Nash Push/Fold: Spin & Go Guide

In Spin & Go, the stacks melt fast. From around 20 big blinds, preflop decisions often come down to one simple question: push or fold? The optimal answer to that question is given by the Nash push/fold charts.

What is Nash push/fold?

The Nash equilibrium in push/fold refers to the optimal strategy in a situation where your only options are to go all-in or to fold. This strategy is calculated mathematically to be unexploitable: no matter how your opponent responds, your strategy stays profitable.

These charts were calculated for heads-up and 3-handed Texas Hold'em using Nash equilibrium algorithms. They take into account:

• The size of the blinds and antes
• The number of players
• Your stack in big blinds (bb)
• Your position at the table

Why it's crucial in Spin & Go

The Spin & Go is a 3-player format with progressive blind levels and rewards that sometimes increase exponentially. Unlike Cash Game or deep MTT, post-flop decisions are rare. Most of the winnings and losses are decided preflop, in the push/fold spots.

A player who doesn't know their Nash charts leaves significant EV (Expected Value) on the table every session. Conversely, a player who masters them plays near-optimally in these spots.

How to read a push/fold chart

A push/fold chart gives you the list of hands you should push all-in with, depending on:

• Your stack in bb: the smaller your stack, the wider you push
• Your position: heads-up, it's the SB (which is also the button) that acts first preflop; 3-handed, the preflop action order is BTN → SB → BB
• The action: are you the first to act (RFI push) or responding to an opponent's push (calling range)?

Example: heads-up push range

Heads-up with around 10bb, a Nash strategy pushes you to go all-in with a very wide range from the small blind (SB) — most pairs, aces, kings, suited aces, and many connected hands. This range represents about 60% of hands.

With 20bb, the range tightens. You mainly push medium and high pairs, the big hands (AJ+, KQ), and some connected suited hands.

Example: heads-up calling range

The calling range (hands you call an opponent's push with) is generally tighter than the pushing range. Against a 10bb push, you call from the BB with about 40 to 45% of hands. Against a 20bb push, this range tightens to about 25 to 30%.

Push/fold 3-handed

3-handed push/fold is more complex because you have to account for several players. The broad strokes:

From the BTN (dealer) against two active opponents, you have to be more cautious than heads-up. Your pushing range tightens because you risk being called by two potential players.

From the SB after a BTN fold, you're in a near-heads-up situation against the BB. The strategy is close to standard heads-up push/fold.

From the BB after an SB push, your calling range must be calibrated taking into account that you've already invested 1bb in the pot. This gives you a better price to call.

The most common mistakes

Pushing too tight on a small stack

With 8-10bb, many players don't push wide enough. They think they need a "good" hand to go all-in. In reality, at this stack depth, almost any hand is a profitable push from the right position.

Being result-dependent

If your opponent calls with a dominated hand and wins, don't change your strategy. Nash push/fold is correct in mathematical expectation, not on a single hand.

Neglecting antes

Antes significantly modify the push/fold charts by increasing the size of the pot relative to the stack. A push that would be marginally profitable without an ante becomes clearly profitable with an ante. The charts must therefore incorporate your site's ante structure.

Ignoring calls from the BB

Some players push correctly but don't know their calling ranges from the BB. Calling too tight against an enemy push costs as much EV as pushing too tight.

How to memorize the push/fold charts

The push/fold charts are 13×13 tables (the 169 Texas Hold'em hands) with markings based on stack depth. Memorizing them takes regular practice.

The most effective method: train daily by rebuilding the grids from memory. That's exactly the principle of Forge.poker — you load a Nash push/fold chart into the app, and you train to rebuild it on the 13×13 grid until the answer is instant.

With 5 to 10 minutes a day, most players master their push/fold charts in 2 to 4 weeks. The full method is detailed in how to memorize your ranges and improving in 10 minutes a day.

Tools to generate Nash charts

The charts shown in educational resources are approximations. For precise charts adapted to the exact structure of your blinds and antes:

• ICMIZER: the reference for Nash push/fold in Spin & Go
• HRC (Hold'em Resources Calculator): very precise for MTT and Spin & Go
• Nash Calculator: a simplified version for pure push/fold

These tools let you generate your own charts based on the exact structure of your site (PokerStars, GGPoker, etc.) and import them into Forge.poker.

Conclusion

The Nash push/fold charts are the foundation of any serious Spin & Go player. They turn complex decisions into automatic answers, freeing you from preflop mental load so you can focus on the post-flop spots that still come up before push/fold time.

The next step: load your charts into Forge.poker and train until the grid is perfectly anchored in memory.