Poker Strategy
How to Master Short-Stacked Small Blind Play in Blind vs Blind Battles
Modern Short-Stack Play (Part 3) I used to be pretty bad at shallow blind vs. blind play. I didn’t really know how to approach it – according to simulation tools, you could just open shove a ton of hands from the small blind, even with 20 big blinds, and make a profit. But then I’d […]
Read MoreThese 5 Common Mistakes Are Costing You Money
Poker is a complex game. There’s more than one way to win, and the depth and variety of available strategies are what make the game so interesting. But with the variety comes the increased opportunity for potential mistakes. Let’s take a look at 5 of the most common mistakes made by poker players. If you…
Read MoreHow To Combat Steals with a Tiny Stack
Modern Short-Stack Play (Part 2) For years, poker books, articles and training videos taught us that we can’t flat a whole lot with shallow stacks because we don’t get to realize our equity that often. We still miss the flop around two thirds of the time, and when we don’t hit, we can’t really do…
Read More5 Goals You Must Set to Succeed in Poker
Goal setting works. On the endless road to strengthen your poker game, giving yourself targets will help you become a better player. However, to benefit as much as possible, it is important to set goals which are both useful and achievable. To give you an idea of some effective poker goals, here’s the top five…
Read MoreThe Ultimate Guide to Big Blind Defense
Modern Short Stack Play (Part 1) Over a decade of playing MTTs for a living, I’ve seen the game change in many ways. For example, back in 2010, open-raising to three times the big blind was considered standard. You could sometimes make it just 2.5x on the button, but 3x was the norm. Defending the…
Read MoreWhy Multi-Tabling Is Costing You Money
Multi-tabling is extremely common in the world of online poker. Many players will choose to sit at multiple tables at the same time, and will see and play considerably more hands per hour than those who do not. Of course, there is justification for this: if you are proven to be a winning player at…
Read MoreHow To Extract Max Value in Limit Hold’em
A few months ago I shared a list of 7 tips to help NLHE players win at limit: Play quickly. Focus on the pot size, not your opponent’s stack sizes. Play a lot of weak hands in the big blind. Big cards are king. Limit your coldcalling. Don’t bluff too often. Plan how to best…
Read MoreMy Unexploitable Preflop Opening Strategy Explained
Preflop is the most common and important street to get right. Having a solid preflop strategy that is well-considered and difficult to exploit is the foundation of any great player. If your preflop game is strong, it will set you up for profitable scenarios postflop and make your future decisions less difficult. This article will…
Read More3 Bulletproof Poker Concepts Demonstrated by Ryan Fee
Want a sneak peek inside the Lab? You’ve come to the right place. Welcome to my new series Dissecting The Lab where I’ll be looking at specific videos from the Upswing Poker Lab and highlighting some of their interesting moments. Today we kick things off with the first half of Ryan Fee’s 2-part live action…
Read More6 Reasons Why Live Poker is Easier Than Online Poker (That Might Be Holding You Back)
Live poker is a lot easier than online poker. Unless you’ve never stepped foot in a casino or played a hand of online poker, you probably already knew that. But do you know why? There are a handful of reasons that online games and players end up tougher than their live counterparts. Some of these…
Read MoreUpswing Poker Strategy Digest – Volume 2
The Upswing Digest is a monthly publication containing the best strategy questions of the month submitted by our Lab subscribers. Doug Polk and Ryan Fee provide their thorough answers and then they’re all compiled into one easy to navigate package. One month after we release the Digest to our subscribers we re-release it, making it available to…
Read MoreThe 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…
Read MoreDaniel Negreanu is Stunned by Insanely Tiny Bet From Doug Polk (Hand Analysis)
“Who does this guy think he is!?” “Why do you get to criticize the great [INSERT OLD SCHOOL PLAYER HERE]?! You’re just some Youtuber!’’ This was an early sentiment in the early days of Doug Polk’s YouTube channel. It was tough for casual poker fans to trust Doug’s opinion because he was unknown to them.…
Read MoreThere’s Big Money in 4-Bet & 5-Bet Pots
Most NLHE players have a pretty good idea of how and when to 3-bet their opponents preflop. If you can believe it, there was a time where most players would 3-bet only if they had Aces or Kings, and rarely any other times. As the game evolved players quickly realized that employing 3-bets preflop more…
Read MorePoker Hands with Doug Polk – High Level Analysis of Famous Hands
Poker Hands with Doug Polk is your chance to hear in-depth, high level analysis of the most famous and interesting hands in televised poker history. Doug shares his thoughts on crucial pots played during the World Series of Poker, European Poker Tour, High Stakes Poker and many more. A new episode of Poker Hands is…
Read MoreWhy You Should Play More Multi-Table Tournaments (MTTs)
When Multi Table Tournaments Brought the Fun Back Having recently given up poker as my full-time profession to focus on writing, coaching and growing my own poker strategy site, I have felt my love for MTTs – which had faded over the years due to the extreme time-commitment required – return in a way I…
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