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…

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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…

Edge-Passing in Poker: When Folding Profitable Hands Is the Right Play

By Leo Song-Carrillo

“Gotta know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em.” – Kenny Rogers Folding AKo to cold 4bet 5-handed…

Deep vs Shallow Study: The Key to Rapid Poker Improvement

By Uri Peleg

Uri Peleg is arguably the best poker coach in the world. He just released a game-changing course called Upswing Lab…

How To Play Overcard Turns After Check-Raising the Flop (Advanced Strategy)

By Dan B.

I’ve covered flush-closing and straight-closing turns so far in this series. Now it’s time to shift focus to overcards. While…

(Sneak Peek) Lab 2.0 is Your Path to Poker Mastery

By Duncan Smith

Ready to destroy weaker recreational players and come out on top against your fellow regulars? Upswing Lab 2.0 (coming September…

The Population Leak You Can’t Ignore: Overfolding vs Raises in 3-Bet Pots

By Dan B.

In-Position Raising In 3-Bet Pots as the Preflop Caller (Part II) Part II – Practical Applications As I mentioned in…

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,…

LLinusLLove vs. AbsoluteTopUp: A Masterclass in Flush Draw Dynamics

By Dan B.

I’ve got a hand straight from the Cash Game World Championship hosted by CoinPoker. This one features Linus “LLinusLL0ve” Loeliger…

The Forgotten Line: How to Maximize Profit as the Preflop Caller in 3-Bet Pots

By Dan B.

In-Position Raising In 3-Bet Pots as the Preflop Caller Part I – Theory Primer: The Forgotten Line That sounded mysterious…

Top Pair, Bad Kicker? Here’s the Right Way to Play It

By Dan B.

This article shares strategic advice from Uri Peleg on how to play top pairs with a weak kicker. The insights…

Beyond the Flop Overbet: Elite-Level Turn Play Explained (Part 1)

By Dan B.

The flop overbet c-bet is a highly advanced strategy that only a small number of players have implemented, and even…

Beyond Raw Equity: Unlocking the True Value of Your Poker Hands

By Dan B.

If you’ve been reading my strategy articles for a while, you may have noticed that I often talk about realized…

This Poker “Cheat Code” Will Help You Win More Hands

By Mike Brady | February 8, 2019

You’re about to learn about a powerful play that was kept secret for years by elite poker pros. It’s called…

[QUIZ] Which Upswing Poker Training Course is Made for You?

By Mike Brady | December 24, 2018

Have you considered upgrading your skills with an Upswing Poker training course? Read on! Take this quick quiz to find out which course is best for your poker playing needs, or keep scrolling for a breakdown of each course. […]

3 Spots You Should Actually Consider Minimum Defense Frequency (And 3 Spots You Shouldn’t)

By Dan B. | November 30, 2018

Poker theory can baffle new players, partly because they have preconceived notions about the game — they’ll say things like,…

Pros and Cons of 66% & 100% Pot-Sized C-Bets (The Ultimate Guide, Part 2)

By Nico Schwarz | November 9, 2018

Ready to bolster your flop c-betting skills? Today you’re going to learn the advantages and disadvantages of two common flop…

What Flop C-Bet Size Should You Use in Cash Games? (The Ultimate Guide, Part 1)

By Nico Schwarz | November 2, 2018

Here’s a situation you’ve probably faced many times. You are playing a $0.50/$1.00 cash game. The action folds to you…

Stop Letting Your Poker Ego Cost You Money & Happiness

By Konstantinos "Duncan" Palamourdas | October 9, 2018

What’s going on, Upswing fam? Today we’re mixing things up with a guest post that aims to help you with…

10 Must-See Strategy Chats from the Upswing Engage Community

By Dan B. | September 14, 2018

When it comes to improving at poker, few things are more effective than discussing strategy with friends. For meaningful discussions…

5 Can’t-Miss Insights from an Online Cash Game Juggernaut

By Dan B. | September 4, 2018

We Lab members are truly fortunate. We get to watch a top online cash game player, Fried “mynameiskarl” Meulders, play…

3 Strategic Mistakes to Avoid in Tournaments with Nick Petrangelo

By Mike Brady | August 27, 2018

Meet the latest elite player to join the Upswing team: Nick Petrangelo. Nick is a tournament crusher who you’ve probably…

