donne un désavantage stratégique, car SB pourra plus facilement nous mettre sous pression, même si c'est un joueur récréatif.

2️⃣ La range de SB est plutôt forte

• La plupart des joueurs récréatifs MR avec une range plus forte que la GTO.
• En général, un joueur récréatif va MR ses mains fortes (AJo+, KQo, 88+) et limp ses mains moyennes ou faibles.
• Cela signifie que la range de MR est déjà très filtrée et souvent plus difficile à jouer contre.

📌 Mais il faut tout de même défendre une partie des mains !

• Si nous foldons trop souvent, nous n'allons pas défendre grand chose...
• Nous devons donc call avec certaines mains solides qui se jouent relativement bien, comme les mains suited, et les meilleures mains offsuited.

<span class="explanation_section">📕 L’objectif est de trouver un équilibre : ne pas défendre trop large pour éviter d’être dominé postflop, mais ne pas fold trop souvent pour ne pas être exploitable.</span>

Pourquoi faut-il 3-bet shove ses meilleures mains ?

Une autre façon de répondre au MR de SB est de 3-bet shove, c’est-à-dire envoyer directement tapis.

📌 Pourquoi shove est souvent meilleur qu’un 3-bet classique ?

• Les joueurs récréatifs font de grosses erreurs contre un 3bet shove. Un joueur récréatif va souvent trop call de mauvaises mains.
• Nous maximisons donc l’EV de nos meilleures mains.
• Nous évitons de jouer hors de position. Avec un shove, nous réglons le coup préflop et ne laissons pas l’adversaire nous mettre la pression.

📌 Quelles mains shove en priorité ?

• A8o+, A7s+ → Ax dominent la plupart des calls trop loose de SB.
• KQ → Souvent devant la range qui va call.
• 77+ → Les pocket pairs sont de bonnes mains à shove car elles conservent une bonne équité même lorsqu’elles sont payées.
• Au plus nous sommes short, au plus nous souhaiterons élargir cette range.

📌 Pourquoi éviter les 3-bet non all-in ?

• Jouer un gros pot hors de position est difficile. Le 3-bet NA nous mettra souvent dans une situation inconfortable postflop, d'autant que SB va beaucoup call, ce qui nous empêchera de profiter pleinement de notre fold équité.
• Le 3-bet shove a une EV proche, voire supérieure au 3-bet classique. Pourquoi prendre un risque de faire des erreurs hors de position ?

<span class="explanation_section">📕 Le 3-bet A est souvent (toujours) plus simple et plus rentable qu'un 3-bet NA.</span>

Erreurs courantes préflop en BB vs SB minraise

Beaucoup de joueurs débutants font des erreurs coûteuses dans cette situation. Voici les plus fréquentes et comment les éviter :

🔴 Erreur 1 : Trop call hors de position

• Ne pas comprendre l’impact de la position et défendre des mains trop faibles.
• Se retrouver postflop avec une main difficile à jouer, ce qui entraîne des décisions compliquées et une perte d’EV.

✅ Solution : Réduire sa range de call et privilégier des mains solides (jouables facilement comme les mains suited).

🔴 Erreur 2 : Ne pas assez 3-bet shove

• Certains joueurs ne 3-bet shove pas avec ATo, ou 77, pensant que c’est trop agressif.
• Pourtant, contre un SB qui call trop loose, ces shoves sont très EV+.‍

✅ Solution : Osez shove les bonnes mains pour maximiser son EV et éviter de jouer hors de position.

🔴 Erreur 3 : Trop 3-bet NA

• Penser qu’un 3-bet NA est plus approprié qu’un shove.
• Se retrouver dans un pot trop gros hors de position, où il sera difficile de manoeuvrer.

✅ Solution : Privilégier le 3-bet shove avec vos mains fortes, et le call avec les mains jouables postflop.

The most profitable position in Spin (after the BTN)

📌 Why is it so important?

• The SB HU is the second most profitable position in Spin & Go (~20/30 chips EV/game).
• You always act last post-flop.
• Working on your SB HU game is highly profitable and crucial for progress. It's one of the positions, along with BTN in 3Way, where you'll get the most return on your investment in terms of effort.

<span class="explanation_section">📕 Like the Button in 3-Way, make SB HU a priority in your learning.</span>

The main mistake not to make: don't fold too often

📌 Why avoid folding?

• A common mistake for beginner players is folding too many hands in the SB. Against a single opponent, with the advantage of position, folding should be exceptional.
• Acting last post-flop allows you to exploit passive tendencies in your opponents. A simple limp followed by a c-bet is often enough to take the pot. Hence the importance of playing many hands from this position.

📊 Statistical data:

• 14-25bb deep, an average recreational player in the SB folds between 12 and 20% of the time, compared to the recommended 0-6%. This mistake leads to a significant loss of EV.

<span class="explanation_section">📕 In SB HU, you can profitably play almost 100% of your hands.</span>

Choosing between limp and minraise (MR)

📊 In theory:

• In theory, against recreational players, MR is almost always more profitable (with your entire range).
• This is due to the excessive folding from recreational players against an MR, and the few 3-bets (both all-in and non-all-in).

📊 In practice:

• However, in practice, if you abuse MR, even a recreational player might adapt quickly.
• They will naturally defend much wider, and increase their 3-bet shove frequency.

📌 The best strategy?

