Advanced Poker Strategy Articles

Popular Advanced Articles

Building Bluffing Ranges Like the Pros: A Guide to Smarter 3-Bets

By Leo Song-Carrillo

Today, solid preflop strategies are part of the tournament poker zeitgeist. (Don’t worry—set-mining doesn’t make you a fish.) That said,…

How to Play Flush Turns After Check-Raising (Advanced Strategy)

By Dan B.

As you probably know, having a well-balanced check-raising range makes you a really tough opponent to play against. The reason…

5 Advanced Poker Strategies & Tips To Supercharge Your Poker Wins

By Dan B.

Ready for some advanced nuggets of poker wisdom that will help your game? For today’s article, I dug through Upswing’s…

Advanced Poker Training Courses: Our articles are great, our courses are even better. Check out signature courses from some of the world's best players and coaches including Elite Cash Game Exploits, Red Line Rocketship, Smash Live Cash, and, our most popular course, Upswing Lab 2.0

All Advanced Poker Articles

ICM vs Chip Leader: How Dylan Weisman Navigates a Tough PLO Final Table Spot

By Duncan Smith

In this preview from his upcoming Crushing PLO Tournaments course on Upswing, Dylan Weisman walks through a hand from a…

Play More Hands, Win More Pots: 5 Tips for PLO MTT Success

By Duncan Smith

Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO) tournaments are a completely different animal from No-Limit Hold’em. If you try to carry over your standard…

How Double Board Bomb Pots Actually Work (And Why Most Players Get Them Wrong)

By Duncan Smith

Bomb pots have become a staple in modern poker. Whether you’re playing in private games, apps, or live settings, you’re…

Inside a $30K CGWC Pot: TaxHere vs Jasamgale Hand Analysis

By Dan B.

The 2025 Cash Game World Championship (CGWC) has provided us with many jaw-dropping hands, with players taking lines with hands…

5 Things You Should Be Doing BvB (But Probably Aren’t)

By Dan B.

In poker, particularly online, where blind-versus-blind (BVB) situations arise frequently, developing a strong BVB strategy is essential to maintaining a…

When Betting Bigger Is the Solver-Approved Play In Tournaments

By Leo Song-Carrillo

Big hand. Big bet. Usually. In the pre-solver era, continuation betting for half pot was fairly common, if not the…

Inside a Championship Hero Call: A Street-by-Street Analysis from the 2025 CGWC

By Dan B.

In this article, I am going to break down a big hero call that went down in the 2025 Cash…

The River Block Bet: Why Small Bets Can Be Your Biggest Edge

By Dan B.

The river block bet is a solver-derived discovery that revolutionized poker strategy. I will break down why that is and…

5 Situations Where C-Betting Is a Big Mistake in Poker Tournaments

By Leo Song-Carrillo

C-betting is super effective in MTTs, so it’s no surprise that it happens so frequently. On average, after you open-raise,…

The Next Step After Range Checking: Turn Strategy (Part 2)

By Dan B.

In the previous article in this series, you learned that low, connected boards are best played by checking your entire…

How to Play the Turn After Range Checking the Flop (Part 1)

By Dan B.

Some time ago, I wrote about a few spots where checking your entire range on the flop is the right…

3 Concepts That Should Shape Your Postflop Strategy

By Dan B.

Are you familiar with positional, range, and nut advantages in poker? These concepts will help you shape your postflop strategy…

From Satellite to Chip Leader: A Day 1 Among the Poker Elite in a $26,000 Event

By Leo Song-Carrillo

I am a mid-stakes MTT player. Frankly, I have no business going toe to toe with the poker elite. But…

3 Reasons Solvers Check Top Pair Out of Position in Tournaments

By Leo Song-Carrillo

You flopped a pair. In fact, the strongest kind. Even the highest ranking. Now it’s time to work out exactly…

Mastering Preflop 3-Bets: Value, Bluffs, and Exploits

By Dan B.

3-betting preflop is a fundamental strategy for winning at poker. Getting it right is also easier than ever, thanks to…

Slowplaying in MTTs: Three Spots Where It Prints Chips

By Leo Song-Carrillo

Slowplaying a big hand isn’t optimal… usually. When you have a big hand, you want to make the pot big.…

MTT Survival Guide: The Right Way to Defend Against Turn Probes

By Leo Song-Carrillo

Well, you checked back the flop like an intelligent, disciplined, strong poker player. But now they’re reaching for chips… They’re…

PR0DIGY vs Riggedeck: A $35,000 Hand Breakdown from the Cash Game World Championship

By Dan B.

As we steam ahead with the 2025 Cash Game World Championship (CGWC), I am going to break down a hand…

LLinusLLove vs Kevin Paqué in a CGWC High-Stakes Showdown

By Dan B.

We got a blast from the past in this article. Well, it’s not quite so far back in the past,…

Check-Raised the Flop? Here’s What to Do When the Turn Pairs

By Dan B.

