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

5 Goals You Must Set to Succeed in Poker

By Ryan Fee | December 2, 2016

Goal setting works. On the endless road to strengthen your poker game, giving yourself targets will help you become a…

6 Reasons Why Live Poker is Easier Than Online Poker (That Might Be Holding You Back)

By Ryan Fee | November 4, 2016

Live poker is a lot easier than online poker. Unless you’ve never stepped foot in a casino or played a…

The Ugly Truth About Staking in Poker

By Miikka Anttonen | October 18, 2016

You’ve heard of staking. Or at least you probably have if you’ve spent any time with poker players. Over the…

Why You Should Play More Multi-Table Tournaments (MTTs)

By Yaniv | October 11, 2016

When Multi Table Tournaments Brought the Fun Back Having recently given up poker as my full-time profession to focus on…

Why Tilt Gets A Bad Rep (And How to Combat It)

By Yaniv | September 30, 2016

When speaking with poker players who are trying to improve their mindset at the poker table, the conversation generally revolves…

Money Bubble Strategy: How to Set Yourself Up for the Win

By Jason Lee | September 20, 2016

How To Not Blow It On The Bubble Congrats! You did it! You’ve endured through days of that tournament, survived…

Should I Play Cash Games or Tournaments?

By Jose Aguilar | September 13, 2016

One of the most frequently asked questions you’ll hear from aspiring poker pros is whether to focus on tournament poker…

Out Of This World Satellite Tournament Strategy

By Jason Lee | September 9, 2016

Ok, ok, forgive me for the cheese-ball satellite joke in the title, I couldn’t help myself. I’ll make it up…

Beginner’s Guide to Heads-Up Hyper Turbo Sit & Gos

By Yaniv | September 1, 2016

Even if you’re married to cash games and tournaments, it’s hard not to fall a little bit in love with…

How to Understand and Combat Tilt in Poker

By Team Upswing | July 26, 2016

What Is Tilt? Tilt is an undesirable psychological state in which a player’s emotions interfere with decision making. Shorter version: tilt is poker frustration. If you have ever found yourself making a […]

3 Poker Tips and Strategies from Upswing Coaches

By Jose Aguilar | July 19, 2016

(Photo copyright: Antonio Abrego) Pro poker tips and strategies have never been as plentiful as they are today. You can’t…

Poker Sit and Gos – Explanation and Strategy

By Team Upswing | June 24, 2016

SNGs – What Are They, and Are They Worth Playing? With so many different poker formats available, it can be…

ICM Poker Introduction: What Is The Independent Chip Model?

By Team Upswing | June 7, 2016

Long gone are the days where tournament poker was played by “feel” alone. The introduction of basic mathematical terms such as…

How to Incorporate Blockers Into Your PLO Game

By Jimmy Fricke | June 3, 2016

Blockers in PLO I started playing poker in 2005, when the best strategy advice on the internet still included a…

How to Maneuver a Tournament Short Stack

By Team Upswing | May 27, 2016

Monitoring your stack size is one of the most crucial elements of the tournament poker play and beginners often don’t…

REVEALED: Pot Odds vs Implied Odds

By Team Upswing | May 20, 2016

Pot Odds and Implied Odds When Facing a Bet To many tournament players’ chagrin, pot odds in poker do not refer to…

What Separates Good Poker Players From the Best (Explained by Doug Polk)

By Matt Colletta | April 8, 2016

Three-time WSOP bracelet winner Doug Polk explains what separates good poker players from the best poker players. In this video Doug…

7 Tips For Winning In Limit Holdem

By Jimmy Fricke | April 6, 2016

If No Limit Hold’em is the Cadillac of poker, Limit Hold’em is the Toyota Camry. Solid, dependable, and not nearly…

Why You Are On A Downswing

By Ryan Fee | March 11, 2016

Variance is very good at tricking the human brain. Things that seem unlikely, highly improbable, or impossible happen all the…

Does A Good Poker Face Matter?

By Ryan Fee | February 17, 2016

“So, do you have a good poker face?” When I meet people casually and strike up a conversation about poker,…

How To Play Winning Poker

By Doug Polk | November 16, 2015

It doesn’t matter if you’re a recreational card player who enjoys a game once a month, or an aspiring pro…

How To Use Your Opponent’s Ego Against Them

By Matt Colletta | October 27, 2015

Check your ego at the card room door. Language is a powerful tool, and it can be used for or…

Pro Tip: Don’t Always Continuation Bet

By Ryan Fee | October 23, 2015

Many players new to poker learn that if they raise preflop and continuation bet the flop, they can often times…

Pro Tip: Never “Raise For Information”

By Ryan Fee | October 23, 2015

When I sit down at a poker table there are some mistakes I’m guaranteed to see. Raising for information is one of the most…

Pro View: Tom Dwan’s Queen-Ten Bluff on High Stakes Poker

By Ryan Fee | October 22, 2015

Anyone remember that crazy Tom Dwan bluff on High Stakes Poker season 5? It’s is one of the most famous hands of poker played on TV ever. This hand and many like it have led to many players having warped ideas of how poker works. CAUTION: Don’t […]

The Must Have Poker Tool

By Ryan Fee | October 21, 2015

This poker tool is a game changer. Figuring out what hands are strong and what hands are weak is the…

The Top 7 Reasons to Defend Your Big Blind

By Ryan Fee | October 19, 2015

(Art by Ben Wooten) Sometimes I feel like my big blind is under attack from a fire breathing dragon… How…

Are You a Poker Hoarder?

By Ryan Fee | October 18, 2015

Hoarders Syndrome: the need to collect things whether it be books, trash, or emotion. We hoard incidents in our mind…

5 Reasons to SHUT Your Big Mouth

By Matt Colletta | October 13, 2015

“Wow you got your money in great there, nice suck out fish!” Ever hear this or similar tirades from a…

Good Bankroll Management is Critical to Poker Success

By Doug Polk | October 12, 2015

“The lack of money is the root of all evil.”  – Mark Twain I would go as far as to…