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SPR & Commitment

Lesson 12 · Stack-to-pot ratio and stack-off decisions · 24 practice questions

SPR defined

SPR — the stack-to-pot ratio — is the effective stack still behind divided by the pot on the flop: SPR = effective stack behind ÷ flop pot. The effective stack is the smaller of the two stacks; 'behind' means what is left after the preflop betting. SPR tells you how many pot-sized bets are left, and therefore how strong a hand has to be to put everything in. At SPR 1–2, one or two bets get the stacks in, so top pair with a good kicker and overpairs are usually worth it: you are already close to committed, and folding gives up a big pot for a small final price. At SPR 10 or more there are three streets of growing bets ahead, and one pair is rarely strong enough to stack off — the hands that put in 100bb over three streets are mostly two pair, sets and better.

Example. In a 3-bet pot you hold K♠K♣ on T♦6♣2♠ with 28bb effective. Each player put 10bb in preflop, so the pot is 20 and 18 is left behind: SPR = 18/20 = 0.9. Villain jams 18. You call 18 to win 38, which needs 18/(20+18+18) = 32% — and an overpair is far ahead of that against a range that jams here: call. Compare J♥J♠ on K♦Q♣8♥ in a single-raised pot with 75bb effective: the pot is 6 and 72 is behind, SPR 12. Facing a nearly pot-sized bet, a pair with a king and a queen above it is not a hand to build a 150bb pot with. Folding is the disciplined answer, and a single call to catch bluffs is close — but only with the plan to give up when the turn brings a second big bet. What SPR 12 rules out is raising, or calling three streets.

Common mistake: using the same hand threshold at every depth. 'Overpair, so I'm all in' is right at SPR 1 and a costly habit at SPR 12.

Commitment decisions

Commitment is a plan you make on the flop, not a feeling on the river. Before you act, ask: if all the chips go in, am I happy? At low SPR the answer has to be decided now, because one more bet or raise usually leaves you in a spot where folding is wrong on price alone. If the answer is yes, never put in a bet you would fold to a raise; choose between calling and raising by which line gets more chips from worse hands. If the answer is no, keep the pot small — check, or bet only if you are ready to fold to a raise and the bet still makes money. The expensive line at low SPR is bet-fold: you put in a third of your stack and then give up the rest at a price you could not refuse.

Example. In a 3-bet pot you hold A♥K♦ on A♠7♦2♣ with 45bb effective. The pot is 18 and 36 is behind: SPR 2. Villain bets 18. If you call, the pot becomes 54 with 18 behind — on the turn, any bet or jam asks for at most 18/(54+18+18) = 20%. Top pair, top kicker is far above that, so the plan is 'all in by the river', and the only question is how. Calling keeps villain's bluffs and worse aces in; raising mostly folds them. Call.

Common mistake: betting a medium hand at low SPR and then folding to a jam. If the hand cannot call a shove, it should not have bet a third of the stack.

Deep stacks: one pair is not enough

At high SPR the hands that win big pots are not the hands that win small ones. With 100bb or more behind in a single-raised pot, the money goes in over three streets, and a player who calls or raises three times is usually holding two pair or better. One pair — even top pair with a good kicker — plays best as a pot-control hand: bet or call for one or two streets, then slow down when the action says you are beaten. Sets and two pair are the other way round: they want the stacks in, and at high SPR they need to start building the pot early, because it takes three bets of growing size to get 100bb in. Tournaments push in the opposite direction: stacks of 20–40bb make SPR low by default, so one pair commits much more often there.

Example. In a single-raised pot with 81bb effective you hold A♥Q♣ on Q♠J♦9♥8♣. SPR on the flop was 13; on the turn the pot is 12 and villain bets 11. Your top pair has a straight board around it — every ten already makes a straight. You have already called the flop bet once, which was the pot-control part of the plan; a second big bet deep, on this board, rarely comes from a worse pair, so this is where one pair gives up: fold. It is closer than it looks, because top pair still beats the bluffs, but the plan for one pair deep is one call, not two. With 4♥4♠ on 9♠8♦4♣ at SPR 10, facing 4 into 6, the opposite applies: a set is strong enough to play for stacks, so raise now and keep building the pot.

Common mistake: treating top pair as a stack-off hand at any depth. 'I have top pair, top kicker' is a reason to call a bet, not to put 100bb in.

Key takeaways

• SPR about 2 or less with top pair, good kicker or an overpair → you are committed: call or raise, never fold to one more bet.
• Low SPR with a hand that cannot call a jam → check and keep the pot small; never bet and then fold.
• SPR 10 or more with one pair facing big bets → pot control; fold when the betting shows two pair or better, especially from a tight player.
• SPR 10 or more with a set or two pair → build the pot now, raise or bet, so the stacks can go in by the river.
• Short stacks or a 3-bet pot → SPR is low by default; decide on the flop whether the hand is going all in.

Sample drill from this lesson

FAQ

Key terms in this lesson

Range (Poker Hand Range) · SPR (Stack-to-Pot Ratio) · Pot Commitment · 3-Bet Pot · Pot Control

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