If you're ready to crush your opponents by outplaying them on the flop, you're going to need a working knowledge of poker fundamentals. One of these is an incredibly important metric known as stack-to-pot ratio, or SPR. By figuring out our SPR and our opponent's SPR, we can make better decisions and decide just how com. Poker SPR abbreviation meaning defined here. What does SPR stand for in Poker? Get the top SPR abbreviation related to Poker. Calculating the stack-to-pot ratio, or SPR, in a poker hand can be a powerful tool to help you determine if and when you are pot committed. Like its name suggests, SPR is calculated by dividing your effective stack size by the current size of the pot. The smaller the SPR, the more you should feel pot committed with weaker holdings.
SPR, short for stack-to-pot-ratio, is a powerful concept that can help you take better lines both preflop and postflop. If you can understand and apply SPR strategy in poker you will have a mathematical framework for commitment. Here is the SPR formula: SPR = Effective Stack Size / Pot Size.
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- Stack To Pot Ratio. In Professional No Limit Holdem, the authors describe how our decisions vary based on the size of the pot in relation to our stack. For instance, if we had pocket kings on an Ace hi flop with a pot of $1, we might play the hand differently if we had 1 cent behind, than if we had $100 behind.
Stack to Pot Ratio, or SPR for short, is a tool for helping to plan your hand around commitment decisions. In short, by providing a quick, easy framework for relating the size of the pot to the remaining effective stacks, you'll be able to more easily determine if your hand strength warrants playing an all in pot or not.
Let's get a firm hold on using the stack-to-pot ratio (SPR) to take the best action in your next tournament. Profitable poker is a matter of defining the best risk for the potential reward for. Stack To Pot Ratio. In Professional No Limit Holdem, the authors describe how our decisions vary based on the size of the pot in relation to our stack. For instance, if we had pocket kings on an Ace hi flop with a pot of $1, we might play the hand differently if we had 1 cent behind, than if we had $100 behind. SPR What Does It Mean in Poker? SPR stands for Stack-to-Pot Ratio, which is the ratio of the shortest stack in the hand (aka the effective stack) divided by the pot on any given street. For example, if the pot is $10 and the effective stack is $100, the SPR is 10 (100/10).
Calculating SPR
SPR is easy to calculate. It's the ratio of the size of the pot, to the size of the effective stack (chips still left to bet). So if there is $50 in the pot, and $100 left to bet, the stack to pot ratio is 2 (100/50). The important thing to remember is that SPR is calculated by the effective stack. If we had $2000 in the example, but our opponent only had $100, then the SPR with them is 2 since $100 is the most we can bet before they are all in. It is also possible to have different SPR's with different opponents in multiway pots. If there was a 3rd player in the above hand, who, like ourselves, also had $2000 left to bet, then the SPR with the short stack player is still 2, but our SPR with the third player is 40 (2000/50). We would be willing and profitable to play many hand strengths all in vs. the short stack that would not be profitable to play all in vs. the other big stack.
Example:
As a basic example of extremes to help illustrate, suppose you have AhAd and the flop comes KsTc3d. Are you willing to get all in on the flop? If the pot contained $10 and the effective stacks had $1000 behind to bet (SPR of 100), getting all the money in would be rather insane and a losing play, because no one in their right mind will put 1K more in the middle in a $10 pot with a hand that can't beat 1 pair. If, however, the pot contained $1000 and you had $10 left to bet (it's an exaggerated hypothetical, bear with me here), of course you'd put that last $10 in. You would even put the last $10 in without a connection to the board… not only because you have a correct price to draw to anything, but you may have the best hand right now with something like ace high or king high as your opponent will eagerly (and correctly) put the last $10 in with any 2 cards and 1K already in the pot.
Practical Application
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The lower the stack to pot ratio, the larger the pot is relative to what's left to bet. Thus, opponents will be getting a better price to play for the rest and should be willing to do so with lessor holdings. While the example above was made with extremes, it should be clear that this is the basic logic of SPR.
One of the ways we can use this tool is to understand what kind of SPR we might have on the flop that will allow a player to get all in on the river with reasonable sizings. For example, if the stack to pot ratio on the flop is 13, it will take exactly 3 pot sized bets to be all in on the river. We can see this if we walk through the betting each street as follows:
Pot size = P
Effective Stack = 13P (SPR = 13)
If we bet 1P on the flop and are called, there will be 3P total going to the turn, and we'll have 12P left to bet. On the turn we pot it again betting 3P and are called again. Now there is 9P in the pot, and 9P left to bet for a pot sized river all in.