• Adopt a balanced approach by mixing limp and MR.
• Against a competent player, it may be necessary to limp some strong hands to avoid being "face-up" (i.e., your opponent easily guessing the strength of your hand based on your actions).
• But against recreational players who are generally not attentive to this, you can simplify your strategy: raise all your strong hands and limp the rest. Remember, the stronger your hand, the more you want to build the pot to maximize your profit.

📌 Interpreting our charts

• ‍There are no specific hands to limp or MR. You can deviate from our charts by slightly increasing (or decreasing) your MR range, depending on your judgment.This MR configuration of K8+, Q8+, J8+, T8+, 89 is just a helpful way to memorize the general idea: MR your best hands. But you can very well MR A7s, K7s, 87o without any issue.

📌 What sizing to use?

• ‍BB doesn't adjust to sizings, which allows us to adjust our raise depending on the strength of our hand.
• You can raise between 2bb and 3bb depending on the effective stack size and the strength of your hand.

📌 Why stop MR under 10-11bb?

• The pot reaches 4bb, making the hand difficult to control post-flop, as it represents almost half of your stack.
• Limp or shove is more optimal: Limp or shove is more optimal: by limping, you keep the pot manageable, reducing variance and allowing your skill to shine. You will still have the chance to de-stack your opponent with your strong hands.

<span class="explanation_section">📕 12bb+ prioritize open raising with all your best hands</span>

Why Open-Shove (OS) certain hands?

There are two main reasons for making a direct OS:

📌 Exploit bad calls from BB

• Between 14bb-25bb, recreational players in the BB will often call an all-in with dominated hands.
• For example, they might call 25bb with A5o, even though they shouldn't. In this case, OS with a hand like AJo is more profitable than a simple MR because you're fully exploiting these wide calls.
• This is why our ranges recommend OS with A9o+ starting at 25bb.

📌 Avoid complicated post-flop decisions with hands that dominate the opponent's range

• Certain hands, like small pairs or small Ax hands, are difficult to play post-flop (unless you hit a set or an Ace). Yet, they still hold decent equity against the opponent’s range. (With A3 or 55 on a K82 flop, you often still have the best hand.)
• By shoving pre-flop, you gain fold equity (your opponent can fold), and even if they call, you generally have between 40% and 70% chance of winning, which results in more money in the long run. The smaller your stack gets, the more profitable it becomes to widen your OS range.

<span class="explanation_section">📕 In HU SB, it is important to have an OS range to maximize EV and exploit BB’s bad calls.</span>

Why not abuse shoving under 12bb?

Recreational players don’t call shoves enough when the stack is under 12bb (unlike 14bb+, where they called too much).

📌 Consequences in theory

• Widening your shove range becomes EV+ because your opponent folds too often.

📌 Consequences in practice

• Although these shoves are profitable, they increase variance and risk premature elimination for a marginal gain in EV. Against weaker players, it’s better to wait for less risky situations to accumulate chips.
• That’s why our charts recommend fewer OS shoves than GTO below 12bb: although profitable, the real gain is low compared to the risk of elimination and missing out on your edge in future hands.

📌 Attention...

• This only applies to hands where the EV of OS and limp is similar. For hands we recommend to OS, they still hold very positive EV when shoved and should always be OS’d (e.g., 22-55, Ax, etc.).

<span class="explanation_section">📕 For 12bb-, it's better to play most of your range as a limp to reduce variance. However, some hands are still much more profitable when OSed directly.</span>

With less than 6bb, limp no longer works

When your stack drops below 6bb, it’s no longer possible to exploit your edge. The best way to exploit your opponent is to adopt a simple "push or fold" strategy.

• It simplifies your decisions and reduces the risk of costly mistakes.
• BB will tend to not call enough, which increases your EV.

<span class="explanation_section">📕 For 6bb-, adopt a push or fold strategy. Knowing the correct OS ranges becomes crucial.</span>

Quick Situation Analysis

When the Small Blind (SB) decides to shove directly, their range is generally strong.

This means we need to be cautious and call with an adapted range. Contrary to what GTO might suggest, we will play tighter to maximize our chances of staying in the game.

📊 What’s in the SB range?

• SB rarely shoves against BB in a 3-way, but when they do, their range is often made up of:
  • Pocket pairs (PP) 55+
  • Ax, especially medium and low Aces (A2-A9)
  • Kx and broadways
  • Sometimes a few random hands but this is rare.

<span class="explanation_section">📕 The SB range is tighter than it should be, forcing you to adjust.</span>

Why call tighter than GTO?

📌 Reason 1: SB shoves a stronger range than GTO

• Since SB plays a range that is often solid, borderline calls (like A8o, KQo, KTs, 33 deep) lose their profitability.
• GTO is designed to play against a balanced and wide range, but here, SB is tighter, so we need to tighten up our calls.

📌 Reason 2: Avoid calls with minimal EV

• Even if a hand is slightly profitable (EV+), it doesn’t always justify the risk.
• Each confrontation with a weak hand increases the risk of elimination.
• In Spin, preserving your stack is often more important than taking a marginal EV spot.

<span class="explanation_section">📕 By tightening your call range, you avoid unnecessary risks for marginal gains. This approach allows you to preserve your stack, minimize variance, and wait for better opportunities to exploit your opponents' mistakes.</span>

Common Mistakes in BB Against SB's All-In

🔴 Mistake 1: Calling too often with "weak hands"

• Calling with hands like A8o, KJo, or Q9s 25 deep simply because they seem okay.
  ✅ Solution: Tighten your call range and focus on strong hands (which you should know).

