Build and Memorize Your Preflop Ranges in Spin & Go (3-Way and Heads-Up from 25 BB to 6 BB)

1. Why split your preflop ranges into big-blind depth tiers

In 100 BB-deep cash games, opening ranges barely change during a session. In Spin & Go, Expresso and Twister, the effective stack constantly moves between 25 BB and 4 BB from one hand to the next!

A hand like KJo or A6o changes nature completely depending on whether the effective stack is 22 BB (where an open-shove would be a huge spew), 13 BB (where the choice between min-raise, limp and shove depends on the profile in the blinds) or 7 BB (where pushing becomes mandatory). To master the format, your preflop architecture must be split into clear depth blocks:

• 20 to 25 BB (Deep Spin): the Button min-raise 2x dominates, wide BB defense by calling, and non-all-in 3-bets that are polarized or merged depending on the profile.
• 14 to 19 BB (Transition / Re-shove zone): very profitable 3-bet shoves appear in the SB and BB (against BTN min-raises) and direct open-shoves begin with small aces and small pairs.
• 9 to 13 BB (Critical Nitro / Mid-Stack zone): a strategic mix of min-raise (monsters plus bottom-of-range hands that fold to a shove), direct open-shove and high-frequency limping in BvB / HU.
• 4 to 8 BB (Short-Stack / Push or Limp zone): pure mathematical precision, down to the half blind.

2. Range structure in 3-way: BTN, SB vs BTN and BB vs BTN

In 3-max, three preflop mistakes alone cost most €1 to €10 players more than 10 cEV per game:

1. Flatting too many dominated hands in the Small Blind vs the Button: when you simply call a Button open from the SB at 15–22 BB with KTo, QJo or A7o, you play out of position with a capped range AND hand the Big Blind a dream squeeze spot. Prefer the 3-bet (or 3-bet shove) and tighten your cold calls around suited connectors and medium pairs.
2. Overfolding your Big Blind against a Button 2x min-raise: against a min-raise you only need about 27% raw equity in a heads-up pot. Defend your suited hands widely and use the 3-bet shove with your offsuit aces and pairs against Buttons who open more than 42%.
3. Not adapting your range to the villain's AutoTag badge: if the BB carries the automatic [FBB] BB over-fold badge, your Button opening range goes from ~43% (GTO) to more than 75% (exploit)!

3. Heads-Up (HU SB & HU BB): balancing min-raise, limp and open-shove

Once the 3^rd player is eliminated, you play heads-up with 100% of the table's chips in play. In the HU Small Blind (Button) under 16 BB, always split your strategy into three colors in your 13×13 grid:

• 🟢 Min-Raise 2x: your best hands (to build the pot), balanced by a selection of low suited/offsuit hands that fold without regret to a 3-bet shove.
• 🔵 Open-Shove All-In: hands with high raw equity but poor postflop playability (22–66, A2o–A8o, K9o, QTo).
• 🟠 Limp (Complete): the core of your medium range plus a few traps (AA, KK, AK) to protect your limping range against players who iso-shove too wide ([ISO] or [3SF] badge).

4. Organize your Preflop Bible in the 13×13 Editor (isolated storage)

In SpinCrusher, the 13×13 Range Viewer & Editor tab lets you create, paint and sort all your grids by position, format and depth, with mixed-frequency support (e.g. 50% Raise / 50% Limp).

Full privacy guarantee: all your personal ranges are saved locally in your Windows user folder %LOCALAPPDATA%\SpinCrusher\ranges. They stay 100% private and are never touched or overwritten by software updates.

5. The 10-minute Range Trainer Pro routine before every session

Beautiful 13×13 grids are useless if you hesitate mid-session when you pick up Q9s in the SB at 11 BB. Before launching your tables, open SpinCrusher's 🎯 Interactive Range Trainer Pro (HU & 3-Way) tab for 10 minutes: the simulator deals you random spots drawn from your own ranges, measures your accuracy score (%) and automatically makes you rework the combos you got wrong.

Frequently asked questions on this topic