You can work through a similar process for various effective stack sizes, and bet sizes. Let's conclude with some general (not written in stone) guidelines for certain flop SPRs and willingness to play for all the marbles:
SPR 4 or less: This low SPR on the flop is one where we should feel comfortable getting our stack in with strong 1 pair hands. It will only take 2 pot sized bets to get all in, or 3 smaller sizings, and most players will have a hard time folding their pairs, particularly their better ones, in this sequence.
SPR 10 or more: The higher SPR's make it precarious to get stacks with one pair hands. The more money there is to bet relative to the pot, the less likely an opponent will be to put it all in the middle without a very strong hand.
SPR 4 to 10: These middle of the road stack to pot ratios on the flop can go either way. Take the AhAd and the flop comes KsTc3d example from above. If our opponent were a known calling station, we can feel very comfortable getting in across 3 streets even on an SPR of 10, because stations will pay us off with many worse one pair hands. If our opponent were a very tight, conservative player however, we may not be retaining much edge getting all the money in on an spr of 5, because that opponent type is loath to play for stacks without very strong hands. What if you have no reads? In micro stakes, it's safe to err on the side of assuming players will call too loose and too often, and be willing to go for the value with your strong one pair hands at a bit higher spr's.
The basic premise of stack to pot ratios is simple… the larger the stacks relative to the pot, the stronger a hand we need to be willing to stack it all off. And when the money left to bet is shallow relative to the size of the pot, we should be reluctant to give up on that (relatively) large pot and willing to get in much lighter.
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Do you take SPR into consideration?
Note – SPRstands for Stack to Pot Ratio.
Poker Term Splash The Pot
I think a lot of SPR importance is based solely on the texture of the games you are playing in. To say a general statement like 'SPR of 13 is bad for top pair' would be wrong, since with aggressive history 13 is an amazing, optimal even, spr for top pair.
Poker Term Spring
I don't even really see how you could discuss spr as a theory, its just something you should intrinsically keep in mind.
One thing related to spr that I've always found fascinating, but difficult to describe:
Poker Strategy seems to involve lots of dualities, wax/wane dynamics. Few examples of these:
Poker Term Spr
– You have a gutshot and an overcard first to act on the flop in a heads up pot, with x dollars in the pot, and effective stacks F(x). If F(x)=x its an easy shove. If F(x)=2x its an easy c/f, if F(x)=4x bet folding or c/rai can be correct. If F(x)=8x then you might bet 3-bet. Its basically a sine wave that decays as x approaches infinity.
– Unbalanced range leveling. Basically whether you decide to bluff someone when its obvious their range is mostly bluffcatchers vs yours. You'll not bluff if you expect a call given your history, assuming your on that level, or you will decide to use that information as an excuse to bluff even. Your opponent will have to decide what your level F(x) will be. If he feels you're a str8forward player he'll set F(x)=1 and fold, but as he sets F(x) to higher and higher numbers his analysis will become basically useless and he'll simply assume you are bluffing a decent amount and end his analysis right there. Once again, decaying curve.
Anyways I guess when ppl are in quote/unquote 'tough spots' that just means that they are not at one of the relative peaks/troughs of the sine wave, and are instead toward the equilibrium point.
This is why 4-bet bluffs are so tough to deal with with 75 and 150bb stacks, and so much easier by comparison to deal with when stacks are 100bb or 200bb deep.
The TL;DR (Too Long; Didn't Read) Executive Summary:
Calculating the stack-to-pot ratio, or SPR, in a poker hand can be a powerful tool to help you determine if and when you are pot committed. Like its name suggests, SPR is calculated by dividing your effective stack size by the current size of the pot. The smaller the SPR, the more you should feel pot committed with weaker holdings. For instance, if the SPR is three or less, you are often pot committed when you hold at least one pair. If your SPR is four or larger, however, you should *not* feel pot committed unless you have greater than 50% equity (e.g., two pair or greater type hands).
Introduction to SPR and Pot Commitment:
Do you want to make your postflop decisions easier in cash games? If so, you need to learn how to calculate your SPR, or Stack-to-Pot Ratio.
