Guides & Reviews Archives

The Ugly Truth About Staking in Poker

You’ve heard of staking. Or at least you probably have if you’ve spent any time with poker players. Over the last decade or so, poker staking has blown up, mostly in tournaments, but cash games as well. Done right, a poker staking deal can be beneficial for both parties, yet staking deals gone wrong have…

How to Improve Your Mindset and Bring Out Your ‘A’ Game

It’s a mystery. Why do some poker players fall to the floor as quickly as they rose to the top, while others stake their claim on top of the mountain, proving superior through decades of change in the game? Of course, this mystery isn’t specific to poker. Every field, every profession, and every sport has…

Should I Play Cash Games or Tournaments?

One of the most frequently asked questions you’ll hear from aspiring poker pros is whether to focus on tournament poker strategy or cash game poker strategy. Which one should you choose? Well, both are good and viable in today’s poker world. You can pick either one and be profitable with enough work and commitment. They…

How To Find The Best Online Poker Rooms In 2016

Selecting Best Online Poker Rooms in 2016 There once was a time when winning at online poker was quite doable. You could simply learn some basic concepts, log into basically any poker site out there and exploit the horrible mistakes made by the majority of your opponents to turn huge profits. Watch the hilarious video…

Live Poker Tournaments – How Much it Costs to Grind Under the Lights

While it’s all good and well to sit for hours on end in your boxer shorts, staring at your computer screen and grinding on five, ten, or twenty online tables, there’s nothing like the thrill of live tournament play. The pace is slower, but there’s a different, more human element to sitting at the tangible…

Ryan Fee Discusses WSOP MTT Staking for Investors

As Upswing Poker pros turn their attention fully towards the World Series of Poker, the topic of WSOP MTT staking has come to the forefront thanks to a recent Poker Life Podcast episode hosted by Joey Ingram. Now that the action in Vegas has neared full throttle, so have the number of player-marketed packages being…

Marty Mathis Explains Hidden Opportunity Cost in Poker

Hey everyone, this is Marty Mathis here writing my first guest article for Upswing Poker. You might know me better as TheLipoFund on Pokerstars, where I have been a regular in tournaments since 2008. While I have no direct involvement with Upswing, I am close friends with the guys behind the project, and I’m pretty stoked to…

Dating a Poker Player | An Open Letter to Poker Players’ Significant Others

As both the significant other to a professional poker player and a professional poker player myself, I’ve been asked by lots of people, “What can I do to support my significant other who is a poker player?” Let’s start first with what not to do. I’ll be speaking to you, the significant other, from the viewpoint…

Why You Are On A Downswing

Variance is very good at tricking the human brain. Things that seem unlikely, highly improbable, or impossible happen all the time, whether in poker, in the weather report, or even in a professional basketball game. The highly improbable occurred recently in the National Basketball Association. The Golden State Warriors lost to the Los Angeles Lakers…