Intermediate Poker Strategy Articles
Popular Intermediate Articles
5 Situations Where C-Betting Will Burn You
C-betting is a fundamental part of playing good, solid, winning poker. There are many situations where c-betting frequently is the…
Top Pair, Bad Kicker? Here’s the Right Way to Play It
This article shares strategic advice from Uri Peleg on how to play top pairs with a weak kicker. The insights…
Where does the EV come from in poker?
Continuing on the idea from the article I wrote recently (Should You Play Like a Nit Preflop?), in this article,…
All Intermediate Poker Articles
Play More Hands, Win More Pots: 5 Tips for PLO MTT Success
Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO) tournaments are a completely different animal from No-Limit Hold’em. If you try to carry over your standard…
Push Fold Charts for Poker Tournaments, Plus More Advanced Strategies
Note: Updated February 2026. For the original article and charts scroll to the bottom. In the mid-2010s, the emergence of…
How to Play the Turn After Range Checking the Flop (Part 1)
Some time ago, I wrote about a few spots where checking your entire range on the flop is the right…
3-Bet Preflop Strategy with Updated Range Charts
3-betting preflop is a fundamental strategy for winning at poker. Getting it right is also easier than ever, thanks to…
PR0DIGY vs Riggedeck: A $35,000 Hand Breakdown from the Cash Game World Championship
As we steam ahead with the 2025 Cash Game World Championship (CGWC), I am going to break down a hand…
We’re Cutting Prices for Cyber Monday (25% Off Everything)
The 2025 Black Friday / Cyber Monday Sale is over. We’ll see you 2026 with more sales and more killer…
Unleash Your Potential with Lucid Poker
This will change your poker game for the better. Lucid Poker Version 3.0 launches on November 10, offering a faster,…
Deep vs Shallow Study: The Key to Rapid Poker Improvement
Uri Peleg is arguably the best poker coach in the world. He just released a game-changing course called Upswing Lab…
(Sneak Peek) Lab 2.0 is Your Path to Poker Mastery
Ready to destroy weaker recreational players and come out on top against your fellow regulars? Upswing Lab 2.0 will teach…
LLinusLLove vs. AbsoluteTopUp: A Masterclass in Flush Draw Dynamics
I’ve got a hand straight from the Cash Game World Championship hosted by CoinPoker. This one features Linus “LLinusLL0ve” Loeliger…
Top Pair, Bad Kicker? Here’s the Right Way to Play It
This article shares strategic advice from Uri Peleg on how to play top pairs with a weak kicker. The insights…
Where does the EV come from in poker?
Continuing on the idea from the article I wrote recently (Should You Play Like a Nit Preflop?), in this article,…
3 Preflop Exploits That Work in Live Championship Events
The biggest live tournament of the year is underway. Whether you’re in the mix or just railing the action, there’s…
Should You Play Like a Nit Preflop?
A player recently asked: “If only a minority of preflop hands make the majority of the money, why should I…
How Elite Poker Pros Play Pocket Kings Postflop
Everyone gets a nice hit of dopamine and adrenaline when they’re dealt pocket Kings. Your unconscious mind expects a big…
5 Tips for Improving Your Skills with PokerTracker
In this article, I’m going to share five ways you can use PokerTracker to improve your game. I’ve been a…
Limps in Poker: The Ultimate Guide to Crushing Open Limpers
Think of limpers as your most valuable customers. Every time you see someone limp into the pot, you’re being handed…
5 Preflop Tips to Help You Crush on ClubWPT Gold
In case you haven’t heard, there’s a new poker site available to most residents of the USA. It’s called ClubWPT…
3 Tips to Make Your Opponents Regret Raising Your Big Blind
Playing well out of the Big Blind (BB) is essential. The pots you play after defending your BB might be…
3 Money-Making Exploits That Work in 99% of Poker Games
Whether to attempt to play a game theory optimal (GTO) strategy has been a hot topic in the poker world…
3 Pro Tips for Playing Overpairs (via Lucid Poker)
Are you maximizing your winnings with overpairs? Playing them correctly can mean the difference between extracting max expected value (EV)…
5 Tips For Check-Raising The Flop (via Lucid Poker)
Check-raising is an essential skill to master. In this article, I’ll share 5 key tips for check-raising on the flop…
How to Exploit Maniac Poker Players
Note: The new Lucid Poker channel will be posting helpful videos like this regularly. Click here to subscribe! Once again,…
What Top Poker Pros Already Know About 4-Betting
You’re about to learn how professional poker players approach 4-betting. You’ll find the answers to these key questions in this…
Quads vs Full House in High Stakes Poker Game
Even the best poker players in the world deal with brutal bad beats. This hand features two powerhouse players going…
How To Play Underpairs in Cash Games
It sucks when your pocket pair misses the flop, especially when you’re looking at three overcards. But you shouldn’t always…
Top Poker Pro Borrows Common Low Stakes Tactic ($99,136 Pot)
Let’s visit the top of the poker food chain! The following hand took place in an online nosebleed $500/$1,000 ($200…
Nightmare for Pocket Aces! Huge Hands Collide in Massive Pot
Sometimes losing a massive pot is avoidable; sometimes it isn’t. Let’s take a look at a huge pot from a…
When Should You Set Mine with a Pocket Pair? These 5 Tips Will Clear Things Up.