🔴 Mistake 2: Not respecting SB's range

• Thinking that SB shoves wide, when their range is often tight in 3-way.
  ✅ Solution: Remember, SB rarely shoves and usually with solid hands.

🔴 Mistake 3: Calling based only on immediate EV

• Ignoring the importance of preserving your stack for future situations.
  ✅ Solution: Avoid marginal EV+ calls that increase variance without real strategic gain.

What’s in the SB open range?

📊 SB raises too little preflop

• In general, recreational players in SB open-raise much less than GTO.
• Their open range is a bit stronger than expected, with hands like Ax, broadways (KQ, QJ), and pairs in particular.

📊 The open sizing is often revealing

• Recreational players vary their sizing between 2x and 4x, but their choice is not random:
  • A 2x sizing is often used with a merged, very wide range, often excluding premium hands.
  • A 3x or larger sizing typically indicates a stronger range, composed of solid Ax hands, suited broadways, TT+.

• The larger the sizing, the more cautious you need to be. Opens of 3x or 4x deserve more respect, and you need to tighten your defense range significantly.

📊 SB calls too much against 3-bets

• Recreational players have difficulty folding after they’ve already invested money in the pot.
• Whether it's a non-all-in 3-bet (NA) or a 3-bet shove, they call way too much.

<span class="explanation_section">📕 SB calls way too much against 3-bets.</span>

How to adapt our strategy?

📌 Avoid 3-bet bluffs

• Bluffing against a recreational player in SB is rarely a good idea. Their tendency to call too often makes bluffs ineffective and unnecessarily increases variance.
• The best thing to do is to eliminate 3-bet bluffs and focus on value 3-bets that will fully exploit their tendency to call with weak hands.‍

📌 Exploit the excess of calls with 3-bet shoves

• Against a player who calls too much, 3-bet shoving becomes the most EV+ move.
• It’s not about shoving way more than GTO to exploit your opponents, the simple act of shoving your best hands increases the EV of every hand because recreational players will call with many dominated hands (A5o, KJo…).
• In comparison, a non-all-in 3-bet is less effective, because they call with the same hands but leave us playing a complicated pot postflop.

📌 Which hands to 3-bet shove?

• Hands that dominate the call ranges of your opponents, like the best Ax and best pocket pairs.
• Even 10bb deep, you need to remain tight, as SB’s open range is typically strong.

📌 Adapting your call range

• The majority of your range will be played by calling since being in position offers a strategic advantage. This allows you to exploit SB, who will often make mistakes out of position, by slightly widening your call range.
• However, it's important to stay selective since SB’s open range is generally solid.
• In the end, your call range remains close to what GTO recommends at 10bb+.

📌 Adapting your range according to open sizing

• Our charts have been calculated against an open sizing of 2.5bb 12bb, and 2bb 12bb-.
• You can adapt your call range depending on SB's sizing as follows:‍
• Against a 2bb 12bb+: you can widen your call range (compared to our tables).‍
• Against a 2.5bb 12bb- or 3x+: tighten your range drastically and only play solid hands to avoid complicated postflop pots.

‍

<span class="explanation_section">📕 Only prioritize 3-bet shoves with your best hands, and adapt your calls based on SB’s open sizing.</span>

Common Preflop Mistakes in BB vs SB Open

🔴 Mistake 1: Calling too much against SB’s opens.

• Calling with marginal hands like Q2o or 62o against a standard open increases variance unnecessarily.
  ✅ Solution: Be selective and adjust your call range based on SB's sizing.

🔴 Mistake 2: Including 3-bet bluffs.

• Bluffs are ineffective because recreational players call too frequently against 3-bets.
  ✅ Solution: Remove 3-bet bluffs and focus solely on value 3-bets, which will be far more profitable.

🔴 Mistake 3: Not shoving your best hands.

• Not using the 3-bet shove with your best hands against SB is a significant loss of EV.
  ✅ Solution: Exploit the excess of calls from recreational players by shoving your strong hands to maximize your gains.

What’s the difference between BB vs BTN limp and BB vs limp + limp?

• The main difference is that in BB vs BTN limp, there is only one opponent and 0.5bb less dead money in the pot.
• In BB vs limp + limp, there are two opponents, making decisions more complex.

💡 Note: Recreational players in SB almost always call the Button’s limp, making this situation (BB vs BTN limp) rather rare.

‍

The BTN’s Range is Rarely Strong

📊 Why is a BTN limp a sign of weakness?

• A player limping on the BTN usually has a medium or weak hand.
• Strong hands are almost always played with a raise.
• Limping often signals a willingness to see a cheap flop.

📌 How to take advantage?

You have two options:

• Isolate (all-in or non all-in )
• See a free flop with medium or weak hands.

‍

<span class="explanation_section">📕 BTN rarely has a strong hand, so you can play aggressively (ISO) with little risk or simply check and see a free flop.</span>

ISO All-in vs ISO Non-All-in

When an opponent limps, you need to decide whether to ISO all-in or raise smaller (ISO Non-All-in).

📌 When to ISO Non-All-in?

• A Non-All-in ISO is preferred with strong broadways (e.g., KQ, QJ, KJ) and some premium hands.
• These hands dominate the hands BTN will call with, such as K5, Q9, JT, K3s.
• Low risk of limp shove: Recreational players limp shove very rarely (~3% of the time).

📌 Why not always all-in?

• Some players choose to all-in with some of these hands, but this increases variance without necessarily improving overall EV, considering the risk of getting eliminated.

📌 When to ISO All-in?