Ed Miller and his co-authors coined this 'SPR' term a few years ago in Professional No Limit Hold'em: Volume I, which, in my opinion, is a must-read book for intermediate players looking to move up. Among all the other good stuff in the book is the concept of SPR:
SPR = Size of the Effective Stack divided by the Pot Size
Generally speaking, the lower the SPR, the more 'pot committed' (1) you should feel about getting all your money into the middle with weaker holdings. Your hand may not have much equity, but the risk-to-reward ratio of your stack to the current pot size makes getting your money into the middle a plus EV play. In this article, we'll look at the numerical guidelines to use when evaluating SPR and pot commitment, but first, we need to learn how to calculate SPR.
How to Calculate SPR:
Let's say you raise in early position to $8 in a $1/$2 NL cash game, where everyone started with $250 stacks. Only one player calls, and both blinds fold. What's the SPR on the flop? (To keep this example simple, we'll ignore the effect of rake.)
To calculate SPR, we need to know two things: a) the pot size going to the flop; and, b) the effective stack size.
The pot size, after all the preflop betting action takes place, and before any action on the flop takes place, is: $8 + $8 + $1 + $2 = $19.
The stack size on the flop is the original stack size, minus the amount that was put into the pot: $250 – $8 = $242.
The stack-to-pot ratio is then calculated exactly as you'd expect: we simply divide the stack by the size of the pot. In this example, the SPR would, therefore, be: $242 divided by $19 = 12.7.
Note that when calculating SPR, you must use the effective stack size, which is simply the smaller of yours and your active opponent's stack. If you had $750 to start this hand example, and the opponent who called had $250, the effective stack size would be the size of the smaller stack. In this case, the effective stack size the villain's stack of $250. (For a more detailed explanation of effective stack sizes click here.)
Also, note that SPR can be calculated and used at any time during the course of a poker hand to determine your pot commitment (2). Analyzing pot commitment via SPR can and should be performed on all the streets of action in a poker hand (e.g., flop, turn, and river). It is not a flop-only tool.
SPR is Simply a Measure of Risk versus Reward:
SPR is nothing more than a measure of how much risk you are undertaking (i.e., the possible loss of your entire stack) versus the immediate reward for taking that risk (i.e., winning the current pot).
The higher the SPR, the less you should feel pot committed with non-premium strength cards; high SPRs mean, literally, that the risk is high relative to the potential reward. Conversely, low SPRs mean decisions are easier because the relative risk is lower. In other words, low SPRs means you can be mathematically pot committed with weaker cards than with larger SPRs.
Low SPR situations are often very simple to play; getting your money into the middle and going to a showdown is often the correct play. I.e., calling a shove is frequently correct with hands as weak as just middle pair.
Note however that low SPRs mean you're not going to be able to do things like float the flop and check-raise all-in on the turn as a bluff. Your opponent will also be pot committed by that point (because it's the effective stack size that matters, which you both share), and he will (rightfully) feel he needs to call with equally weak holdings, despite the strength you might be representing.
Further, implied odds are lower with low SPRs; there simply isn't much money left behind to vie for. For this reason, low SPRs mean that weak draws and speculative holdings are not nearly as playable, but big face cards and pairs are (3).
If you have a low enough SPR and a one pair hand on a coordinated flop, getting it all in is usually the right play. High SPRs, on the other hand, mean you are not pot committed (if, for example, a villain shoves all in). There is simply too much risk for the given reward.
High SPRs offer the ability to get creative post-flop with things like floats and check-raises. High SPRs also mean that implied odds are better, allowing you to play cards like weak suited aces, set-mining with small pairs, and seeing flops with connectors and gappers. It also, unfortunately, means that one pair-only hands should often be folded prior to showdown if you're getting strong action from an opponent.
Large SPRs are why suited connectors, gappers, and other 'small ball' hands that experts like Daniel Negreanu play are so profitable for them—they're deep stacking with 'bust-em' hands; both players are in high-risk situations, and the better player can typically apply tremendous pressure to the lesser player. Bluffing and drawing hands make up a big part of their ranges, so it's difficult and dangerous to tangle with them unless you know what you're doing. Further, guys like Negreanu are also masters of dumping big one- (and even two-) pair hands on deep-stacked coordinated boards and/or when they read that their opponents' ranges hit the board.
