Beginner Poker Strategy Articles

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10 Quick Poker Strategy Tips That Will Help Your Game

We’ve compiled 10 tactics and strategies that will make you a more confident and profitable poker player.

4 Valuable Pieces of Poker Tournament Advice for Beginners

Highlights of the most important tournament tips from Upswing's tournament articles.

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 from the beginner-friendly Launch Pad, to the advanced Mastery Path, Lab 2.0 gives you a clear path to sharper and more profitable play.

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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 from the beginner-friendly Launch Pad, to the advanced Mastery Path, Lab 2.0 gives you a clear path to sharper and more profitable play.

Basics, Rules, and How to Play Poker

How to Play Poker (Texas Hold'em and more)

Basic rules and game flow for new players to learn how to start playing.

Poker Hand Rankings

List of poker hand rankings. Learn what beats what, learn texas hold'em starting hands, and download a free cheat sheet.

Popular Articles

Pot Odds Explained and How to Calculate Them

By Dan B.

Pot odds are a fundamental part of poker and it’s important to learn how to calculate them. Don’t worry though,…

10 Quick Poker Strategy Tips That Will Help Your Game

By Dan B.

10 Quick Poker Strategy Tips That Will Help Your Game If you’re looking for easy to remember and quick poker…

Starting Hands in Texas Hold’em Poker (The Ultimate Guide)

By Geoffrey Fisk

Success in Texas Hold’em starts with good preflop hand selection. If you’re playing a winning strategy, you’ll be folding preflop…

All Beginner Poker Articles

3 Poker Study Techniques That Will Make You a Stronger Player

By Dan B. | November 20, 2018

Poker is a strategically rich game with a colossal amount of strategic possibilities. And those possibilities only increase with more…

tonkaaaap Reveals 3 Insights On His Way To A 2000% ROI

By Curtis Knight | November 6, 2018

“Do as I say, not as I do” -Parker “tonkaaaap” Talbot as he analyzes a hand from a $530 multi-table…

7 Short Stack Poker Tips for Maximizing Your Earnings

By Greg Barratt | October 10, 2018

Are you ready to improve your short stack game? Read on! Being short stacked can happen in any game type.…

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…

The Smart Approach to Losing Poker Sessions (3 Questions to Ask Before Quitting)

By Doug Polk | September 18, 2018

It’s tough to know when to walk away from the poker table, but sometimes it’s the most valuable skill you…

How to Thin Value Bet Like a Veteran Pro (3 Tips for Thin Value Betting in Poker)

By Dan B. | September 11, 2018

Value betting is how you’ll make most of your money at the tables. This is especially true against recreational players,…

5 Tips for Staying Focused at the Poker Table

By Curtis Knight | August 31, 2018

Being able to focus for extended periods of time is one of the most important skills a poker player can…

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 Crush Nits (10 Tactics That Win Against Tight Players)

By Dan B. | August 17, 2018

What is a Nit? A “nit” is a player who doesn’t take any risks and only plays premium hands, and…

What You Must Know Before Playing PLO Poker | Pot Limit Omaha Strategy

By Tom Chambers | August 8, 2018

Considering a switch to the great game of PLO poker? Want to know everything you can about PLO strategy? Well,…

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.)…

Playing Blind vs Blind — 5 Tips to Help You Stack More Chips

By Ben Ward | July 13, 2018

Sub-optimal blind versus blind play is a common leak among amateurs and professionals alike. Players often neglect this part of…

Rounders Analyzed: 3 Hands Played By Mike McDermott & Teddy KGB

By Ben Ward | June 26, 2018

What’s your favorite poker movie? And why is it Rounders? Today we’re going to analyze 3 hands played in this…

3 Heads-Up Rules Drawn from a $20,000 Buy-In Match

By Ryan Jensen | June 8, 2018

Let’s talk heads-up poker! Today we’ll dive into a $100/$200 cash game match between Doug Polk and Ben ‘Sauce123’ Sulsky…

3 Aggressive Tactics Winning Regulars Already Use

By Dan B. | June 5, 2018

Hoping to gain insight into where good aggressive players take advantage of their opponents, I recently watched Fried “mynameiskarl” Meulders…

Final Table Poker Strategy: The #1 Biggest Mistake to Avoid

By George Mathias | May 16, 2018

With steep pay jumps and top-heavy payout structures, the final table of any poker tournament is where big money is…

How to Play Low Pocket Pairs in Cash Games

By George Mathias | May 8, 2018

Get in cheap, try to flop a set, and hope your opponent pays you off. This oversimplified approach is probably…

How to Squeeze Max Value from Juicy Live Tournaments

By Curtis Knight | May 4, 2018

Live poker tournaments have much softer fields than online tournaments. The Big $109 on PokerStars, for example, is a tougher…

Poker Bankroll Management Tips & Tools That Work In 2022

By Curtis Knight | April 6, 2018

Part of becoming a great player is establishing proper poker bankroll management principles. Not only do you need to be…

4 Cash Game Mistakes to Avoid at All Costs

By Ben Ward | March 30, 2018

Today we’re going to discuss some of the most common mistakes cash game players make, both novice and experienced alike,…

4 Mistakes to Avoid for More Profitable Postflop Decisions

By Curtis Knight | March 23, 2018

Top poker players are adept at putting their opponents on a range of hands. This battle-hardened skill in turn leads to more profitable decision making. By contrast, players who are unable to properly range their opponents are often forced to […]

How to Play Small Pocket Pairs in Tournaments

By Curtis Knight | March 20, 2018

The disguised nature of a flopped set makes small pocket pairs very profitable. However, although they are profitable for most players, some tend to play them wrong in certain situations. A common mistake, for instance […]

Preflop Strategy Quiz: Only a Feared Grinder Will Get 9/10

By Mike Brady | March 13, 2018

Are you ready to challenge your preflop skills? Because these 10 questions aren’t meant to be easy! Be sure you share your score at the end. Good luck! Can You Get 9/10 on this Preflop Poker Quiz? […]

4 Do-or-Die Tournament Situations Explained

By Curtis Knight | March 9, 2018

The situations heavily impacted by Independent Chip Model (ICM) are truly where money is won and lost in tournament poker.…

3 Tips to Help You Maximize Your Winnings with Overpairs

By Ben Ward | March 6, 2018

How do you play overpairs after the flop? “Play ‘em fast,” someone told me years ago. “If you don’t, you’ll…

Bluffing in Poker Explained (by Doug Polk)

By Doug Polk | February 13, 2018

Is there anything more satisfying than a successful bluff? Bluffing is life in poker, but not all players feel the…

Sizing Your C-Bets: 3 Factors You Must Consider

By George Mathias | February 2, 2018

Most players know that c-betting is a basic part of postflop strategy, but many struggle with knowing what c-bet size…

How to Choose a Poker Room Where You Can Maximize Winnings (and Happiness)

By Ben Ward | January 26, 2018

For many poker players, picking a live poker room is as simple as choosing which decor they like the most.…

3 Poker Tools Every Tournament Player Should Use Daily

By Ben Ward | January 12, 2018

Poker tournaments have gotten noticeably tougher over the past few years, and they’re getting tougher every day. In order to…

Probe Bets – How to Play Turns when the Preflop Raiser Checks Back

By Ben Ward | January 5, 2018

What is a probe bet? A probe bet is when you bet out of position into a player who had…