• The best hands are played as ISO all-in because recreational players call too often with weak hands.
• You ISO shove with:
  • All Ax (A8o+ at 20bb+).
  • Most pocket pairs (PP).
  • The strongest broadways (KQ, KJ) from 12bb.
• This allows you to:
  • Maximize your equity.
  • Exploit the tendency of recreational players to over-call all-ins with medium hands.
  • Avoid tricky postflop decisions out of position.

💡 Note: With 20bb+, you can shove strong Ax hands if you’re not comfortable postflop.

<span class="explanation_section">📕 ISO NA to maximize value with dominant broadways, ISO All-in to capture equity and punish wide calls. From 12bb, only AA and KK are ISO NA.</span>

Common Mistake in BB vs BTN limp

🔴 Not ISO shoving strong hands

Hesitating to ISO shove 88 or AJo is a mistake. Allowing your opponent to see a free flop can reduce your long-term winnings.

👉 Solution: Don’t let BTN see a cheap flop when you have a strong hand. Use ISO shove.

‍

Stay Patient with a Deep Stack

📊 Why play tight against an all-in?

• BTN rarely shoves, but when they do, their range is decent, made up of hands like pocket pairs (22+), Ax offsuit, and a few broadways (KQo, QJo).

• Even though some slightly EV+ hands (like A7o or 55) may seem tempting to call, we don’t want to play flips that deep. Since we have a strategic edge over BTN, we want to prolong the game and wait for more profitable spots. Risking our game for a marginal gain is unnecessary, especially with 14bb or more.

<span class="explanation_section">📕 With a deep stack, it's best to call only solid hands (very solid, AT+, 55+...)</span>

Widen your range as the effective stack decreases

📊 Why call wider when short?

• With less than 12bb, opportunities to make up for missed EV become rare. Every spot counts, and it's important to capture all the available EV.
• BTN’s open-raise range starts to look more like GTO, which justifies widening our calling range.
• With very short stacks (8bb or less), we must almost call the GTO range to avoid sacrificing EV. This means calling more Ax hands, all pocket pairs, and more broadways.

<span class="explanation_section">📕 Adopt an exploitative approach by tightening your calls when deep and gradually widening them as stacks decrease.</span>

Common Mistakes in BB vs BTN Open Shove

🔴 Mistake 1: Calling too often with a deep stack.

• Calling hands like A7o or 55 at 20bb deep may seem correct, but it unnecessarily increases variance.
  👉 Solution: Be patient and wait for spots where your edge can shine more.

🔴 Mistake 2: Not calling enough when short.

• With 12bb or less, not calling slightly EV+ hands like A7o or 33 is a significant EV loss.
  👉 Solution: Stick closer to the GTO strategy to capture all the available EV.

Even if BU is a Recreational Player, Don’t Call Too Much

📊 What’s in BU’s open range?

• Recreational players open-raise relatively infrequently, but with a range that’s not as strong as it might seem. It’s generally similar to the GTO range, including:
  • Pocket pairs (22+).
  • Ax
  • Broadways (KJo, QTo, etc.).
• ery strong hands like AA, KK, or AKs are sometimes played differently (open-shove or 3x).

📌 Why avoid calling too wide?

• Being out of position against a recreational player remains a significant disadvantage, even if your skill level is better than theirs.
• Calling with marginal hands like Q2o or 95o can put you in difficult postflop situations, causing you to lose chips unnecessarily.

📌 Note on BTN’s open sizing

• Our charts are designed for a standard BTN open (2bb). However, it’s important to note that recreational players use different open sizes.
• In most cases, the size of their raise is an indicator of the strength of their hand: the larger the sizing (2.5x, 3x, 4x, or more), the stronger their hand generally is.
• Therefore, facing such a sizing, you should significantly tighten your calling range. This is especially relevant as the larger the preflop sizing, the more likely they are to c-bet frequently with large sizes.

<span class="explanation_section">📕 BTN's range is quite solid. Against this range, you should only call with hands that play well postflop.</span>

Shove Your Strong Hands and Forget About Bluffing

📊 Why avoid bluffs in 3-betting?

Recreational players have a hard time folding once they’ve invested in the pot.

• They often call too much against non-all-in 3-bets.
• Bluffing increases variance unnecessarily and exposes you to complex postflop decisions.

📌 Why prioritize 3-bet shoves in value?

• 3-bet shoves directly exploit their tendency to call too much with weak hands.
• By shoving, you simplify your decisions, avoiding the complications of postflop play.‍
• The 3-bet shove maximizes your EV with your best hands.

<span class="explanation_section">📕 Favor 3-bet shoves with your best hands (AT+, 55+...) and completely eliminate 3-bet bluffs from your strategy.</span>

Common Mistakes BB vs BU Open

🔴 Mistake #1: Calling too wide

• Calling with marginal hands like Q2o or 95o can put you in tough out-of-position spots.
  👉 Solution: Call only with solid hands that play well postflop.

🔴 Mistake #2: Bluffing in 3-bet

• Bluffs are rarely effective against recreational players who call too often.
  👉 Solution: Stop bluffing and focus on value 3-bet shoves.

🔴 Mistake #3: Not shoving your best hands

• Hesitating to shove hands like AKo or TT is an EV loss against a recreational player who calls too often.
  👉 Solution: Exploit their weakness by using exploitative 3-bet shoves.

‍

Quick Situation Analysis

Facing two raises, we typically encounter a solid range from BTN and a somewhat capped range from SB, as the latter would have 3-bet with their better hands. If SB is a recreational player, they will also tend to call too often in SB, which significantly weakens their range compared to what it should be.