Stop Tanking: 5 Reasons Why Playing Faster Will Make You Richer & Happier

By Jimmy Fricke | August 21, 2018

Trends in live poker seem to come and go overnight. One that hasn’t gone away yet, unfortunately, is slow play…

How to Make Profitable Decisions Against Any Bet Size (Minimum Defense Frequency vs Pot Odds)

By Dan B. | August 3, 2018

Faced with a bet, you can react in one of three ways: call, fold, or raise. It’s usually pretty apparent…

Can You 10/10 OtB_RedBaron’s Strategy? — Advanced Poker Quiz

By Dan B. | July 31, 2018

‘Otb_Redbaron’ is considered one of, if not the best 6-max player right now, and Upswing’s own Andres Artinano (‘Educa-p0ker’) has been battling him for years. In fact, Andres built his strategy by studying the Baron’s strategy, and he […]

How to Analyze Your Poker Hands Effectively in 5 Minutes

By Dan B. | July 27, 2018

(If Google sent you here to find out what beats what in poker, check out our guide to poker hands.)…

How to Beat the Guy Who Is Always Betting — Countering an Aggressive Poker Strategy

By Dan B. | July 24, 2018

Geez, this guy just won’t stop betting. I just need to be patient, wait for a strong hand, and then…

When Should You Continue Barreling on a Brick Turn Card?

By Dan B. | June 29, 2018

If you’ve ever been confused on the turn after c-bet-bluffing on the flop, then this article is for you. Knowing…

Stop Fearing Triple Barrels with this Professional Approach

By Dan B. | April 27, 2018

Let’s be honest: we all sigh when an opponent fires that dreadful triple barrel, putting us to the test both…

How to Check-Raise on the River Like a Pro

By Dan B. | April 17, 2018

It’s difficult to play out-of-position as the preflop caller. In this scenario our opponent, the preflop raiser, has both a…

4 GTO Myths That Way Too Many Poker Players Believe

By George Mathias | February 27, 2018

GTO? More like GT-NO! Today we’ll be debunking 4 big myths about game theory optimal poker strategy, or “GTO,” as…

3 Can’t-Miss Insights from a Cash Game Millionaire

By George Mathias | February 20, 2018

One of the best players to ever grace the 6-max cash game format, Andres “Educa-p0ker” Artinano, is here to drop…

Complete Guide to Tournament C-Betting Strategy

By Miikka Anttonen | January 23, 2018

Continuation betting (c-betting) is now so trivial that even the most inexperienced tournament players do it without thinking twice. Today…

Short-Stacked 3-Betting in Tournaments Revealed

By Miikka Anttonen | January 16, 2018

The Ultimate Guide to Tournament 3-Betting Suppose you’re facing a late position raise with a good-but-not-great hand on the button.…

My Tried-and-True Method for Conquering Tilt

By Ryan Fee | December 1, 2017

Featured image credit: Live at the Bike One thing can instantly transform a world-class poker pro into a mega-whale: Tilt.…

How to Check-Raise with Short Stacks Like an MTT Boss

By Miikka Anttonen | October 24, 2017

Check-raising is an indispensable play in tournaments. Since average stack sizes are shallow, a check-raise will typically represent a large portion of your remaining chips. This allows you to put a lot of pressure on your opponent(s), because in order […]

5 Not-So-Easy River Spots Explained By A Game Theory Expert

By George Mathias | August 25, 2017

Discussing hands with friends is a great way to get better at poker. Now, imagine if one of your friends…

Why The Very Best Poker Players Make Decisions At Random (Mixed Strategy)

By George Mathias | August 11, 2017

The many randomized elements of poker are a big part of what makes the game so strategically complex. We can…

The Ultimate Guide to Preflop Multiway Pots (And Squeezing)

By Upswing Poker | July 28, 2017

Multiway pots are extremely complex. As more players enter the pot, the size of the game-tree increases. This makes finding…

Does Your Poker Journey Feel Stuck? So Did Doug Polk’s

By George Mathias | June 9, 2017

Does your poker career feel stuck? Have you been playing in the same low- and mid-stakes games for what seems…

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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.