Stack-Off SPR Guidelines:
Okay, now that we understand that low SPRs mean higher levels of pot commitment, we need to have some actual hard guidelines to use. Unfortunately, this is another area in which there remains a lot of bad advice floating around from otherwise knowledgeable poker experts. Myths, lore, and incorrect SPR guidelines (4) continue today. Let's set the record straight, once and for all.
As I've written before, sound decision-making is the key to winning at poker. And at the heart of every decision is its intrinsic expected value, or EV. Every decision is either +EV, -EV, or neutral. This is true for all situations, including when we're considering stacking-off with a weak holding because we feel pot committed; i.e., we should ultimately base our decision on the expected value of the situation—and not just some chart we've read on the internet somewhere that says to do X when our SPR is Y.
To illustrate this, let's look at a simple example in which an opponent shoves all-in and we must decide whether we should call or not. The expected value of calling is easily calculated via the standard EV equation:
EV = (%W x $W) - (%L x $L)
In this equation, %W is probability we win the hand (i.e., our pot equity); $W is the amount we stand to win (i.e., the current pot size); %L is the probability we'll lose (i.e., 100% - Pot Equity); and $L is the amount we stand to lose (i.e., our remaining effective stack).
If we know the current pot size (including the villain's shove), our own stack size, and our hand's pot equity, we can easily calculate the EV of calling. If the number is greater than zero, we should call. If it's less than zero we should fold.
Now, we can rearrange some terms in the EV equation and essentially calculate expected value as a function of SPR and equity. Further, we can plot the calculated EV in a grid format, with SPR on the vertical Y-axis and Pot Equity along the horizontal X-axis:
As you can see, the expected value of calling when you're on the left side of the grid is negative, and on the right side of the grid is positive. This means if your current situation finds you on the left-side of the chart, you should fold. And if you're on the right side, you should call a shove.
We can be more accurate with this left-vs.-right analysis by literally drawing a line through all the zero EV values to see exactly where the transition from negative to positive takes place:
The interesting thing about this curve is that there is a definitive 'knee' in the curve that occurs at SPRs of around ~3.5-4:
For SPRs greater than four, the transition from negative to positive EV becomes a nearly vertical line (5) at pot equities between 45-50%; in other words, if your SPR is greater than four, you need at least 50% pot equity, or more, to make calling correct. This in turn means that you need relatively strong hands that are going to win at least half the time against the range you put the villain on. Said yet another way: you need to hold cards that are stronger than just draws and one pair in most of these situations.
In contrast, for SPRs less than four, the transition rapidly decreases in terms of required pot equity; i.e., you need less and less pot equity the lower the SPR value. This means it's often correct to get all the money in with relatively weak holdings like weak 1-pair hands and weak draws when the SPR is less than three. Why? Because you don't need much pot equity to stay on the right side of the zero curve.
Some Basic SPR Guidelines:
While you need to always make reads and evaluate your pot equity as accurately as you can to make the correct pot-commitment decision, here are some additional general guidelines to keep in mind:
Low SPR: 0-3. Good hands for shallow stacks include any pair, straight or flush draws, and over-cards to the board. With SPRs this low, we don't mind getting it all-in on the flop, even if we know we don't have the best hand. Remember, this is a game based entirely on math, EV, and the long-run. Positive expected value is positive expected value, period.
Transition SPR: 3-4. Good cards for SPRs in this transition range often include hands like top- and over-pairs, strong (nutt-ish) drawing hands, and made weak flushes and straights. But again, you have to put your opponent on a range to make all this work; i.e., you need 40-50% pot equity or more to make a call in this situation, and that depends entirely on the range you put your opponent on.
High SPR: 4+. Good hands for high SPRs are two pairs, sets, big combo nut drawing hands, and big made flushes and straights. Hands like these have greater than 50% equity and are better suited to deep stack play.
A Simple Example of SPR in Action:
Let's look at a simple hand situation to see how this works in practice:
Imagine that you're in a $2/$4 NL Texas Hold'em cash game. You're relatively new to the table and only recognize one player. You pick up Q♠Q♥ on the button. Player A limps UTG, Player B (whom you know as a tricky player) raises in middle position to $12 and the action is on you. You re-raise to $36. The blinds fold, Player A folds, but Player B calls. Going to the flop, there is $82 in the pot.
How committed are you to going with your hand? Well, that depends on a number of factors, including what the flop cards are and what range you put the villain on (i.e., how hard does his range hit that flop). But it also depends on stack sizes. I.e., what is the SPR?