With 5bb of dead money in the pot and only one solid range (BTN), it's possible to exploit SB's excessive calls. However, to achieve this, a more detailed analysis of their ranges is needed, particularly their calling range against an all-in.

What Are the Opponents’ Tendencies?

📊 BTN :

• Minraises with a range generally close to GTO, meaning it's quite strong, but it can include some random hands.
• Calls far too often against a shove, even with marginal hands, which makes shoves highly EV+.

📊 SB :

• Calls way too much against BTN's minraise, often with medium hands.
• Also calls too frequently against a squeeze shove.

<span class="explanation_section">📕 We are facing two moderate ranges, in a pot with 5bb already, and our opponents call too many dominated hands when we decide to shove.</span>

Recommended Strategy

📌 Prioritize Squeeze Shoves

• With about 5bb of dead money it’s often more profitable to shove your strong hands directly to capture the pot immediately.
• This simplifies your decision and maximizes your EV, as BTN and SB call too much with dominated hands.

📌 Which Hands to Shove?

• Hands that dominate the opponents' calling ranges, such as Ax, KQ, and pocket pairs, are ideal for a shove.
• As the effective stack gets smaller, you’ll need to widen your ISO shove range.

📌 Caution with Slightly EV+ Hands:

• Avoid shoving small Axo hands or pocket pairs 22-44 with 20bb+, even though it's technically more EV+ than just calling. This increases the risk of elimination for a minimal EV gain. By playing more cautiously, you preserve the opportunity to access potentially much more profitable spots in the future.
• This approach limits variance and ensures better control of your game, especially early on (this is how our ranges were developed).

📌 When to Call in BB?

• The pot odds for calling are very favorable, allowing you to defend most of your range. However, BTN’s range remains quite strong, so it's justified to fold a small portion of your weakest hands.

<span class="explanation_section">📕 Adopt an aggressive approach with your strong hands and call with most of the rest.</span>

Common Mistakes in BB vs Minraise + Call

🔴 Mistake 1: Not Squeezing All-in Enough

• Not shoving your strong hands often enough can significantly reduce your EV.
  👉 Solution: Use squeeze shoves exploitatively to capture the dead money in the pot and take advantage of your opponents' excessive calls.

🔴 Mistake 2: Defending Too Many Weak Hands

• Calling with hands like 73o or J2o isn’t very profitable, even if you're only adding 1bb to a pot of 5.
  👉 Solution: Don’t defend 100% of your range and fold the bottom of your range.

Quick Situation Analysis

Facing two limps, we can already assume that the player in the BTN is recreational and doesn't have a very strong hand, just like the player in the SB, who would likely have raised with a better hand.

In situations like this, where the opponents' ranges are marginal, there are exploitation opportunities, particularly through ISO. However, before exploiting this strategy, you need to understand how your opponents will react to an ISO and know the composition of their range.

What Are the Opponents’ Tendencies?

📊 Tendency 1: Limp with Weak Hands

• Recreational players in BTN and SB limp a large portion of their medium hands. The SB often limps with an even weaker range than BTN, including hands like weak offsuit hands (T5o, J6o). This creates opportunities for you, as there are already 3 blinds in the pot, and the opponents' ranges are weak.

📊 Tendency 2: Call Too Frequently

• A common mistake is their tendency to call too often against your ISO or all-in. For example, they might call a 20bb ISO all-in with Q7s or A2o, which gives you the opportunity to exploit their mistakes with value ISO shoves.

Maximize Your Profits: Prioritize ISO Shove

📌 Why is Shoving Often Better?

• You immediately maximize EV by exploiting their wide calls.
• It avoids playing a complicated multiway pot postflop.
• When your opponents fold, you take down 3 blinds.

📌 Which Hands to Shove?

• As is often the case with ISO shoves, the ideal hands are those that dominate the opponents’ range and don’t play very well postflop. These are Ax hands and pocket pairs deep. As the effective stack gets smaller, we widen this range to include the best Ks, then all Ks and Qs.

📌 Caution with Slightly EV+ Hands:

• Avoid shoving small Axo hands with 18bb+ even though it’s technically more EV+ than just calling. This increases the risk of elimination for a minimal EV gain. By playing more cautiously, you preserve the opportunity to access potentially much more profitable spots in the future.

📌 When to Use Non-All-in ISO?

• Use non-all-in ISO only if you're comfortable postflop and have very strong hands like AA, KK, or QQ. This allows you to extract maximum value. At 14bb and below, non-all-in ISO is less relevant than when you’re 25bb deep. ISO all-in becomes the most profitable action with all ISO combos.

<span class="explanation_section">📕 Prioritize ISO shove for your strong hands, and use non-all-in ISO in specific cases.</span>

Common Mistakes in BB vs Limp + Limp

🔴 Mistake 1: Not ISO Shoving Enough

• Many players hesitate to shove their strong hands like AJo or 66, fearing they won’t properly optimize their EV.
  👉 Solution: Consistently integrate shoves with your strong hands to exploit wide calls. This is the most profitable action.

🔴 Mistake 2: Overusing Non-All-in ISO

• Non-all-in ISO with hands like QJo or K9s can lead to complex postflop situations, especially against players who call a lot.
  👉 Solution: Reserve non-all-in ISO for premium hands like AA or KK, where you can comfortably play postflop.

A Difficult Position That’s Important to Simplify

📌 Why is the situation complicated?