In the previous part of this series, we looked at how to approach unpaired brick turns. Now it’s time to…

We’re Cutting Prices for Cyber Monday (25% Off Everything)

By Mike Brady

The 2025 Black Friday / Cyber Monday Sale is over. We’ll see you 2026 with more sales and more killer…

5 Situations Where C-Betting Will Burn You

By Dan B.

C-betting is a fundamental part of playing good, solid, winning poker. There are many situations where c-betting frequently is the…

Unleash Your Potential with Lucid Poker

By Duncan Smith

This will change your poker game for the better. Lucid Poker Version 3.0 launches on November 10, offering a faster,…

5 Solver Strategies That Crush in Theory (and Crash in Real Life)

By Duncan Smith

If you’ve spent any time studying with solvers, you know how powerful they are. Tools like Upswing’s Lucid Poker can…

Outplaying the Reckless Player: Mastering Turn Probes After Missed C-Bets

By Dan B.

In the first part of the series, I covered the most common opponent type – the risk-averse player profile. In…

The Hidden Mechanics of C-Betting: Lessons from Phemo

By Leo Song-Carrillo

What Is a C-Bet? A continuation bet, or c-bet, is a follow-up bet made by the player who took the…

What to Do After You Check-Raise the Flop and the Turn Bricks Out

By Dan B.

In this part of the series, we’re going to cover how to play on blank turns. We’ll start with the…

MTT Preflop Strategy: Turning Flat-Calls from Leak to Weapon

By Leo Song-Carrillo

Most losing players aren’t bleeding money because of massive, obvious mistakes. It’s the small, repeated errors that make or break…

Your Opponent Checked Back—Here’s How to Capitalize (Part I)

By Dan B.

Over the years, I’ve mostly focused on how to play as the aggressor, particularly on the flop. That stage is…

Check or Bet? How to Build Strong Flop Check-Back Strategies in Tournaments

By Leo Song-Carrillo

Let’s face it. Checking back stinks, doesn’t it? It can feel even worse than folding — the most cowardly act…

The Final Hand of the 2021 WSOP Main Event (Analysis)

By Mike Brady | November 24, 2021

High stakes poker pro versus fearless amateur… It’s a matchup that happens daily on poker tables around the world. But…

We’re Slashing Prices for Black Friday & Cyber Monday [25% Off]

By Patrick Harvey | November 18, 2021

Have you considered upgrading your poker skills with one of Upswing’s best-selling courses? It’s time to get off the fence…

What is the Poker Game Tree & Why Does It Matter?

By Dan B. | June 2, 2021

Learning poker is a gradual process. You start by learning about your hand strength and play poker without factoring in…

3 Micro Stakes Players Pick Up Premium Hands in 3-Bet Pots (Analysis)

By Dan B. | May 7, 2021

Improving at poker is easier when you’re surrounded by like-minded people. That’s why those of us at Upswing Poker take…

Bizarre Multiway Pot Between 3 High Stakes Regs ($28,350 Pot Analysis)

By Dan B. | April 16, 2021

Nosebleed online poker has been active in 2021. We’ve been tracking some of the craziest hands, as you can see…

3 River Bluffing Tips That Will Help You Smash Cash Games

By Dan B. | April 6, 2021

Bluffing is the most fun part of poker for some people. For others, it’s the most terrifying part. On the…

How to Print Money on Paired Flops as the Preflop Raiser

By Jake Godshall | March 19, 2021

Playing well on paired boards is crucial in order to maximize your win-rate. To help with this, cash game pro…

What Is Equity Distribution & Why Does It Matter?

By Dan B. | February 23, 2021

There’s no doubt about it: Poker has gotten tougher over the years. There are many concepts that shape modern strategy…

The 100 Most Valuable Poker Strategy Articles for 2021

By Patrick Harvey | January 27, 2021

Hopefully you’ve taken advantage of all the great strategy content that’s available here at Upswing. But in case you’ve missed…

How To Play Ace-King On A Middling Flop After 3-Betting

By Tomas Molcan | September 11, 2020

Raise your hand if you feel like every time you 3-bet with AK, the flop brings three undercards. 3-bet pots…

[QUIZ] Can You Ace 10 Super Tough Poker Questions?

By Mike Brady | August 28, 2020

There are dozens of poker quizzes here on Upswing Poker. Over the past few days, my team and I sifted…

How to Dominate Ace-High Flops in 3-Bet Pots (Deep Analysis)

By Dan B. | July 21, 2020

You need to be well-versed in 3-bet pots if you want to win in 2020. 3-bets are much more common…

How to Simplify Your Poker Strategy Without Sacrificing Value

By Dan B. | July 17, 2020

Most of us strive for simplicity in our life, but is it something to strive for in poker too? Short…

10 Crucial Poker Stats To Include On Your HUD (And How to Use Them)

By Dan B. | July 3, 2020

Want to maximize your win-rate? Then you always need to be on the lookout for ways to exploit your opponents.…

Should He Call 3 Expensive Barrels With Middle Pair? (Analysis)

By Patrick Harvey | June 26, 2020

When you play poker, it can be easy to feel like a one man wolfpack. Even if you get along…

[QUIZ] Can You Pick the “GTO” C-Bet Frequency on 10 Flops?

