SPR, or “stack-to-pot ratio,” refers to the relation between the size of the player’s stack and the size of the pot.
In poker, the SPR is calculated by dividing the smallest stack size involved in the hand by the size of the pot.
This concept is useful in short-stack situations in MTTs because it helps determine how much of your remaining stack you should commit to the pot.
There are three types of SPR in poker:
- Low (SPR less than 2)
- Medium (SPR from 3 to 6)
- High (SPR higher than 6)
A low SPR indicates that you have a relatively short stack size in relation to the pot. This means that you will most likely be forced to commit a significant portion of your stack to the pot or even jam and go all in if you decide to continue with the hand.
Understanding SPR will help you make better decisions in the short-stack situation by allowing you to determine your level of commitment, evaluate the strength of your poker hand, and decide whether to continue by going all in or making a smaller bet.
Poker SPR Example:
Let’s say you are playing in a $1/$2 Texas Hold’em game and have $50 in your stack. You get dealt a pocket pair of Jc Jh and decide to raise $6 from UTG. The player on the BTN who has $100 in his stack calls your raise, and you go to the flop. The pot is $15.
The flop comes 8s 4c 2h, you bet $10, and your opponent snap calls. The pot is now $35, and you have $34 in your stack.
To calculate the SPR, we need to divide the effective stack size, in this case, your stack since it is smaller than your opponents, by the size of the pot:
SPR = 34 / 35
SPR = 0.97
In this situation, the SPR is less than 2, which means that you have a short stack relative to the pot size, and you will need to commit to the pot if you decide to continue playing this hand.
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