• When you’re playing in the Small Blind (SB), you’ll always be out of position, meaning your opponent (Big Blind) acts after you postflop. This disadvantage makes every decision more difficult and increases the risk of mistakes.
• Playing pots out of position with marginal hands can be frustrating and costly, especially if you're a beginner.

📌 Why simplify your strategy?

• A strategy that is too complex may be poorly executed, leading to significant losses. On the other hand, a simple approach allows you to focus on the essentials and play your hands confidently.

<span class="explanation_section">📕 In a difficult position like SB vs BB, it's better to execute a simple strategy well than a complicated strategy poorly.</span>

Wide Ranges and Frequent Showdowns

📌 Why are the ranges wide?

• In blind battles (SB vs BB), neither you nor your opponent have a particularly strong range. This means you’ll often play with medium or marginal hands.
• Unlike an open from the BTN, you’ll often have to fight postflop with fewer information and weaker hands.

📌 What does this imply?

• These frequent showdowns and wide ranges make the SB particularly tricky to play. To succeed, it’s important to know how to choose the right hands and understand how your opponent in BB will respond.

<span class="explanation_section">📕 Expect regular showdowns with marginal hands.</span>

Should You Fold, Limp, or Raise?

📌 Adopt a Simple Strategy: Raise or Fold

• Fold: The SB is a position where it’s better to fold a significant portion of your hands. It can even be worth folding some hands that are slightly EV+. This simplifies your decisions and reduces the risk of mistakes in this tough position.
• Raise: For the hands you do play, always prefer a raise.

📌 And Limping?

• While limping can be used in some profitable ways, it complicates your strategy and your range memorization, and it’s not necessary for beginners or even for intermediate players.
• If you're comfortable, you can add a few limps to the top of your folding range, but it won’t make a big difference to your results.

<span class="explanation_section">📕 To start, keep it simple: fold or raise only. You can add limps, but this doubles your postflop workload and makes range memorization and understanding harder.</span>

Raise Shove or Standard Raise: Which to Choose?

📌 Why Opt for Open-Shoves from the SB?

As mentioned, the SB position is difficult to play. With 1.5bb of dead money already in the pot, simplifying your strategy with open-shoves (OS) can be a good option, especially when the EV is similar to a min-raise (MR).

• This avoids the common postflop errors in the SB.
• You immediately capitalize on the dead money in the pot.
• Although it increases variance, this strategy greatly simplifies your decisions.

📌 14bb+ : Exploit Overcalling with Shoves

• Recreational players in the BB tend to overcall against all-ins, especially with dominated hands.
• Hands like ATs, A9s, or 88s are very profitable in a shove. They often dominate the BB’s calling range and simplify decision-making by avoiding postflop play.

<span class="explanation_section">📕 When you have very strong hands that dominate the opponent’s range (Ax, PP), include them in your OS range to maximize their EV.</span>

📌 From 14bb: Favor OS Over MR

• With a stack of 14bb or less, many hands that might be slightly more EV+ with an MR or limp than an OS can also be shoved to simplify your decisions.
• By shoving, you maximize immediate EV and avoid postflop mistakes, even though this increases variance.

📌 What Sizing Should You Use for Standard Raises?

Adjust your sizing based on the strength of your hand:

• With strong hands, like QQ or KQ, use a larger sizing (2.5x to 3.5x) to maximize value against the BB.
• With weaker hands, use a default sizing of 2x.

<span class="explanation_section">📕 Against recreational players, vary your sizing based on the strength of your hand to maximize your profits.</span>

Common Mistakes in SB vs BB

🔴 Mistake 1: Limping Too Much

• Limping too often deprives the SB of the ability to build the pot with decent hands and apply pressure on the BB.
  👉 Solution: Adopt a simple strategy with only raises or folds.

🔴 Mistake 2: Playing Too Many Hands

• Playing marginal hands that don’t play well postflop (like J5o or 64o) can put you in difficult situations.
  👉 Solution: Be selective and focus on solid hands to limit your mistakes.

🔴 Mistake 3: Not Shoving Your Strong Hands

• Hesitating to shove hands like AJo or TT is a common mistake, especially since recreational players in the BB call too loosely against open shoves (OS).
  👉 Solution: Shove your strong hands that dominate the BB’s calling range.

🔴 Mistake 4: Not Shoving Enough Strong Hands

• Failing to include enough hands in your shove range starting from 14bb can be a mistake, especially if you're not entirely comfortable in the SB. While some hands might theoretically be slightly more EV+ with a min-raise (MR) than an OS, they are often more profitable in an OS in practice. This ensures perfect execution, as opposed to postflop play, which might be poorly handled after a limp or MR.
  👉 Solution: From 14bb, expand your shove range to include all hands with EV better than or close to that of MR and limping.

What to Base Your Decision on When Deciding to Call?

📌 Deux éléments clés influencent votre décision :

• Two key factors influence your decision:
• The BB’s calling range.

What Are the Tendencies of Recreational Players?

📊 BTN:

Tendency to shove too wide deep (16+ BB):

• Recreational players over-shove some marginal hands like A4o, KJo, or 22, which creates exploitation opportunities for you.

Insufficient shoving short (16 BB or less):

• BTN becomes more conservative as stacks shrink. However, their range isn't necessarily very strong.

📊 BB :

• Calls too wide against shoves.

‍

<span class="explanation_section">📕 Key Takeaway: BTN typically opens a reasonably solid range overall, and BB calls too widely behind you.</span>

What is the Best Strategy to Adopt?