By Dan B. | June 9, 2020

This poker quiz is not going to be easy. Each of the following 10 hand scenarios starts the same way:…

5 Advanced Poker Strategies & Tips To Supercharge Your Poker Wins

By Dan B. | June 2, 2020

Ready for some advanced nuggets of poker wisdom that will help your game? For today’s article, I dug through Upswing’s…

Bluff-Raising to $302,000 vs Patrik Antonius (Analysis)

By Dan B. | May 29, 2020

Let’s take a look at what is perhaps the most interesting TV poker hand Doug Polk ever played. It’s an…

Was This Bluff a Mistake? (Analysis)

By Dan B. | April 7, 2020

This two-part article series will help you improve your strategy with missed draws. In part one, cash game crusher Fried…

Stuck Inside? Watch a Free Poker Training Video from a Premium Course

By Mike Brady | March 20, 2020

Crazy times. We know a lot of you are stuck inside at the moment, battling boredom and (hopefully not too…

[QUIZ] What is Your Poker IQ Score?

By Mike Brady | March 3, 2020

How knowledgeable are you when it comes to the most popular “big bet” poker games? This 8-question quiz includes questions about No Limit Hold’em (cash games and tournaments), Pot Limit Omaha, and “big bet” poker theory […]

Why 5♠ 4♠ is Better Than 9♠ 8♠ (And How That Should Impact Your Strategy)

By Dan B. | February 11, 2020

Since the advent of preflop solvers, poker players have discovered some very interesting things about preflop strategy. One particularly interesting…

3 Key Hands from a Sunday Million Final Table

By Ernest Gorham | January 28, 2020

Ready to improve your strategy by getting inside the head of a truly great tournament pro? Keep reading. One of the coolest and most valuable Play & Explain series in the Upswing Lab is a full review of Moritz “Mo” Dietrich’s final table run in the PokerStars Sunday Million during SCOOP last year […]

How the World’s #1 Cash Game Player Has Changed His Strategy

By Mike Brady | January 10, 2020

How has LLinusLLove been crushing the games for the last few years? Everyone has had access to solvers for years and the games have never been tougher, so how has he managed to have a graph like this […]

When to Attack After Your Opponent Checks Back (4 Tips for Probing)

By Mike Brady | January 3, 2020

Being out of position sucks, but it sucks a lot less when your opponent checks back on the flop. Not only does your opponent’s check allow you to see a free card, it also gives you the opportunity to probe bet. To help you probe bet better […]

Online Poker Legend Shares Secrets for Four Flush Boards

By Mike Brady | December 20, 2019

Boards with four cards of the same suit are a special combination of weird and rare… and many players misplay them as a result. Some players tighten up big time on four flush boards, never committing a bet without the first or second highest flush. Other players […]

How to Play Strong Hands on Monotone Flops (Check-Raise vs Slow-Play)

By Mike Brady | December 13, 2019

The text below is based on the video above. Imagine taking a seat at a poker table in your regular game. On your first hand, the player on the button raises and you call from the big blind. The flop comes 6♠ 4♠ […]

(Quiz) Let’s Play a Final Table with $173,000 Up Top

By Ernest Gorham | December 10, 2019

Fortunes are won and lost at final tables, so it’s crucial you play well when you’re lucky enough to make one. To help you practice and improve your chances at a big pay day, you’re about to be presented with […]

Poker Millionaire Reveals His Strategy on Monotone Flops (♠️ ♠️ ♠️)

By Mike Brady | December 6, 2019

The text below is based on the video above. Most poker players misplay monotone flops (a flop with three cards of the same suit). This is likely because they are under-researched. When poker players study, they […]

Flopping Top Set in a $1,000,000 Tournament (Analysis)

By Ernest Gorham | November 19, 2019

Humans are results oriented creatures. When we lose a hand we’ll go over it in our heads numerous times. Yet when we win a hand we often don’t give it a second thought. However, when analyzing your play, it’s […]

Upswing Poker Lab 2.0 Icon

Poker Training Course: Upswing Lab 2.0

Enjoying the free strategy articles, but want to take your game to the next level? Upswing has a poker training path for you in the new Lab 2.0, the Mastery Path has advanced curriculum from some of the world's best coaches including Uri Peleg and Qing Yang. Lab 2.0 gives you a clear path to sharper and more profitable play.

Enjoying the free strategy articles, but want to take your game to the next level? Upswing has a poker training path for you in the new Lab 2.0, the Mastery Path has advanced curriculum from some of the world's best coaches including Uri Peleg and Qing Yang. Lab 2.0 gives you a clear path to sharper and more profitable play.