Per our guidelines, above, we should be more willing to get our money in on a wide range of flops if our SPR is less than or equal to three. This means if the effective stack size is (3 x $82) = $246, or less, we should feel OK about getting our money in if we think we have at least ~40% equity.
The lower the effective stack size, the less equity we'll need. If for example, the effective stacks are only ~$100, our SPR will be ($100/$82) = 1.2. At this low of an SPR, we'll only need around 33% equity. In other words, we are mathematically correct to get our money in even if we know the villain probably has us beaten.
On the other hand, if the effective stack size is greater than (4 x $82) = $328, we should be less and less willing to feel committed to our hand. For example, if the board comes out 8♦-7♦-4♦ and our opponent shoves we should probably just fold. Even if we know him to be a tricky player who can make big bluffs, our equity isn't likely to be strong enough to go with the hand.
Our decisions in these situations always come down to a combination of SPR and reads. Based on the range we put the villain on, we are either to the right or the left of the zero EV line in the chart.
Some Additional SPR Factors to Consider:
Here are a few additional things to keep in mind as you begin to take SPR into battle with you at the poker table:
SPR is NOT a Flop-Only Tool. As we noted earlier, a key thing to note is that SPR as a pot-commitment tool is valid to use on all betting streets in a hand of poker. Nowhere in our analysis did we need to know whether we were on the flop, turn, or river; i.e., SPR is strictly a function of stack size, pot size, and your current pot equity. It is not a function of betting streets. Feel free to use SPR as a pot commitment tool on the flop, turn, and river.
It's All About The Equities. To correctly determine pot commitment, you cannot simply calculate SPR, look at your hand in isolation, and make a call. You must first and always put your opponent on a range. Then you have to estimate your own hand equity against that range. Expected Value is still the ultimate decider of your decisions in poker; SPR is just another tool to help evaluate EV, and, in the end, validate a call or a fold. SPR is nothing more, and nothing less, than an alternative way of looking at EV, which in turn depend on equities.
Offense versus Defense. In the example above, we only looked at 'defensive' situations; i.e., you're considering a call when facing a shove. If, however, you're the person considering shoving on your opponent, you must also factor in SPR into that decisions. I.e., given the current stack sizes, will your opponent feel 'pot committed' or not? Remember, SPR uses effective stacks, so—by definition—you are both using the same stack-to-pot ratio. The only difference is your individual equities. Further, the shallower the stack sizes, the lower the shoving player's situational fold equity. Yes, there will always be an advantage that the offensive (betting) player has in poker, but the shallower the stacks, the lower this advantage. Shallow stacks mean low fold equity and higher levels of commitment for both hero and villain.
The Sunk Cost Fallacy. Finally, SPR should never be confused with sunk costs. The money you've previously put into the pot no longer belongs to you—and in no way should be factored into your pot commitment decision. That money doesn't belong to you. It belongs to the pot, period. (Click here for more on the sunk cost fallacy in poker.)
The Bottom Line:
SPR is a powerful tool, but it's also not some magical solution to poker. It ultimately depends on how good you are at estimating equities, which of course points back to the importance of hand reading. You cannot simply look at the stack-to-pot ratio and blithely decide that your middle pair is good for a shove or an all-in call; you must consider your hand's pot equity, too. Many, many short-stackers (i.e., players who purposely buy-in with ~30bb or so, and then wait for 1-pair hands to shove preflop) have ultimately gone busto because they forgot this important rule. Like all aspects of poker, you must first R-is-for-Read and E-is-for-Evaluate before you can D-is-for-Decide with SPR-is-for-Stack-to-Pot-Ratios.
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(1) Pot commitment means that folding to a bet or raise would be incorrect. I.e., both the pot is sufficiently large and your hand is sufficiently strong that getting all of your money into the middle is mathematically correct, even if you expect to lose the hand the majority of the time.
(2) This is an often misunderstood aspect of SPR. Many otherwise expert poker players will tell you that SPR should only be calculated—and used—on the flop. This is outdated and incorrect advice, as SPR is simply a measure of risk vs. reward, and in fact is a function only of expected value and equity. SPR has nothing to do with which betting street you're currently on in the hand. SPR can be used on the flop, turn, and river with equal effectiveness.