📌 Caution in Deep Stacks:

• At deep stacks (14bb+), avoid calling with hands that are only slightly EV+. Although these hands may seem profitable on paper, they increase the risk of losing your stack or getting eliminated prematurely.
• Example: A hand like A7o 13bb deep may win some chips on average, but the risk of being dominated justifies a fold.

📌 Focus on Highly Profitable Calls:

• Prioritize calls with hands that clearly dominate BTN’s range, such as ATo+, A9s+, or 55+.
• This approach reduces unnecessary risks while allowing you to capture significant EV when you have a strong hand, especially since BB tends to call too widely behind us, and BTN will sometimes shove hands he shouldn't.

📌 Adapt Based on Stack Depth:

• Deep (14+ BB) : Call only with very strong hands that clearly dominate BTN.
• Short (10 BB or less) : Widen your range, as future opportunities become rare and you can’t afford to sacrifice as much EV.

<span class="explanation_section">📕 Adopt an exploitative approach by tightening your calls with deep stacks and gradually widening them as the stacks decrease.</span>

Common Mistakes in SB vs BTN All-in

🔴 Mistake 1: Calling Too Much Against BTN’s Shove

• Calling marginal hands like A5o or 22 at deeper stack depths unnecessarily increases variance and exposes you to dominated confrontations.
  👉 Solution: Be selective with your calls, prioritizing hands with clear potential to dominate BTN’s range.

🔴 Mistake 2: Not Calling Enough Short-Stack

• At shallow depths, not calling with slightly EV+ hands like A5s or 33 can cost you valuable chips, as future opportunities are limited.
  👉 Solution: Stick closer to the GTO short-stack strategy to capture all the available EV.

The Button’s Range is Never Very Strong

📊 Why is the BTN Limp a Sign of Weakness?

• When a player in the BTN chooses to limp, it often indicates a marginal range, consisting of medium hands.
• This means you are rarely facing a strong hand. The limp often reflects hesitation or a desire to see a flop cheaply with a moderately playable hand.

📌 How to Exploit This?

• Understand that you have an opportunity: either by isolating the BTN effectively or by seeing a flop cheaply if the circumstances allow.

<span class="explanation_section">📕 Against a limp, be ready to play exploitatively, as the BTN's range is rarely very strong.</span>

ISO All-in: Often More Effective Than Classic ISO

📌 Why Prioritize ISO All-in?

• Recreational players in the BTN and BB tend to call too much against ISO shoves, even with weak or dominated hands like A4o, KTo, Q8s 25bb deep.
• Shoving your strong hands directly allows you to:
  • Maximize your immediate EV by taking the dead money.
  • Avoid complicated postflop decisions.

📌 Which Hands to Shove?

• Hands that dominate your opponents' ranges and play worse postflop, like Ax and pocket pairs.
• The smaller the effective stack, the more you should widen your ISO shove range.

📌 Be Careful with Slightly EV+ Hands:

• Avoid shoving all hands that seem profitable by default. For example, ISO shoving small Axo hands deep is indeed more EV+ than simply calling, but it increases the risk of elimination. By playing more cautiously, you preserve the opportunity to access potentially more profitable spots in the future.
• This approach limits variance and gives you better control over the game, especially in the early stages (this is how our ranges were created).

<span class="explanation_section">📕 Use ISO shoves with your strong hands, but avoid doing so with all hands that are only slightly EV+. Prioritize caution with deep stacks.</span>

We Can Often See a Flop for Cheap

📌 Why Completing Can Be Profitable?

• BB rarely squeezes in a 3-way pot, which allows you to complete the small blind with a very wide range of playable hands.
• However, remember that in SB 3-way, it’s complicated to play too many hands because you’ll be out of position against two opponents, which makes your postflop decisions much more difficult.

📌 Caution:

• Although completing is an option, be ready to fold postflop if you don’t hit a good flop or if you face aggression.

<span class="explanation_section">📕 Completing from the SB is a viable and often profitable strategy, especially with hands that have good postflop potential. But remain selective to avoid mistakes.</span>

Common Mistakes in SB vs BTN Limp

🔴 Mistake 1: Completing with Too Weak Hands

• Completing with hands like T3o or 85o exposes you to costly postflop mistakes.
  👉 Solution: Limit your calls to hands that still have good postflop connection potential (like 65s or 22).

🔴 Mistake 2: Not ISO Shoving Your Strong Hands

• Hesitating to ISO shove hands like AJo or TT is a frequent mistake. This allows your opponents to see a flop cheaply and prevents you from extracting value from opponents when you have a better hand.
  👉 Solution: Use ISO shoves for your strong hands that are difficult to play postflop.

🔴 Mistake 3: Shoving Too Many Marginal Hands

• For players who already understand that this spot is good for ISO shoving, doing it consistently with hands like A2o or 22, 25bb deep, might seem profitable, but it increases variance and limits your ability to exploit future spots.
  👉 Solution: Reserve your ISO shoves for hands whose EV is much better than calling.

A Very (Very) Unstable Position

📌 Why is this situation difficult?

• You’re always out of position gainst the BTN, who has a strategic advantage.
• The BTN’s opening range is generally quite strong, including broadway hands, Ax, and mid pocket pairs. These hands often dominate yours, making the spot particularly tricky.

📌 3-Way Sandwich

• In addition to the BTN, you also have to consider the BB, who acts after you.
• This limits your postflop options and increases the risk of making costly mistakes.

<span class="explanation_section">📕 In SB vs BU open, you’re in a disadvantaged position, so you need to play very cautiously.</span>

Play Tight and Prioritize Open Shoves

📌 Why adopt a tight strategy?