You call a raise with pocket sevens and stare anxiously as the dealer reveals the flop… Queen… Jack… SEVEN! As…
What Is Showdown Value & Why Does It Matter?
Understanding showdown value is one key to becoming a winning poker player. It is a fundamental concept that shapes postflop…
Millionaire Poker Pro Gets Tricky With Pocket Aces in $116,668 Pot (Analysis)
There’s not much better than watching two of the world’s best poker players battle it out at high stakes. The…
Doug Polk’s Wild Poker Session is a Whirlwind of Emotions
The high-stakes livestream game at The Lodge Card Club this past Sunday was epic, to say the very least. Upswing…
Trapping Top Pair with $751,073 On The Line (Final Table EPT London)
You’re at the final table of the EPT London Main Event. You’ve already outlasted over 700 players in the 5K…
Can You Exploit These 3 Poker Players?
Ready to test your exploitative poker skills? Upswing Poker’s newest course, titled Precision Poker, comes from the mind of chess…
How to Exploit Weak 3-Bettors (AKA Most Poker Players)
Upswing Poker’s newest course presents a fresh approach to poker from chess champion turned poker pro Alex Vuilleumier. In this…
3 Things That Shocked This Chess Master Turned Poker Pro
The newest course in the Upswing Poker library comes from a chess master turned high stakes poker pro. Alex Vuilleumier…
How to Play Five-to-a-Straight Boards Like a Pro
Boards with five cards to the straight can be quite confusing to play. But fear not! In this article, I…
Sneak Peek: The End Boss System with Doug Polk & Fabian Adler
Are you a serious poker player who wants to elevate your game to the highest level? Doug Polk’s brand new…
Doug Polk’s Bold Bluff Versus a Top Pro’s Pocket Aces
Preflop The blinds are $200/$400 and Doug starts the hand with $90,900 in his stack (Kevin covers). Doug raises to…
Straight Flush Draw vs Daniel Negreanu ($100,000 Duel Hand Analysis)
Doug and his longtime heads-up coach Fabian Adler have been working on a new course called The End Boss System…
(Sneak Peek) Road to Victory: The Ultimate Poker Tournament Course
If you’re a serious tournament poker player, read on. Two of the world’s best poker pros have combined forces to…
Darren Elias Uses Bet Sizing Tell to Win $127,680 (Analysis)
Four-time World Poker Tour champion Darren Elias is a master of catching on to opponents’ tendencies and exploiting that information…
Poker Site Owner Double Check-Raises In $100,000 Buy-in Tournament (Analysis)
The text below is based on the video above. Sebastian Gaehl found himself in quite a juicy spot at the…
Should Tom Dwan Fold Pocket Queens In This $1 Million Buy-In Hand?
The text below is based on the video above. Imagine playing a €1 million buy-in tournament with 300 big blinds…
Upswing’s New Poker Strategy Advisor Won $1M+ Playing Cash Games
Doug Polk calls him “the greatest poker mind I’ve ever met.” And that’s why Upswing Poker has hired Fabian “Frabb”…
3 Spots to Use Tiny Bet Sizes in Cash Games
The best poker players in the world have a seemingly unlimited amount of weapons in their arsenal. One of those…
How to Play Nut Flush Draws in Cash Games
I freaking love flopping the nut flush draw. It’s such a strong draw and you can expect to win pretty…
Sneak Peek Inside Smash Live Cash with Nick Petrangelo (ft Brad Owen)
Want to maximize your winnings at the live cash game tables? Read on. Taught by elite poker pro Nick Petrangelo,…
Doug Polk Does The Thing He Said To Never Do (Analysis)
Doug once said “don’t fold sets” in No Limit Hold’em… …but apparently he was being hyperbolic because that’s exactly what…
Why You Should NOT Chop When Deep In A Tournament
If you have ever made a deep run in a tournament, you may have been asked “Do you want to…
Play Like a Pro When The Turn Pairs The Middle Card
When the turn card pairs the board in a heads-up pot, the dynamic between the players changes greatly. This article…
How to Conquer Aggressive Poker Players (5 Exploit Tips)
(Note: Video not loading? Click here to watch it on YouTube or read on for a written version.) Have you…
How You Should Play Four Flush Boards (But Probably Don’t)
(Note: Video not loading? Click here to watch it on YouTube or read on for a written version.) Boards with…
How to Crush the Guy Who Always C-Bets
Have you ever played against a player who seems to continuation bet (c-bet) every hand? This article will help you…
When to Turn Your Low Pocket Pairs into Bluffs
When you hold a low pocket pair, you miss the flop most of the time… …but that doesn’t mean you…
What is Unblocking in Poker & Why Does it Matter?
I’m pretty sure you’ve heard of blockers, which have been all the rage in poker for a few years now……
The 5 Best Poker Strategy Articles of 2021
If you want to crush your poker games in 2022, read on. These 5 must-read articles published on the poker…
The 5 Best Poker Hand Reviews of 2021
If you like expert poker hand analysis, you’ve come to the right place. The Upswing Poker team is constantly on…
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 to move from intermediate to advanced as you work beyond the Launch Pad and into the Mastery Path. Lessons are from some of the world's best coaches including Uri Peleg, Gary Blackwood, 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 to move from intermediate to advanced as you work beyond the Launch Pad and into the Mastery Path. Lessons are from some of the world's best coaches including Uri Peleg, Gary Blackwood, and Qing Yang. Lab 2.0 gives you a clear path to sharper and more profitable play.