Spr Poker Tracker
Generally speaking, the lower the SPR, the more 'pot committed' (1) you should feel about getting all your money into the middle with weaker holdings. Your hand may not have much equity, but the risk-to-reward ratio of your stack to the current pot size makes getting your money into the middle a plus EV play. In this article, we'll look at the numerical guidelines to use when evaluating SPR and pot commitment, but first, we need to learn how to calculate SPR.
How to Calculate SPR:
Let's say you raise in early position to $8 in a $1/$2 NL cash game, where everyone started with $250 stacks. Only one player calls, and both blinds fold. What's the SPR on the flop? (To keep this example simple, we'll ignore the effect of rake.)
To calculate SPR, we need to know two things: a) the pot size going to the flop; and, b) the effective stack size.
The pot size, after all the preflop betting action takes place, and before any action on the flop takes place, is: $8 + $8 + $1 + $2 = $19.
The stack size on the flop is the original stack size, minus the amount that was put into the pot: $250 – $8 = $242.
The stack-to-pot ratio is then calculated exactly as you'd expect: we simply divide the stack by the size of the pot. In this example, the SPR would, therefore, be: $242 divided by $19 = 12.7.
Note that when calculating SPR, you must use the effective stack size, which is simply the smaller of yours and your active opponent's stack. If you had $750 to start this hand example, and the opponent who called had $250, the effective stack size would be the size of the smaller stack. In this case, the effective stack size the villain's stack of $250. (For a more detailed explanation of effective stack sizes click here.)
Also, note that SPR can be calculated and used at any time during the course of a poker hand to determine your pot commitment (2). Analyzing pot commitment via SPR can and should be performed on all the streets of action in a poker hand (e.g., flop, turn, and river). It is not a flop-only tool.
SPR is Simply a Measure of Risk versus Reward:
SPR is nothing more than a measure of how much risk you are undertaking (i.e., the possible loss of your entire stack) versus the immediate reward for taking that risk (i.e., winning the current pot).
The higher the SPR, the less you should feel pot committed with non-premium strength cards; high SPRs mean, literally, that the risk is high relative to the potential reward. Conversely, low SPRs mean decisions are easier because the relative risk is lower. In other words, low SPRs means you can be mathematically pot committed with weaker cards than with larger SPRs.
Low SPR situations are often very simple to play; getting your money into the middle and going to a showdown is often the correct play. I.e., calling a shove is frequently correct with hands as weak as just middle pair.
Note however that low SPRs mean you're not going to be able to do things like float the flop and check-raise all-in on the turn as a bluff. Your opponent will also be pot committed by that point (because it's the effective stack size that matters, which you both share), and he will (rightfully) feel he needs to call with equally weak holdings, despite the strength you might be representing.
Further, implied odds are lower with low SPRs; there simply isn't much money left behind to vie for. For this reason, low SPRs mean that weak draws and speculative holdings are not nearly as playable, but big face cards and pairs are (3).
If you have a low enough SPR and a one pair hand on a coordinated flop, getting it all in is usually the right play. High SPRs, on the other hand, mean you are not pot committed (if, for example, a villain shoves all in). There is simply too much risk for the given reward.
High SPRs offer the ability to get creative post-flop with things like floats and check-raises. High SPRs also mean that implied odds are better, allowing you to play cards like weak suited aces, set-mining with small pairs, and seeing flops with connectors and gappers. It also, unfortunately, means that one pair-only hands should often be folded prior to showdown if you're getting strong action from an opponent.
Large SPRs are why suited connectors, gappers, and other 'small ball' hands that experts like Daniel Negreanu play are so profitable for them—they're deep stacking with 'bust-em' hands; both players are in high-risk situations, and the better player can typically apply tremendous pressure to the lesser player. Bluffing and drawing hands make up a big part of their ranges, so it's difficult and dangerous to tangle with them unless you know what you're doing. Further, guys like Negreanu are also masters of dumping big one- (and even two-) pair hands on deep-stacked coordinated boards and/or when they read that their opponents' ranges hit the board.
Stack-Off SPR Guidelines:
Okay, now that we understand that low SPRs mean higher levels of pot commitment, we need to have some actual hard guidelines to use. Unfortunately, this is another area in which there remains a lot of bad advice floating around from otherwise knowledgeable poker experts. Myths, lore, and incorrect SPR guidelines (4) continue today. Let's set the record straight, once and for all.