• Against the BTN open and with the BB behind you, it’s better to fold most of your hands. This simplifies your decisions, avoids complicated pots out of position, and ultimately saves you a lot of chips.

📌 Open Shoves: A Powerful Weapon

3-bet shoves are particularly effective in this situation. Why?

• The BTN and BB tend to call too often against all-ins, even with weak or dominated hands.
• This maximizes the value of your strong hands while eliminating postflop decisions.

Which hands to shove?

• Your best Ax and pocket pairs. When shorter stacked, your best Ks are also great to 3-bet shove since they dominate your opponents' calling ranges.

📌 And Calls from SB?

• While the SB is tough to play, you can still call with some specific hands especially since recreational players in the BB rarely squeeze.
• For example, hands like KQs, QJs and other broadways can be played by calling.
• Note that you can very well adopt the same profitable GTO strategy, meaning you only 3-bet shove or fold when you’re 20bb deep.

<span class="explanation_section">📕 A simple and effective strategy is to prioritize open shoves with your best hands, call with the few strong hands that have good postflop potential, and fold the rest.</span>

Common Mistakes in SB vs BTN Open

🔴 Mistake 1: Calling Too Much

• Calling with marginal hands like A5o or K9o, is a common mistake. These hands are often dominated and tough to play out of position.
  👉 Solution: Limit your calls to specific hands that play well postflop.

🔴 Mistake 2: Not Shoving Enough

• Many players hesitate to shove strong hands like AJo or 88, which causes them to lose value, especially since BB and BU will often call with dominated hands.
  👉 Solution: Integrate more shoves into your strategy.

🔴 Mistake 3: Playing Too Wide

• Trying to 3-bet or call with mediocre hands exposes you to costly postflop mistakes.
  👉 Solution: Tighten your range and only play hands with clear potential.

The Most Profitable Position in Spin & Go

📌 Why is it so important?

• The Button (BTN) is the position where you make the most money in Spin & Go (~30 chips EV / game).
• Unlike the blinds, where you’re often out of position and have to defend weak ranges, the BTN allows you to play a wider range while being advantageous postflop.
• Improving your play on the Button is very profitable and important for progressing. It’s one of the positions, along with the Small Blind (SB) in Heads-Up, where you’ll get the most return on your investment in learning.

<span class="explanation_section">📕 Make the Button a priority in your learning.</span>

The Main Mistake of Beginners on the BTN: Limping

📌 Why avoid limping?

• Limping on the BTN doesn’t put enough pressure on the blinds, doesn’t take advantage of your strategic edge, and doesn’t allow you to build the pot properly with your best hands.
• The BTN is a free position: If your hand is too weak for a min-raise (MR), it’s better to fold. You lose nothing by waiting for a better opportunity.

📌 What to do instead:

• Min-raise (2x) with your good hands, or 2.5x with the strongest hands.
• Fold the rest. This simplifies your strategy and allows you to play more cleanly and efficiently.

<span class="explanation_section">📕 On the BTN, raise or fold, but don’t limp.</span>

On the BTN, You Must Put Pressure on the Blinds

📌 Why are you advantaged?

• You act last postflop, which allows you to adopt an optimal strategy based on the actions of the blinds.
• Your range is stronger than that of the blinds, because they have to defend with marginal hands.

📌 How to exploit this advantage?

• As mentioned earlier, it starts with a MR, not a limp.
• Postflop: You should often continue aggression with a c-bet (continuation bet) and sometimes a second or third barrel if the situation warrants it. You’ll have hands like KQ, while your opponents often have hands like K7. In other words, you’ll generally have the advantage on most flops and can frequently force your opponents to fold.

<span class="explanation_section">📕 The BTN is a position where you have a definite range advantage: Don’t be afraid to bet.</span>

Shove Some Hands to Maximize EV

📌 Why shove from 18 BB with certain hands?

• Recreational players in SB and BB tend to over-call all-ins with dominated hands (KJo, QTo or A5o).
• Certain hands like A7o+ or 22-99 have more EV in a shove than a min-raise, because they dominate these calling ranges and are difficult to play postflop when the BTN doesn’t hit an Ace or set.

📌 How does this open-shove (OS) range evolve?

• From 12 BB, widen your shove range to include most of your Axs and KTo+.‍
• From 10 BB, only premium hands (TT+) should be MR, as they’re the only hands that still have more EV with a MR.
• From 8 BB, the BTN’s range is made up entirely of open-shoves.

<span class="explanation_section">📕 Incorporate some open-shove combos into your strategy to maximize your EV, especially at short stack depths. This is absolutely essential when playing so short in Spin & Go.</span>

Common Mistakes of Beginners

🔴 Mistake 1: Limping

• Limping is never optimal and deprives the BTN of its strategic advantage.
  👉 Solution: Min-raise (MR), fold, or open-shove (OS), but don’t limp.

🔴 Mistake 2: Playing Too Passively

• Not c-betting enough, underplaying your hands, or waiting for very strong hands before betting is a common mistake, especially when you have the positional advantage.
  👉 Solution: Use your position to put pressure on the blinds with thoughtful and situational bets.

🔴 Mistake 3: Not Shoving the Right Hands (or Not Shoving at All)

• Hesitating to shove hands like ATo or 55 at 13bb deep is a straight EV loss, but even more so against opponents who call too often.
  👉 Solution: Shove hands that have very good equity against the opponent’s range (that dominate their calling range) and are hard to play postflop.