FanDuel Poker has added Spin & Go Deals, a feature that lets players in its jackpot sit-and-go games negotiate a split once they reach heads-up play. The change is notable because deal-making is common in multi-table tournaments but remains rare in lottery sit and gos, especially in the regulated US market.
Pokerfuse describes three-handed lottery sit and gos as one of online poker’s most popular formats, more than a decade after they were first introduced. Almost every room offers its own version under names such as Spin & Go, SPINS, Expresso, Twister, Windfall and Jackpot Sit and Go. The basic structure is unchanged: a three-handed hyper-turbo event in which the prize pool is set at random before play begins, with prizes ranging from twice the buy-in to 10,000 times it and some sites offering million-dollar jackpots.
The mechanics are simple but unusual for this format. Players must turn Spin & Go Deals on in the settings menu. Once a tournament reaches heads-up play, a small checkbox appears on the left side of the table, and if both players opt in they can negotiate a split of the remaining prize pool while the clock is paused. When both sides confirm, the game stops, a confirmation window shows the agreed payouts, and the tournament ends immediately.
FanDuel Poker is the first operator in the regulated US online poker market to offer deal-making in Spin & Go tournaments. Outside the US, Playtech’s iPoker network is one of the few platforms with similar functionality in jackpot-style sit and gos. Full Tilt Poker also once offered deal-making across all of its tournament formats, including its Jackpot product, before it shut down.
The appeal is clear for some players. Deal-making can let recreational users lock up a share of a prize without having to win outright, and it can reduce swings if both sides agree. The trade-off is that the feature can also raise concerns about collusion, which may help explain why deal-making in lottery sit and gos remains extremely uncommon.
The feature arrives on a platform FanDuel launched on 1 April as PokerStars Exclusively on FanDuel, with a dedicated poker app and desktop site. FanDuel said the launch merged player liquidity across Michigan, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and the brand is a spin-off of PokerStars US and PokerStars Ontario.
A recent example shows the feature’s potential: a $250,000 jackpot was triggered in a $50 Spin & Go game on FanDuel Poker. In that hand, no deal was reached and a player from Pennsylvania took the full prize.