As I've written before, sound decision-making is the key to winning at poker. And at the heart of every decision is its intrinsic expected value, or EV. Every decision is either +EV, -EV, or neutral. This is true for all situations, including when we're considering stacking-off with a weak holding because we feel pot committed; i.e., we should ultimately base our decision on the expected value of the situation—and not just some chart we've read on the internet somewhere that says to do X when our SPR is Y.
To illustrate this, let's look at a simple example in which an opponent shoves all-in and we must decide whether we should call or not. The expected value of calling is easily calculated via the standard EV equation:
EV = (%W x $W) - (%L x $L)
In this equation, %W is probability we win the hand (i.e., our pot equity); $W is the amount we stand to win (i.e., the current pot size); %L is the probability we'll lose (i.e., 100% - Pot Equity); and $L is the amount we stand to lose (i.e., our remaining effective stack).
If we know the current pot size (including the villain's shove), our own stack size, and our hand's pot equity, we can easily calculate the EV of calling. If the number is greater than zero, we should call. If it's less than zero we should fold.
Now, we can rearrange some terms in the EV equation and essentially calculate expected value as a function of SPR and equity. Further, we can plot the calculated EV in a grid format, with SPR on the vertical Y-axis and Pot Equity along the horizontal X-axis:
As you can see, the expected value of calling when you're on the left side of the grid is negative, and on the right side of the grid is positive. This means if your current situation finds you on the left-side of the chart, you should fold. And if you're on the right side, you should call a shove.
We can be more accurate with this left-vs.-right analysis by literally drawing a line through all the zero EV values to see exactly where the transition from negative to positive takes place:
The interesting thing about this curve is that there is a definitive 'knee' in the curve that occurs at SPRs of around ~3.5-4:
For SPRs greater than four, the transition from negative to positive EV becomes a nearly vertical line (5) at pot equities between 45-50%; in other words, if your SPR is greater than four, you need at least 50% pot equity, or more, to make calling correct. This in turn means that you need relatively strong hands that are going to win at least half the time against the range you put the villain on. Said yet another way: you need to hold cards that are stronger than just draws and one pair in most of these situations.
In contrast, for SPRs less than four, the transition rapidly decreases in terms of required pot equity; i.e., you need less and less pot equity the lower the SPR value. This means it's often correct to get all the money in with relatively weak holdings like weak 1-pair hands and weak draws when the SPR is less than three. Why? Because you don't need much pot equity to stay on the right side of the zero curve.
Some Basic SPR Guidelines:
While you need to always make reads and evaluate your pot equity as accurately as you can to make the correct pot-commitment decision, here are some additional general guidelines to keep in mind:
Low SPR: 0-3. Good hands for shallow stacks include any pair, straight or flush draws, and over-cards to the board. With SPRs this low, we don't mind getting it all-in on the flop, even if we know we don't have the best hand. Remember, this is a game based entirely on math, EV, and the long-run. Positive expected value is positive expected value, period.
Transition SPR: 3-4. Good cards for SPRs in this transition range often include hands like top- and over-pairs, strong (nutt-ish) drawing hands, and made weak flushes and straights. But again, you have to put your opponent on a range to make all this work; i.e., you need 40-50% pot equity or more to make a call in this situation, and that depends entirely on the range you put your opponent on.
High SPR: 4+. Good hands for high SPRs are two pairs, sets, big combo nut drawing hands, and big made flushes and straights. Hands like these have greater than 50% equity and are better suited to deep stack play.
A Simple Example of SPR in Action:
Let's look at a simple hand situation to see how this works in practice:
Imagine that you're in a $2/$4 NL Texas Hold'em cash game. You're relatively new to the table and only recognize one player. You pick up Q♠Q♥ on the button. Player A limps UTG, Player B (whom you know as a tricky player) raises in middle position to $12 and the action is on you. You re-raise to $36. The blinds fold, Player A folds, but Player B calls. Going to the flop, there is $82 in the pot.
How committed are you to going with your hand? Well, that depends on a number of factors, including what the flop cards are and what range you put the villain on (i.e., how hard does his range hit that flop). But it also depends on stack sizes. I.e., what is the SPR?
Per our guidelines, above, we should be more willing to get our money in on a wide range of flops if our SPR is less than or equal to three. This means if the effective stack size is (3 x $82) = $246, or less, we should feel OK about getting our money in if we think we have at least ~40% equity.
The lower the effective stack size, the less equity we'll need. If for example, the effective stacks are only ~$100, our SPR will be ($100/$82) = 1.2. At this low of an SPR, we'll only need around 33% equity. In other words, we are mathematically correct to get our money in even if we know the villain probably has us beaten.
On the other hand, if the effective stack size is greater than (4 x $82) = $328, we should be less and less willing to feel committed to our hand. For example, if the board comes out 8♦-7♦-4♦ and our opponent shoves we should probably just fold. Even if we know him to be a tricky player who can make big bluffs, our equity isn't likely to be strong enough to go with the hand.
Our decisions in these situations always come down to a combination of SPR and reads. Based on the range we put the villain on, we are either to the right or the left of the zero EV line in the chart.
Some Additional SPR Factors to Consider:
Here are a few additional things to keep in mind as you begin to take SPR into battle with you at the poker table:
SPR is NOT a Flop-Only Tool. As we noted earlier, a key thing to note is that SPR as a pot-commitment tool is valid to use on all betting streets in a hand of poker. Nowhere in our analysis did we need to know whether we were on the flop, turn, or river; i.e., SPR is strictly a function of stack size, pot size, and your current pot equity. It is not a function of betting streets. Feel free to use SPR as a pot commitment tool on the flop, turn, and river.
It's All About The Equities. To correctly determine pot commitment, you cannot simply calculate SPR, look at your hand in isolation, and make a call. You must first and always put your opponent on a range. Then you have to estimate your own hand equity against that range. Expected Value is still the ultimate decider of your decisions in poker; SPR is just another tool to help evaluate EV, and, in the end, validate a call or a fold. SPR is nothing more, and nothing less, than an alternative way of looking at EV, which in turn depend on equities.
Offense versus Defense. In the example above, we only looked at 'defensive' situations; i.e., you're considering a call when facing a shove. If, however, you're the person considering shoving on your opponent, you must also factor in SPR into that decisions. I.e., given the current stack sizes, will your opponent feel 'pot committed' or not? Remember, SPR uses effective stacks, so—by definition—you are both using the same stack-to-pot ratio. The only difference is your individual equities. Further, the shallower the stack sizes, the lower the shoving player's situational fold equity. Yes, there will always be an advantage that the offensive (betting) player has in poker, but the shallower the stacks, the lower this advantage. Shallow stacks mean low fold equity and higher levels of commitment for both hero and villain.
The Sunk Cost Fallacy. Finally, SPR should never be confused with sunk costs. The money you've previously put into the pot no longer belongs to you—and in no way should be factored into your pot commitment decision. That money doesn't belong to you. It belongs to the pot, period. (Click here for more on the sunk cost fallacy in poker.)
The Bottom Line:
SPR is a powerful tool, but it's also not some magical solution to poker. It ultimately depends on how good you are at estimating equities, which of course points back to the importance of hand reading. You cannot simply look at the stack-to-pot ratio and blithely decide that your middle pair is good for a shove or an all-in call; you must consider your hand's pot equity, too. Many, many short-stackers (i.e., players who purposely buy-in with ~30bb or so, and then wait for 1-pair hands to shove preflop) have ultimately gone busto because they forgot this important rule. Like all aspects of poker, you must first R-is-for-Read and E-is-for-Evaluate before you can D-is-for-Decide with SPR-is-for-Stack-to-Pot-Ratios.
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(1) Pot commitment means that folding to a bet or raise would be incorrect. I.e., both the pot is sufficiently large and your hand is sufficiently strong that getting all of your money into the middle is mathematically correct, even if you expect to lose the hand the majority of the time.
(2) This is an often misunderstood aspect of SPR. Many otherwise expert poker players will tell you that SPR should only be calculated—and used—on the flop. This is outdated and incorrect advice, as SPR is simply a measure of risk vs. reward, and in fact is a function only of expected value and equity. SPR has nothing to do with which betting street you're currently on in the hand. SPR can be used on the flop, turn, and river with equal effectiveness.
Spr Poker Tracker
(3) This is the reason professional short stackers primarily only play pairs and big Aces. With their small stacks, they only get involved with the types of hands that work well with low SPRs. For them and these types of hands, getting it all in preflop is often the correct mathematical play.
(4) Unfortunately, I see this mistake all the time. Otherwise reputable poker advice blogs and websites frequently get this wrong, sometimes WAY wrong. This also includes the original advice in Miller's otherwise excellent book.
(5) Note that the line is not perfectly vertical, and in fact keeps increasing with a very steep slope.
How To Get Spr
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